Ep. 52 - Kaylin Maree Schimpf, A True Woman of Ag
Kaylin Maree Schimpf is a mom, advocate, stock contractor, and probably one of the funniest people you’ll ever get to e-meet on social media. From adventures on their farm raising bucking bulls, raising horses, raising her son and, should we say, raising businesses? Kaylin also breaks down a multitude of online Facebook communities that she works with, tips for running your own Facebook community, and other social media updates.
We are excited to have her on the show to chat about the western lifestyle and advocacy!
Getting to Texas
Currently residing in Texas, Kaylin wasn’t raised there as a native of Colorado, but she got to Texas as fast as she could! Once she completed school at Colorado State University, she packed her entire life into the front of the stock trailer with her good black mare in the back and talked her best friend into moving to Texas with her.
They rolled into Texas in early May 2013 and had no job or anywhere to live. With her college rodeo connections she crashed with friends and “the rest is history!”
“You have to move away from your family just once, you can always go back!” Says Kaylin about taking a leap of faith like she did after graduation. “I think it makes you a stronger person and I think it makes going home that much sweeter if you decide to go home.”
Defining Life Moments
Kaylin Maree keynote speaking at a network marketing event.
I think some of my most defining moments are also some of my worst. I think that growing up in a bad home environment you have two choices; succumb to what you grew up in or you can grab it, understand the damage it did to you, and spin it into something really great. The latter is what I chose to do.
“I’m not saying that I was a perfect,” says Kaylin who admits that she was actually stripped of her queen title when she was young. “I got kicked out of being a rodeo queen and, at the time, there was so many news articles about it in Colorado, and I was crushed.”
At nineteen, she was old enough to find and read all those articles and they changed her as a person. It was a big part of why she moved to Texas, she wanted to escape that ex-rodeo queen mess. Taking those negative moments and making it a drive to be hyper-successful because, statistically, that’s what she was told she couldn’t be.
Gaining Experience
“This can be used in a super vague way, but get experience and to grow. The best thing I can tell young people to meet as many people that you can,” says Kaylin whose goal is to be an encyclopedia of networking of sorts. In the business of learning, she knows so many people and so many people know her, that she has the ability to go learn anything she wants to.
The idea of networking can make or break you in whatever you want to do in this world. If you want to be hyper-successful, you need to meet people. You can’t do it alone.
“That’s a genuinely returning comment from successful athletes and people in their field, to network as much as possible,” says co-host Rachel Owens-Sarno. “Looking at how some of our [That Western Life podcast] guests have been able to network is just impressive.
Entrepreneur Through-and-Through
Kaylin’s Cattle Tags
“Just a mom, wife, cattle-addict that wanted some badass cattle tags for her cattle and here we are,” is how the description is listed on the website. When Kaylin’s son was nine-months old, she had a baby at home, and needed custom cattle tags. She had tried purchasing some prior but they weren’t of high quality and didn’t last. It took three bags of practice for her to make it work.
It was a natural progression to start Kaylin’s Cattle Tags because, as a beader, K Bar Heart Beading was one of the premier beading businesses in the United States. It’s no surprise that she’s so handy with making ideas come to life; both Kaylin’s mom and grandmother were amazing at their own designs and creations.
“I remember making the first set of tags for our bulls and my husband said ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ about posting them on Facebook for a small side hustle,” says Kaylin with a laugh who did it anyway. It’s now become a six-figure business for her company and they do PBR bulls, custom bull sales, replacement heifer sales, bucking bull sales, and more.
It has spiraled and is another full-time job. It’s not just for cattle though, she always creates “moo-sockets” for the back of your phone, gifts, flashcards, key chains, Valentine’s Day cards, car seat tags for people to not touch babies, etc.
“It’s so surreal, we just hit 20,000 likes on Facebook and we started it maybe a year ago,” says Kaylin.
Raising Bucking Bulls
A little old school and a little new school and only the best genetics available, Kaylin and her husband’s dedication to quality bucking bulls is there dreams. When they first started dating he had two cows and that was his goal so Kaylin started buying cows to add to the hair. Still very small fish in the pool in their sixth year, which is really “young” compared to the industry standards, they are the “reason we can’t have nice things.”
“If you don’t know rodeo cattle, they are like squirrels on cocaine, they are the wildest, most aggressive, just break-everything-cattle,” says Kaylin. “Our life, raising them, is absolutely crazy.”
Kaylin’s husband hasn’t cowboy’d, but that’s how Kaylin put herself through college. Used to working in a two to three man team to catch wild cattle, Kaylin rides her trusty black mare that rode in the back of the trailer from Colorado to catch cattle. With her husband studying bloodlines over the years, he knows bloodlines and production lines. They have spent a long time building their program, piece-by-piece, with each new cow a direct daughter of a world champion, a super sire, or of the sorts.
“I’m proud of him, he’s worked super hard,” adds Kaylin. “He has been so consistent and so, just, in it to win it and I’m really proud of him!”
Rudy
Rudy is the bull that wouldn’t buck! He went viral on Facebook because, when he went to practice buck, he just flopped out of the chute! Living his best life as a breeding bull - he’s a lot like the donkey and just keeps coming back!
The donkey alludes to a donkey that Kaylin got for free to spoil herself by getting a free donkey to celebrate her big work milestone she had just hit. Over the past four years, she has come back to the ranch five times! Given away four times, she always finds a way back. One of those times, she came back with a zebra that had been stolen, and Kaylin ended up harboring the donkey for two years. Then they tried to breed her to a zebra but had already been bred to a donkey and no one knew when it happened!
Cowboy Warmbloods
A term coined by Katie to explain what bucking horses were, Kaylin has been watching the riding draft-cross market closely. If done incorrectly, you can get the worst traits of both the draft and hot blooded horses. Kaylin wanted one of these handy Cowboy Warmbloods for her husband to ride as a larger, stouter man who she had nothing for him to ride.
“I had joked about a year ago that I was going to have a whole pasture of draft mares and I’m going to breed these crosses,” says Kaylin. “I go big or I go home!”
Searching for three months for draft horses, she stumbled upon a gentleman who was selling out of his registered Clydesdales and bought seven mares! Not telling anybody about it, she took her stock trailer and then took a photo of it loaded up. These horses had never seen cows or ponies but were from world champion stock and sound.
Breeding them to cutting horses they are looking for good bone, good color, and good feet. It took three months to find stallions that were homozygous roan and cream genes to guarantee great color for flashy drafts. They are going to be big, feather-footed, catty and athletic - the kind of horse that you want to do work on all day long in big sky country.
Facebook Community
Founding the True Women of Agriculture group in response to being removed out of a Women in Agriculture group that thought she was self-promoting by trying to educate on how you train bucking bulls. The fellowship built up and, when Kaylin had her son, they started a group that wouldn’t judge agriculture moms across the country whose kid may be in a UTV while they are pulling a calf.
Graphic Tees for a Cause
“The t-shirts started because I started making these t-shirts with funny things on them,” says Kaylin with a laugh whose first t-shirt said, “Mom Group Drop Out!” She made her own group on Facebook called the True Mom’s of Agriculture.
We have a rule in our groups that there are no sales allowed unless you go to the sister groups that are just for sales. A lot of people were commenting that they wanted to buy them and, while I couldn’t break my own rule, I decided to donate all of the profits. Every month they release a shirt that they make themselves for an entire day. Then they take the money and do something good with it!
The first month they sold 50 shirts and bought 150 gallons of milk and donated it to the food pantry. The next month the money went to delinquent lunch tabs in low-income areas so that the kids who couldn’t each lunch because of their tabs, were paid off. It has spiraled since then. They gave back to one of the members who had lost her daughters when they were hit by a texting driver. Another kid had her show heifers shot in a drive by and they were able to write her a check to buy a new heifer. Then they donated to a therapeutic riding center’s wishlist of needs.
March was the biggest month ever because they moved the t-shirts from the mom’s group to the TWOA group which has way more members. They bought four heifers that were supposed to be shown at heifer and are going to feed them up. These were heifers that were raised by youth members that hadn’t been able to show at Houston. After feeding them up, they will donate 3,000 pounds of meat to soup and food banks to feed members.
The group also spearheaded the project to buy buckles for all of the youth members that didn’t get to show at Houston. They purchased 30 buckles for kids whose moms were members of TWOA if they didn’t get to show. Most of the youth had moved their animals in to show and they were told, “Sorry, you need to leave” due to COVID-19.
Tips for Running Facebook Groups
“I have a team of sixteen friends who help run these groups,” says Kaylin who credits all of their helpers for the possibilities these groups provide. “I definitely enlisted the help of a lot of people to make these groups run smoothly.”
With nearly 400 posts a day, the team is needed to help run it. Keeping a tight ship is important to keep sales out, having a zero tolerance policy on being cruel or nasty, and really have help in regulating those rules. You need to make sure it’s a safe place.
Follow Along With Kaylin Maree Schimpf
That Western Life
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Echoes from the Saddle; Great Whites, Great Cattle & Great Cowboys episode hosted by Katie Surritt and Katie Schrock, explores the fascinating history of Hawaiian cowboy culture, known as Paniolo. In this episode, the hosts delve into the unique blend of Hawaiian and Western influences that shaped the Paniolo way of life.
The hosts begin by acknowledging the challenges in researching Hawaiian history, emphasizing the reliance on oral traditions due to the lack of recorded history by the natives. They highlight the conflicting dates and historical uncertainties, underscoring their efforts to present the most accurate information.
The historical narrative starts in 1793 when Hawaii received its first cattle from Captain James Vancouver, a gift that marked the beginning of the Paniolo legacy. King Kamehameha I, the greatest King in Hawaiian culture, played a crucial role in the introduction of cattle to the islands. The cattle, initially considered imperialistic tools, soon multiplied, leading to chaos and havoc as they destroyed the islands.
Native Hawaiians faced many challenges in managing the wild and aggressive cattle. The introduction of rock walls proved ineffective, and the "Great Cattle Menace" era ensued. The cattle, similar to those used in California for sport against grizzlies, posed a serious threat to human lives and property.
The narrative shifts to King Kamehameha III, who recognized the need to control the cattle population. The hosts detail the innovative methods employed by Hawaiians, such as trap pits and bullock hunting, to manage the aggressive cattle. However, the cattle were not initially utilized for consumption; instead, efforts were made to reduce their population.
The turning point comes when King Kamehameha III invites vaqueros, the original cowboys, from California to teach Hawaiians their methods. The vaqueros introduce new techniques, including roping and cattle management, shifting the focus from lethal actions to utilizing cattle as a resource. The hosts spotlight John Palmer Parker, a key figure in ranching, who played a pivotal role in assimilating into Hawaiian culture and promoting cattle as a valuable asset.
The hosts emphasize the significance of the Paniolo in Hawaiian history, asserting that it's impossible to separate Hawaiian history from cowboy culture. The Parker Ranch, established by John Palmer Parker, becomes a symbol of the successful adaptation of cowboy culture in Hawaii. They also touch upon the transformation of Paniolo horses, bred specifically for their unique roles in herding cattle and assisting in the shipping process.
In conclusion, the Mahlo Paniolo podcast provides a comprehensive and engaging exploration of Hawaiian cowboy culture, highlighting its origins, challenges, and enduring impact on the islands. The hosts celebrate the Paniolo as a vital part of Hawaiian history, showcasing their resilience and ability to adapt while preserving their cultural identity.