RANCHING IS A WAY OF LIFE

LEIPER'S FORK CATTLE COMPANY

By Kathy Fox

A little bit of heaven can be seen driving through Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee. Located along the Natchez Trace Parkway and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, the village has a population of less than 700 and is full of character and Southern charm. Visitors will find an eclectic mix of retail therapy, unique finds, food, and the world-famous open mic night. But that’s not all, Leiper’s Fork Cattle Company is also putting Leiper’s Fork on the map.

ROB SCHAEDLE, OWNER LEIPER’S FORK CATTLE COMPANY

Leiper’s Fork Cattle Company is privately owned by Rob Schaedle, founder of Chartwell Hospitality, LLC. It is situated on 150 acres near downtown Leiper’s Fork and is a farm breeding registered rodeo cattle. The farm is also home to Cornerstone Equestrian, where Macy Wesson rents most of the stalls and utilizes the jumping arena, tack room, grooming stalls, and round turnout paddocks for her hunter/jumper show program serving the Greater Nashville area.

Schaedle had always wanted a farm and through conversations first became interested in buying and selling beef cows in 2016 after purchasing the farm. He started with Brangus cows which is a cross between Angus and Brahman cattle. After a few years, Schaedle got out of the Brangus and started buying rodeo cows to breed. With beef cattle it is all about the volume sold, however, rodeo cows sell for a much higher price. Bull calves can sell for up to $50,000 depending on how desirable they are and their bloodline.

With 82 breeding cows on the farm and with 60 going to calf this year, Schaedle depends on Ben Flynn, his ranch manager and modern-day cowboy, to keep the farm operating smoothly. For all of us city folk, the life of a cowboy is quite different. It takes passion, commitment, and many long hours to run a farm and tend cattle. Flynn and his wife Angie live on the property and there are also three farm hands Flynn manages each wellversed with horses and cattle to ensure any issues are immediately handled.

Flynn, originally from Ireland, came to the states in the 1980s and worked at the racetracks in Chicago. Different from his racetrack days, a normal day at LFCC starts at 6:30 a.m. First, the horses in the barn are checked and once everything is up and running it is time to head out to check the cows. “We drive the fields looking for cows that may not be doing well or are lost. We take a headcount and if any of them need help we take care of that. If we do find a cow that got out, we go back to the barn and get a horse or two to track the cow(s) down. Thankfully, this does not happen very often,” Flynn explained. “Next, it is time to feed them. During the fall, winter, and spring, I tend to feed the cows mostly hay and grain which takes a lot of time depending on how many there are.”

BEN FLYNN, RANCH MANAGER AT LEIPER’S FORK CATTLE COMPANY, AND HIS WIFE ANGIE.

After the horses and cows have been attended to in the morning, it is time to pull some of the ranch horses out for exercise and then check on the cows again. Although the cows do not require much attention since the cows are breeding stock, it is important to always keep tabs on them. “They don't require too much effort until there's a problem, and then because they're the kind of cows they are, sometimes it takes an act of Congress to get a cow up so you can medicate or check it. Rodeo cattle tend to be on the wild side,” stated Flynn. “They are not your average beef cow where you can simply walk up to it in the field and walk among them. These cows have an aversion to people interrupting their days and they are not on the friendly side. With rodeo bulls, the more rank and athletic they are, the more desirable they are.”

With 60 cows pregnant this year, Flynn spends a lot of time monitoring the cows and watching for signs of labor. Once the calf is born, it immediately has to be tagged and numbered. And with the weather being so unpredictable this spring, it has been important to make sure the calves are doing well after birth, no matter the time, so Flynn is constantly watching their progress. If any of the calves are rejected by their mom, they must be bottlefed around the clock until they can rejoin the herd. “When the cows are calving you don’t clock in and clock out, it really is a 24/7 job. When a calf or cow needs help, it is what I need to do no matter what time of day it is,” Flynn stated.

LFCC does not use artificial insemination for breeding but live breeds. Schaedle also breeds thoroughbred horses and uses the same principles for his rodeo cows where the female, or queen as they are called, is the most important component to produce a good athletic-looking bull/heifer with great bloodlines. LFCC initially got their breed bulls from DNH Cattle Company in Ardmore, Oklahoma, which has a very long list of successful bulls with remarkable bloodlines. However today, most of the cows and heifers at LFCC have been born and raised there.

There are a lot of risks involved in breeding, but with careful consideration and research, Schaedle is building a desirable bloodline of rodeo cattle. The cows at LFCC are registered with the American Bucking Bull Inc. (ABBI) and all have pedigrees like racehorses where the bloodlines are known. “Rob is very good at what he does and spends a lot of time researching. He wants to produce performance bulls, bucking bulls that will go on to the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit. It's like breeding a racehorse to win the Breeder’s Cup. As a breeding operation, currently, the bulls get sold as yearlings some as two-year-olds, but as a rule, Rob doesn’t want to hold on to any at the moment,” said Flynn. Currently, a bull named Wilson is on the PBR tour and another, 63K, is in Texas getting ready for his futurity year. Both were bred at LFCC and 63K is still owned by Schaedle.

Some may think life as a cowboy can be lonely with all the long days and nights, but Flynn’s wife Angie is very supportive and understands the cowboy way of life. Although Angie, who is the barber/owner of Flynn & Company in Franklin, had nothing to do with horses or cows before they got married in 2021, she now regularly helps when needed. “Our first Valentine's Day together was spent driving around in six inches of snow looking for calves instead of having a fancy dinner. We had to bring a few calves into our living room, dry them off, keep them warm, and bottle-feed them. She’s super supportive and helpful. She will even come with me in the evening a lot of times and bottle feed a calf while I go check on the cows,” said Flynn. “Ranching is hard work and a way of life, not a job!”