McCoy Rodeo

Cord McCoy is known for his bull riding career in the PBR and PRCA, raising professional-level bucking bulls, and even taking his cowboy smarts to the TV show The Amazing Race with his brother Jet. Now, the 41-year-old husband and dad is taking on his next adventure of producing rodeos.
McCoy Rodeo started in 2021 and already has 10 PRCA events scheduled for the 2022 season in Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa. “It’s been a pretty exciting ride,” says Cord. “Most conversations I have are with committees and sponsors. Now we’re talking to marketing groups and deciding which events to televise and what to add as far as entertainers and specialty acts. It’s pretty cool, because I’ve always been in the western way of life and rodeo, but now I get to be the guy that brings rodeo to those towns and show our lifestyle. It’s not only a big responsibility, but pretty exciting when communities can come together and celebrate events about this lifestyle, and it can be a highlight of that community.”
A favorite event for Cord in 2021 was the Tulsa Time Invitational, named after his 3-year-old daughter, Tulsa. Hosted at McCoy Ranch in Lane, Oklahoma, 77 women entered their own two-year-old bulls or leased bulls, flanked them in the chutes, and bucked them for four seconds with a dummy or box. “It was women only behind the chutes, and it paid out close to $15,000 to win first. Women came from all over to compete, and some of them were flanking a bucking bull for the first time.” The invitational will be held again on April 30, 2022, in conjunction with the McCoy Ranch Production Sale, which takes place twice a year. McCoy Rodeo is also teaming up with the WRCA to produce the Duncan Ranch Rodeo on May 5, 2022.
Raising bulls since he was 6 years old inspired Cord to not only see his livestock bucking all over the country, but also produce some of the events they compete in. “My breeding program literally started in 1986 when my dad gave me a big, longhorn cow. From 1986, it was always my intention to raise bucking bulls. My oldest brother (Justen) worked for Larry Kephart, who owned a bunch of the original Plummers from Charlie Plummer. When we leased bulls off Kephart, that had an effect in the start of our bull breeding program. We were able to tap into some of the best genetics as a foundation for our breeding program. When we were younger, my dad (Denny McCoy) produced junior rodeos for us to ride in the winter. Whether we’ve had horse sales or rodeos, we’ve always had it in our blood. But for our family owning a PRCA stock contracting business, this is a first.”
One of Cord’s most popular bulls is 612 Ridin Solo. “He has a pretty cool attitude about him, and I think the fans love him and the riders love him. Through ABBI competition, he’s won a little over $300,000. His semen sells good, and he was in the top 5 for PBR Bull of the Year in 2021. An up-and-coming superstar we introduced in Las Vegas in November is Black Cherry, a three-year-old coming on four. He was the top high-mark bull in Vegas, and when he’s doing that at three, that’s like the idea of Lebron James coming out of high school and going into the NBA. He’ll make his 2022 debut in Fort Worth, and he’s also on the roster to go to Madison Square Garden. Our partner for him is ProVantage Animal Health.”
Whether Cord is purchasing bulls, like Cliff Hanger, the top WNFR bull of 2020, or breeding his own stock, the chief characteristic he looks for is heart. “People really need to understand that you can’t make a bull buck. They have to want to buck, so heart is really the first thing I look for. Then I’m looking for that athletic ability.” Cord also studies which lines of bulls cross well with which lines of cows, researching the ABBI database carefully before breeding season begins in April.
McCoy Ranch has all of the facilities on site needed to prepare their bulls for competition, mimicking the setup a bull might see at a PBR or PRCA event. “We’re really giving the bull the opportunity to practice and get better. The more they buck, the more they know where to put their feet and how to kick and turn,” Cord explains. “I try to let the bulls do the talking. They’re all individual and have their own needs and wants.” Cord uses a remote to release the bucking dummy from young bulls when they exhibit skills he wants to reward, such as turning fast or hard. “We’re prepping these calves to walk in (to competition) and know how to jump and spin, and when you see them on TV, you get to see the finished product.”
Depending on the bulls’ size and development, three years old is often the earliest they have riders climb on. Cord travels all over the country taking his bulls to futurities, and PBR and PRCA events. In January alone he’ll haul his stock trailer to Indianapolis, New York City, and Chicago. “It’s kind of like managing a team. I’m just changing the roster every week to fit those bulls.”
Though at times Cord spends more time in the cab of his truck than at home, his wife, Sara, and daughter, Tulsa, often travel with him, and all work together to run the ranch. “People would say when you’re buying a rodeo company, you don’t have as much time with family. But other than Christmas and Easter, nothing has brought our family closer. We have brothers and sisters, cousins, and brothers-in-law who jumped in and helped. We’ve enjoyed it a lot, bringing family together and being wrapped around McCoy Rodeo,” says Cord. “I’m excited about our program and how fast it’s growing. It all happens with our partners, and we have so many good ones. When we think we see a contender for bucking bull of the year out there, our partners jump on with us so we can add superstars to our program.”