JUNE 19, 2019
GETTIN’ RANCHY The saying goes, “A family that ranches together, stays together,” and while that couldn’t be closer to the truth for one ranch family, it’s ranching and showing which keeps their bond closer than ever. The Wilcox family of Winnie, TX is a family of ranchers who farm over 3,000 acres of rice and raise over 250 head of cattle. “My kids own half of the cattle business,” said Taylor Wilcox (center). “While we ranch at home, we also compete in Ranch Riding with the same horses we do all of our work on.” Wilcox, a fifth generation cattle rancher said it was his daughter, Quincy, who fueled their passion for horses as a little girl. “We started her off on this old club footed horse, Chip, who took care of her,” said Wilcox. “We never had horses that you would train to compete at something like Pinto World.” Showing horses is a new venture for the Wilcox family and Taylor says that what him and his kids, Quincy and Morgan, learn in Horsemanship with their trainer Carol Andersen of CA Performance Horses, applies directly to working more efficiently together. “We’ve learned to better read each other and
our horses.” said Wilcox. “What we do on the ranch with these horses is exactly why these classes were created and what we do in these classes help us back on the ranch.” Wilcox and his family agree that riding when you show is different but that every lesson has taught them to be more patient while working at home together. “We ranch all day long,” said Wilcox, “Showing has just made us closer as a family and is one more thing we can do together.”