Gary Leffew

In Case You Don’t Know…

• 1970 World Champion Bull Rider
• 7X WNFR Qualifier
• WNFR Average Winner (rode 9 out of 10 bulls)
• Past PRCA Bull Riding Director
• 2002 PRCA Hall of Fame Inductee
• 30+ Years as a Professional Bull Riding Instructor
• First to utilize “Psycho Cybernetic” methods
• 13 Former Students have won a World Championship
• 2 Former Students have won a PBR World Finals
• Actor – over 200 commercials and various movies and TV series
• Stunt Coordinator/Project Coordinator
• Technical Advisor for various projects including the 2004 HBO series “Deadwood”; the 1994 movie “8 Seconds”; and the 2010 movie Jackass 3D; as well as music videos for iconic performers Katy Perry, John Mayer, and Korn.
• Host of the ONE AND ONLY Gary Leffew’s Bucking Ball ℠

Gary Leffew always has, and always will, march to the beat of his own drum. More than likely on some sort of drum he has developed himself! He’s never been afraid to pioneer new frontiers, blur societal boundaries, and “buck” the system (pun intended). He’s one of the few who has remained a driving force in the sport he loves – Bull Riding – beyond his retirement, after 20 years of competition.

From the time that Gary decided to make the leap, literally, from his motorcycle to a bull, at his very first rodeo when he was 19, he has been transforming not only his own way of thinking, performing, and competing; but also has been working to transform how bull rider athletes to this day achieve success.

In fact, Leffew was one of the first bull riders to encourage other riders to refer and think of themselves as Professional Athletes – not just “cowboys”. He happened upon rodeo during a time of social unrest in our nation. The Vietnam War was at the center of everyone’s mind. Rodeo was a different animal then. Traveling expenses were minimal. A motel room was a mere $6 a night and gasoline 29 cents a gallon. A guy could travel, compete, and run amuck without worrying too much about the “bottom line”. Then, life happened to Gary on a personal level. He married, had a child on the way, and he had to either ride and win – or make an early retirement and do something more profitable.  

Then – enter stage right – came a book entitled “Psycho-Cybernetics” by Maxwell Maltz; which, by Gary’s own words, “changed his life”.  And Gary wasn’t afraid to let others in on his secret. As you can imagine, the “typical” cowboy back then wasn’t open to terms like “Visualization”, “Zen-like State” and the “Mental Game”. He was the very first to approach competition in this manner. Learning to drown out negative opinion and gear his mind and thoughts to success became his mantra. It’s just been very recently that the PBR has finally joined the ranks with their “new” training camps utilizing visualization and mental training. Gary was ahead of the curve by over 40 years!

Success didn’t just happen for him. It took a transformation from the inside to achieve his 1970 World Championship. When he learned to mentally put himself into the Winner’s Circle, he went on to compete in 25 of America’s top-paying rodeos, placing in 24. He won the World Championship and the WNFR Average – riding 9 out of 10 bulls. He qualified for the WNFR  seven times and eventually earned his way into the PRCA Hall of Fame.

And from there, he went on – and on. In fact, Gary has coined the phrase “The road goes on forever, and the party never ends”.  He may be over 70, but it’s hard to tell by looking at him – and certainly hard to tell by listening to him. Mr. Leffew has made the most out of his hap-hazard choice back in the early ’60’s to get on a bull. Since then, he has branched into acting, advising, helping to produce, and stunt coordination for movies, commercials, and videos.

Leffew also was very involved in the 1994 movie “8 Seconds”, starring Luke Perry; and was assigned the task to teach Perry how to ride a bull. The only catch was that he had to teach him without actually putting the actor on a bull until all of the other film was “in the can” because they didn’t want Luke injured and unable to finish filming. So, Gary Leffew put his “Psycho-Cybernetic” methodology to the test and worked with the actor daily. Gary said that in actuality, actors have been the easiest to train/coach/teach; as they are trained mimics. After weeks of mental and visualization training, Luke Perry made his first ride on a live bull and made a beautiful, qualified ride! Bam!

In 1974, Gary produced the very first Gary Leffew’s Bucking Ball℠ during the Cow Palace Rodeo in Daly City, just on the outskirts of San Francisco, California. Over the years, his event became an integral part of the rodeo festivities and when my then-husband was rodeoing, our other rodeo friends and we would always make time to attend. It certainly was worth the motel room to stay and enjoy Gary Leffew’s Bucking Ball℠.

And so, as Gary says, “The road goes on forever, and the party never ends”. Gary Leffew’s Bucking Ball℠ tradition continues on at the Tropicana in Vegas during the 2017 WNFR. If you’re going to be anywhere near Las Vegas December 7-16, plan to stay at the Tropicana and go to the Annual Gary Leffew’s Bucking Ball℠. You just never know who you might see there. Past Balls have had appearances by celebrities such as actor/director Luke Perry, actor Stephen Baldwin, singer/songwriter Ryan Bingham, and many rodeo stars past and present.

The Tropicana features a Texas-style dance floor and national recording artist Scotty Alexander and the Texas Jamm Band, along with members of George Strait’s Ace In The Hole Band will be performing nightly. Enjoy free parking, and room rates starting at only $45!! Use the code SNFR17 when calling to reserve rooms at 800-634-4000. Admission is FREE for the best party in town!

For more information, go to:  https://cowboylifestylenetwork.com/category/nfr-vegas/ the CLN center for Vegas After Parties!

This is the story of how social media was utilized to help save 300 head of mother cows and their calves during the August 17 – September 3 onslaught of Hurricane Harvey.

It’s just one story amidst many – deep in the heart of Louisiana; from one of CLN’s own: Holly Foster Berry.

Holly Foster, now married to David Berry, has always been on my personal, “All-Time Favorite People” list. She is the 1987 CNFR (College National Finals Rodeo) Barrel Racing Champion; a past Wrangler Spokes Model;  featured in the barrel racing documentary “Turn and Burn”; and all-around ranch hand. And don’t let her good looks fool ya. Known by many as the “real deal” cowgirl, Holly said to me during my telephone interview, “Manual labor would solve a lot of problems; and I have no problems with manual labor!”

She and her husband raise and train bucking bulls, providing stock for schools, rodeos, and bull riding events. They are based out of Locust Grove, Oklahoma.

“She’s been the Wrangler National Model, and she has picked up Broncs when I needed help!”, stated David Berry.

Holly’s family is a part of the fourth generation to ranch and raise beef cattle in the Lake Charles, Louisiana area; so hurricanes and storms are not new to them. They always find a way to survive and move on. “Every area has their own glitch or problems”, stated Holly;  “Montana and the Northwest has wildfires; Oklahoma and Kansas have tornados; and we have flooding.”

During Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Army Core of Engineers utilized her parent’s main ranch as a place to park utility trucks and rescue vehicles. She said for days afterward, you could awake to find up to 300 head in their arena and corrals; as their place was left on high ground and considered to be a safe haven.

When they lost electricity during Rita, her mother, Dezere, took out all of the meat from the big deep freezers and cooked and cooked for volunteers and people in need in the surrounding area until it was all gone. Her favorite quote from her mother, Dezere (pronounced Desiree) Richard, is “What can I do for you, and what do ya wanna eat?”

Hurricane Harvey: A Recipe For Disaster

As Hurricane Harvey developed off the coastline and progressed on into land from August 17 through September 3, the Lake Charles, Louisiana area experienced a deluge of days and days of rain.

This time, the damage incurred wasn’t how the hurricane hit – it was the rain and how it came. Five days of over 19″ rain saturation, followed by 20″ of rain over the next 2-3 day period.

Since May of 1981, the local Parish made new roads on raised grounds; which served their area well – until Harvey.

The cattle, who have 4-500 acres of lower ground accompanied by 90 acres of higher hay ground, have always had these raised road areas to go to in times of flooding.

However, Parish politicians and management of these roads by people who have no first-hand knowledge of the area have led to the development of a new system of culverts and ditches by the raised roads that have not been properly cleaned since their installment. So when 20 inches fell over a period of 2-3 days on already saturated ground, these roads were put in peril.

Cows were calving in knee-deep mud, waiting for the world’s largest bathtub to drain. Holly felt helpless and trapped up in Locust Grove, Oklahoma – 10 hours away from her 77 year old mother and stepfather.

She could see disaster approaching, although the roads were still slightly above water. She was painfully aware of the culvert and drain ditch situation; and if the levee was to break, or water to rise over the levee, 300 mother cows and their calves would need to be moved. And she realized that Dezere and Lary would not ask for help.

So she turned to Facebook:

“Any of you who know them [Dezere and Lary] know that after nearly 8 decades of doing it themselves, they are not the best at asking for help. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THERE FOR THEM!!!! Your help and offers are amazing and we are all beyond grateful.” – Holly Foster Berry, August 29 Facebook Post.

The water rose above the levee – and friends and family jumped into action. “People started blowing up my Mom’s phone after my Facebook post”, exclaimed Holly. Portable pens were pulled in on trailers by tractors and set up.

The first draft of cattle, 60-70 head of calves, were gathered and vaccinated.  They were then loaded into trailers and pulled out by tractor to a point that was dry enough to then hook onto pickup trucks.

The later drafts of cows that were pulled out had to swim one to two miles to get to the point where they could be pulled out by trailer loads behind a tractor.

It was a slow and laborious process; one that included sharing the flood waters with gators, snakes, and snapping turtles.

Mosquitoes were so thick on the cattle, that color of the cows and calves could not be discerned. The cowboys who were working feverishly to gather them were also covered; their pant legs black with the disease-carrying pests.

“THANK YOU to everyone who has offered their services to my mom and stepdad, Lary and Dezere Richard, in getting their cattle safe in the flooding. The cattle were doing OK until the water came over the top of the levee. The roads they were safe on, went under water then. The whole herd (about 300 head) followed the tractor about a 1/4 mile down flooded roads to part of one pasture that is still above water. The cattle will stay there tonight and they will figure out what to do in the morning with them, depending on the rain they get tonight (another 5-10″ on top of the previous 19″.) THEY MAY STILL NEED YOUR HELP TOMORROW.” – Holly Foster Berry, August 29 Facebook Post.

Then followed a frantic search, via Facebook, for pasture. At the last minute – literally – a family with adequate, dry pasture was found. “In our case, this [the pasture], was the best case scenario”, stated Holly. These people, new land owners, had decided they were going to be unable to harvest the hay from their acquisition themselves. When asked how long her folks could keep their cattle on the ground, they replied, “As long as you need it”. Holly figures that this will be the start of a long and rewarding business relationship between Dezere, Lary, and these wonderful land owners.

Accepting help was hard for her parents. Feeling out of control, even harder for Holly’s mother. Dezere is a person who was accustomed to being help to others, not helped by others. However, she settled some when she was able to cook for those gathering and hauling, and then she went out to operate one of the tractors.

“She was on a tractor for several miles yesterday going down flooded roads to check on her cows. She has help, but I guess we have to be content knowing she will probably die doing what she loves one day. 77 and not slowing down.” – Holly Foster Berry, September 2 Facebook Post.

“Please take a moment to pray for everyone’s state of mind who is in the water and dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey – in cities and on ranches. Mental and physical exhaustion makes it easier to let the negatives grow to overwhelming. If you can’t directly help them today, help your neighbor, help the person in line in front of you, pray for the kid who just cut you off in traffic…If you don’t know how or why to pray, now is the best time to start. Your opinion doesn’t matter. Your prayers do. Thanks in advance.” – Holly Foster Berry, August 31 Facebook Post

Holly’s family endured not only Harvey; but also a funeral for her step-sister’s husband within the same time period. So – they moved cattle one day, and attended the service on the next. However, they all share the attitude that “there are worse things to be in life than me”. After getting the cattle settled into their new pasture, her family started baling hay right away.

“My family, like many, had a tough time – but nobody had a heart attack, and all the cattle got moved. But there are many people who lost all. Established homes. Brick homes, barns. All gone.”, she sadly related to me. The flooding was exacerbated by “politicians and others who drive their Prius’ on concrete; not by people who have a first-hand knowledge of the land or animals.”, she explained – referring to the system of culverts and ditches that had not been properly maintained over a period of years.

Sad – but true. One simply cannot have an understanding of these issues from a seat in an office. The people who know and understand how to survive and maintain the land are those who live and breathe their surroundings – like Holly Foster Berry’s family – the fourth generation to work the land in Louisiana. Their lives and livelihood depends upon it.