Season 7 is Back: What to expect, stories to share, and more!

The Western industry is changing. Rodeo is growing. Agriculture is fighting for a voice. Western fashion, country music, ranching, and rural culture are showing up in mainstream conversations in a way we have not seen in years.

But behind it all are the real people. The athletes, ranchers, entrepreneurs, policy leaders, stock contractors, families, and communities who are all building what comes next. That is what THIS season of That Western Life is all about.

Welcome back to that Western Life - it feels a little bit surreal to be saying that again.

We started this podcast seven years ago, and it has now passed hundreds of thousands of downloads. For a long time, it was one of the main places that I got to sit down with people across the rodeo, ranching, agriculture, and Western world and ask the kind of questions that I was just genuinely curious about. This became a pathway for me to have conversations with people that I never thought I could get into the room with, who I could never have gotten their attention, and it created these great opportunities for me.

For the last three years, this podcast space has been a little bit quiet for me because of all the opportunities that this podcast has brought me personally. With that being said, though, I didn't get quiet in the industry. Over the last few years, I have been deep in the middle of rodeo marketing, sponsorship strategy, event production, Western media, leadership events, and brand storytelling.

I have gotten to work with rodeos, brands, committees, athletes, creatives, and industry leaders who have all been on my vision board for years. Most recently, I had the opportunity to be a part of the inaugural Cowgirl Leadership Summit in Arlington, Texas, as the event producer alongside the American Rodeo. And that experience just confirms something that I've been feeling for quite a long time. It's a conversation we've had on this podcast a number of times, and that's that the Western industry is changing.

That doesn't just mean that Western fashion is popular right now, or that rodeo is getting more attention, or that cowboy culture is showing up in mainstream places. I mean that the industry itself is becoming more professional, more visible, more connected, and as a result, more complicated. There are more jobs here than people realize. There are more stories here than the mainstream media understands. There are more business opportunities here than we have fully built a language around.

There are more people trying to figure out where they fit in the modern Western world than ever before, and that is why That Western Life is coming back. Season seven is going back to the classic format of the show, which is 50% rodeo and 50% everything else that makes up the Western way of life. That means agriculture, ranching, Western business, fashion, policy, media, pop culture, sponsorship, careers, and the people building this industry from the inside. If you follow me on my personal social media, you know I only post about homesteading and my horses and that's kind of my think tank creative where I test out different strategies.

This podcast has always been a home of everything that I'm learning, of the people that I'm meeting, and the events that I'm getting to be a part of. So we're bringing all of that back.

We're gonna talk to not only the people in the arena, but we're also going to talk to people behind the scenes, the people that are building companies, the people shaping brands, the people creating jobs, the people making policy, the people telling the stories, the people moving between agriculture, rodeo, fashion media, and mainstream culture at lightning speed.

This season, you're gonna hear from people like Jesse Jarvis, who was on episode sixty-three in twenty twenty one, who's the founder of Of the Wes,t about careers in the Western industry and why this space needed something bigger than word of mouth.

You're going to hear from a creative director and equestrian who's led major national creative work, such as work for Dunkin’ with Sabrina Carpenter, and about what creative direction could look like inside the Western industry as a horse girl herself. You're gonna hear from someone who has spent over eight years with an international agriculture corporation about building your career inside of agriculture, challenging yourself professionally, and finding your place, even if you didn't grow up with the full roadmap in front of you. You're also gonna hear from someone who's extremely young, working in agricultural policy in Washington, DC, about what it looks like to work in ag policy, how to use your voice and serve the industry from the inside of the Capitol. You're gonna hear from someone who leads sponsorships and partnerships for one of the biggest brands in the country about what real partnership looks like, what Western events need to understand about sponsorship, and how brands evaluate value in this space.

And this season's also for the rodeo fans. It's for the ranch kids, it's for the ag professionals, it's for Western creatives. It's for event committees, sponsors, young professionals, business owners, and anyone who loves this way of life but also wants to understand where it's going. That Western Life is still about the people, it's still about the stories, but this season we're also going to talk about the business, the strategy, the leadership, and the culture shaping the modern West. So if you've been listening for years, welcome back. And if you're new here, I'm really glad you found us.

Subscribe to That Western Life wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow along on our Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and the blog, because trust me, I test everything on here. And make sure you're signed up for the Wednesday newsletter. Each week, we'll be sharing the stories, conversations, and moments that are getting the most attention across the Western world. And we're gonna be looking at everything from advocacy to ranching to rodeo, of course, and to Western fashion and pop culture. So

They're all gonna be in there. We're also going to give you a preview of who's coming up next on the show. And from there, you can send us questions that you wanna have asked to them in the fan question section. So we're just getting started, even though it's year seven. We're just getting started. And I can't wait for you guys to see what we've got here. We've got a plethora of great field reporters, we've got a plethora of great guests, and I cannot wait to share that Western life with all of you.

Deep thoughts on the Rodeo Trail with your That Western Life podcast host, Katie Schrock, is that the Western industry isn't just having a moment, it's entering a new era.
Rodeo is growing, agriculture is changing, Western fashion is influencing mainstream culture, brands are investing, and young professionals are looking for a place to belong. And behind every arena, ranch, policy office, retail brand, and media platform, people are building the future of this industry. And that is why That Western Life is back on the rodeo trail.