Popular cowboy kicks off second season with a look into his life, family

Cord McCoy is a professional bull rider and a reality TV star. In fact, he’s one of the most recognizable cowboys in the world because of the two.

But there’s much more to McCoy, and fans will get to see that in the next episode of “The Ride with Cord McCoy,” a weekly series that showcases the world of ranching and the Western lifestyle that airs at 1 and 11 p.m. Eastern on RFD-TV.

The Monday, July 1, episode is the first of the new season and provides viewers with a look at the life of McCoy, a cowboy who grew up his family’s ranch in the southeastern Oklahoma community of Tupelo. The show features enhanced production and a sparkling display that will give fans more to enjoy when they watch the series.

“I guess we’re really explaining again who I am, and it gets more in the day of the life of Cord McCoy,” said McCoy, the youngest of five children born to Denny and Janet McCoy, joining brothers Justin, JoRay and Jet and sister Nikki Callison. “It’s neat to be able to showcase my family. Even though Jet and I got to do “The Amazing Race, I feel there are 20 more members of my family that would do the same things that we did.

“It’s pretty cool to have a show that will open the door and showcase where I come from.”

The meat of “The Ride” is in sharing the Western lifestyle and what is involved in carrying on centuries-old traditions, and there’s no better place to start than at the host’s home.

“We take you to acclaimed ranches and show you the secrets of true horsemanship as he works with highly regarded experts,” stated a profile from the show’s website, www.CowHorseProductions.com. “From working cattle to perfecting turnarounds, you will learn techniques from the best.”

McCoy knows those techniques and can expound upon them, but as the show’s host, he provides others to explain the intricacies that come with raising livestock. In the opening show of the season, he gets a little help from some members of his family that talk about what it’s like on their ranches.

“My family was very close,” Callison said during the show. “We worked together; we played together.”

It’s that closeness that shines so brightly in the first episode, but that’s the background that has guided Cord McCoy to any success he’s had. He’s a five-time world champion in the International Professional Rodeo Association, a 2005 bull riding qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and has qualified numerous times for the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough World Championships.

“We wanted to establish who Cord is and how he got to where he is now in this episode,” said Brad Zanin, owner of Cow Horse Productions and producer of “The Ride.”

McCoy and Jet – who is just 13 months older – were part of two seasons on the reality TV series “The Amazing Race,” a marathon of around-the-world travels in which the winning two-person team claims the $1 million prize. That series put the cowboys on the international map, but it also showed the world that there is more to being a cowboy than the stereotypes that have been portrayed. It all comes back to how the McCoys live their lives.

“I think my family has definitely kept us grounded,” Cord McCoy said. “It’s equal opportunity around the ranch; everybody has the opportunity to work. I think growing up in the Western way of life, you learn that no matter how much money you have, you can’t tell a horse that or, in my line of work, a bull. Bulls can’t read buckles, and they don’t care what you’ve done.

“I think livestock keeps me grounded as well. My family works hard. We all work together, and we all work for the same goals.”

That’s rather evident in the opening episode of the season, which showcases the McCoys working – it includes gathering calves with Jet and Cord’s wife, Sara, and show’s Cord being the first to mount a newly purchased colt, handling the bucks and moves from the green horse.

Even when the show airs, it’s still about family time.

“Every Monday, I get to go over with my family and enjoy the show we filmed,” Cord McCoy said. “We get to share that with the rest of the world. It’s pretty neat to be able to go watch where we’ve been and what we’re doing.”