You can't reproduce heart

By Doug Rich

As we pulled into the pasture every cow and calf within sight raised their head to keep an eye on us. Some snorted and began pawing the ground with their hooves in an aggressive way.

In most commercial cow herds high-headed cattle like these would be on the next trailer to town, but this is exactly what Justin McKee is looking for in his herd. McKee, Lenapah Okla., raises bucking bulls and they need to have an attitude to make it in the world of professional bull riding.

"They can be hard to handle," McKee said. "They are like a cross between a deer and buffalo, quick as a deer and big as a buffalo."

"Try to lead them to a pen and they can smell a trap two days before you go out there," McKee said. "When you go to gather 60 or 70 of those snorty cows it can be tough."

If you are a fan of the Built Ford Tough Professional Bull Riders (PBR) series on the Outdoor Living Network (OLN), then you know Justin McKee as one of the commentators for this popular show. When he is not traveling around the country 46 to 47 weeks out of the year announcing PBR events or rodeos like the Cheyenne Frontier Days or Pendleton Roundup, McKee is at home raising bucking bulls.

Until 1999 McKee was running a lot of Wheat stocker calves along the Kansas-Oklahoma border then sending them to feedlots out west. "When it works it is great, but it only works great about one out of three years," McKee said. "I thought if I am going to lose money I might as well have some fun."

He started his bucking bull business with heifers from two programs that he knew had been raising bucking bulls for a long time.

There is no blueprint for what makes a good bucking bull. McKee said a majority of them have some Longhorn or Brahman and a little something else. "They are a motley crew really," McKee said.

Just like other purebred animals there is a registry for bucking bulls that helps producers make sire selections. American Bucking Bull, Inc., (ABBI) was formed in 2003 to preserve and track the DNA records of the best bucking animals in the country. At last count this registry contained the records of 39,000 animals. The original bucking bull registry, Rough Stock Registry, was started by Bob Tallman about 12 years ago. It works much like the Thoroughbred Registry used by the racehorse industry.

"To raise a bull that is going to be aggressive enough to take the miles, the diesel smoke, and the competition itself they need to have a middle linebacker kind of mentality," McKee said. "They have to love it and it seems the mean ones do love it." McKee said the aggressive nature comes from the momma cow most of the time."

Buyers like bulls with color and horns. "You want a loud colored animal," McKee said. "They are more eye catching." Horns make them look fierce which is a plus for potential buyers.

McKee does not buck any bulls himself but sells his calves private treaty off the ranch or at prospect sales. Futurities are driving the market right now. For that reason McKee wants to have the maximum number of days growing going into that two-year-old time frame.

"You want a January or February calf if you can," McKee said. "Every month means a lot more size when they are competing with the dummies."

McKee likes to wean his calves in October and get them straightened out. He takes pictures of the calves and sends them to potential customers. Most of them are sold before they are even pulled off the cow.

At a sale in Las Vegas McKee sold a weaned calf for $9,500 and another for $9,000.

"I am just about to make up for all those grazing and feedlot losses," McKee said.

Bucking bulls progress through a series of performance tests before they ever reach the PBR circuit. Futurities are held all over the country where two-year old bulls are bucked with dummies on their backs to see how they perform.

"From spring to fall you could go to a futurity somewhere in the country nearly every weekend," McKee said.

As three- and four-year-old bulls they progress to the classic level where they are bucked with actual live riders. If they are good enough, those classic bulls go on to perform in the PBR. As five-year olds.

McKee sells his bulls to individuals who will enter them in futurities with the hope of having the next Bodacious or Little Yellow Jacket. This year at the ABBI World Finals Futurity 100 of the top two-year old bulls will compete for a total purse of $150,000. At the World Finals Classic 55 the top four and five-year old bulls will compete for a $450,000 purse. The top bull in this showcase event will take home $200,000.

Some of McKee's customers don't have a ranch and have never fed a bull in their life. "They are like someone buying a race horse and sending it to a trainer," McKee said.

He sells the bulls and if needed sets them up with someone who trains the bull. The trainers get the bulls accustomed to being in a chute, getting on a trailer, and how to find the out gate.

The trainers put dummies on them and take a video of the "ride" which they send to the owners.

"It is pretty high-tech redneck stuff," McKee said.

Some of the bulls McKee has sold have gone on to make a name for themselves in the business of professional bull riding. He sold Splat Kat, a Scat Kat son that won a futurity and is a regular on the Built Ford Tough PBR circuit. Another bull he raised, Blueberry Buckle, a son of Blueberry Wine, won a futurity this year. Coyote Homely did very well at Billings, Mt., this year. McKee has seen four or five of his bulls on television this year.

McKee said you can match the best bull with the best cow and still not produce a top bucking bull. "You can reproduce traits but you can't reproduce heart," McKee said. "It is the heart that makes the difference. That is what it takes to make it as a PBR bull.

Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304 or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. For more information about Justin and Jeannie McKee's bucking bulls, contact them at jmckeeranch@yahoo.com or 918-468-2310.

Date: 11/8/06

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