Longtime cowboy: 'You ain’t gonna ever be rich ... but the trade-off is worth it'

After 75 years in the saddle, Holliday resident Wes O’Neal said there’s no other life he’d rather lead.

O’Neal, 88, is this year’s recipient of the Working Cowboy Award from the Ranching Heritage Association.

He got his start as a cowboy at age 13, breaking broncos on small ranches with his brother.

“I tell everybody that I left school in the 10th grade because it was getting in the way of my education,” Wes said. “But truly there wasn’t no money. Dad wasn’t working, and we had younger siblings at home."

He said the RO Ranch had the first big bunch of horses they broke.

While O’Neal may have started small, he spent most of his life working on the 520,000 acre Waggoner ranch. In 58 years there, he worked with both cattle and horses, including 25 years as horse foreman.

A.B. "Buck" Wharton III, former owner of the Waggoner Estate, said O’Neal made an impact everywhere he went.

“Wes has left a lasting impression on all of us and left his mark at the Waggoner Estate and everywhere else he has been,” Wharton said.

O’Neal still works days at the Four Sixes Ranch near Guthrie, Texas, showing the kind of dedication to the life that the RHA looks for in Working Cowboy Award recipients.

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O’Neal, however, said he does what he does for a very different reward.

“If you’re gonna cowboy, you accept the fact that you ain’t gonna ever be rich, and you’re gonna get injured from time to time, but the trade-off is worth it to me," he said.

"You’re not punching no 8- to-5-time clock, and you get to see some beautiful sunrises sitting on your horse. As Buster Welch says, ‘That’s the best seat in the house,’” O'Neal said.

His statement makes it easy to see why nominations for the award described him as “the real deal.”

Jim Bret Campbell, director of the National Ranching Heritage Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, explained the award and why he believes O’Neal is deserving of it.

“The Working Cowboy Award is designed to recognize an outstanding individual who makes his living primarily horseback caring for livestock on a daily basis,” Campbell said.

“Our Board of Directors believes it’s important to recognize those folks who brave all kinds of weather and conditions to ensure that work on a ranch gets done,” he said.

The award will be presented at the National Golden Spur Award dinner in Lubbock. To register for the dinner, call Vicki Quinn-Williams at 806-834-0469 or register online at ranchingheritage.org/spur.

Reservations are required by Oct. 6. Tickets are $95 for RHA members, $125 for nonmembers, $2,500 for a choice table for eight and $5,000 for a prime table for eight.

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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Local cowboy to be honored at national ranching awards