How did you get into the western industry? Were you born into this lifestyle or were you one of the little girls who never stopped talking about horses, so your parents caved and put you in riding lessons hoping it would just be a phase? Were you the kid who was always heckled for riding daddy’s money or were you the kid cleaning stalls to cover entry fees? Hannah Beth Tems was the epitome of a first generation cowgirl. The underdog in rodeo, the one without the nice horse, coach or rig. Luckily, she was so young she said she was riddled with blind optimism. “I remember going to junior rodeos and being in last place and just being happy to see my name on the paper.” It wasn’t just that optimism that kept her afloat – even though her parents didn’t have the rodeo blood running through their veins, they always ensured that this wasn’t a dream HB was chasing on her own. HB said that her parents always told her that she was meant for something really big (if you ask her, she has the best parents in the world…the only parents I would put them second behind personally are my own, but for people to raise someone as special as HB they must be pretty dang amazing). I asked Hannah how she feels about being a first generation cowgirl now and she said that now to her, it’s more rewarding than anything, but when you’re in that moment starting from zero it feels impossible. The struggles of being the first person to do it are…real. You never realize how little you know. How do you know if your horse is a dink or not? How do you know if a coach has your best interest in mind? If your parents can answer those questions because they’ve lived it you’re better off, but even still, she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Let’s put this whole first gen thing into perspective. How many times, subconsciously or not, have you judged someone based on their horse, rig or the way they ride? We talked a lot about how quick we are to look down on the first generations or just others in general. HB talked about how now, at this age and the amount of anxiety that she gets, she could never do what she did when she was younger. She said that for her, growing up when people realized she was first generation they were either nice to her or just wouldn’t talk to her because they felt bad for her. And then of course when she started to get good at it she started to get looked down on. HB said, “when you start to get good at something, you start losing people. Jealousy brings out the worst in others.” I seriously couldn’t agree more. Everyone wants to be there to take credit on the come up, but once you surpass them, it’s all about doing whatever it takes to put you back down where you started – beneath them.
Hearing pieces of HB’s story I can’t help but think about how discouraging certain scenarios would’ve been. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve dealt with my fair share of discouraging, but what HB did with the fuel to that fire is something I could’ve never done. In 2014, when Hannah Beth was sixteen years old, Dare To Be A Cowboy was born. At first, the cover story that had the industry in awe was that a sixteen year old started a non-profit and HB hated that they made the story more about her than the mission. “I felt like I wasn’t worthy of being the center of it, the imposter syndrome was so real.” But over the years HB has realized how relatable her story makes her to the kids the non profit is impacting and that tapping into that proves to these kids and their families that being first generation may be hard, but it’s possible and that with Dare To Be A Cowboy, they won’t be alone. So what exactly is Dare To Be A Cowboy? On their website DTBAC describes themselves as “the driving force behind the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls. By providing equipment, instruction and financial support, youth will be introduced to the western lifestyle. DTBAC will aid those who desire to learn, experience and participate in the culture, but do not have the means to get their dreams off the ground.” Basically, it’s the vessel of hope for every kid who wants to be apart of the western industry and the answer to a lot of parent’s prayers.
So how exactly does Dare To Be Cowboy do that? HB broke it down for me into three categories. One is “Cowboy Kids Days.” This is something that DTBAC started in 2020 where they set up booths at pro rodeos and events equipped with mini barrels, poles and stick horses, roping dummies and ropes and even a bucking dummy so the kids get a taste of what the rodeo events feel like. HB and her fiance Keegan also have mini farm animals that they will bring to these events including Enchilada the mini donkey, Kevin the goat, Groot the pig and Ferdinand the mini bull. While these animals may just seem like a fun opportunity for kids to get to interact with a petting zoo, the animals are used for educational purposes are well and kids are taught about animal husbandry and the millions of off the wall questions that kids love to ask are finally answered. HB says that her motto is “getting to the kids before PETA does” and by giving them a real life experience with not only the animals, but the owner of the animals they can get a better understanding as to why we do the things we do in our industry. The second way that DTBAC gets involved is through “Rodeo Experiences.” So far DTBAC has done these at both the Reno Rodeo and the NFR and both have given kids the opportunity to go behind the scenes, meet the cowboys and cowgirls, see the stock and just experience the energy of a pro rodeo. The final category is their monthly grants. The really cool thing about these is that any kid can be nominated for these whether they’re in the industry already or trying to get involved. Every month, one kid from the submissions list is selected to receive a monthly grant to help them out, whether the money is for saddles and tack, clinics, entry fees or anything else you can imagine. As we all know, this industry is so expensive and this is a way that they help alleviate some of that financial burden for the kids in the industry. HB said that the only downside to this is that currently they’re only able to help one kid a month, so a lot of times kids have to be patient to reap the benefits of this program. Unfortunately there are times when they apply on short notice for a clinic or an event and sometimes those opportunities to help are missed, but they try to get to everyone as quickly as they can.
Obviously the mission encompasses so much more than just those three categories and the list of ways that they want to benefit these kids is endless. Luckily for HB, DTBAC is a family affair. Her dad runs the merch, her fiance Keeg is in charge of monthly grants, her brother helps with events, her grandma is the bookkeeper and her mom does literally anything and everything. In addition to that they have a board that fills in the gaps and keeps this non-profit running. So I’m sure the softhearted horse kid in all of y’all is wondering, how can I get involved? Well today is your lucky day because HB would love the extra hands and hearts in this. One way you can get involved is by filling out the volunteer application on the website. HB said that her main priority with volunteers is first and foremost having people on board that genuinely want to help, but also she is passionate about utilizing people’s strengths to better the organization. She described this as “where the magic happens” because the opportunities for the non-profit are endless and there aren’t any limits to how people can help. HB said there’s power to having volunteers that are dedicated to the mission and this isn’t something that she wants to keep constricted to just one area. In fact, HB has dreams to take DTBAC global. Another way that you can help is through donations and while monetary donations are always appreciated, they also take donations for tack, boots, clothes and anything else it takes to live this dream and the coolest part is DTBAC covers your shipping to send the products to them so it doesn’t cost you a dime to clean our your tack room or closet. DTBAC also just finished a refresh and rebranding for their merchandise, so if being a walking billboard is your thing, look out for new merch to launch in March.
Now the golden question, or my favorite one to ask at least. Where is DTBAC headed and what do the goals look like? Eventually Hannah’s dream is to have her own facility that kids can come to for lessons, events, clinics, etc. She also wants to be the biggest non-profit within the PRCA and work with the Make A Wish Foundation. Her dream is for DTBAC to be the reason behind someone’s success story and for maybe one day, a DTBAC kid to become a world champion. I think this is all something we can get behind.
I’m sure you’ve thought about this by now, but DTBAC isn’t all unicorns and rainbows and I talked to HB a lot about what the struggles have been running this non-profit. HB said that expansion is a huge challenge and contrary to what you might think, DTBAC doesn’t accept discounts from anyone. Hannah’s learned that people will use discounts against you and she feels like if she’s not paying people for their best work, she can’t expect them to give her that. This has also played into Hannah’s personal life. When she started she swore up and down that she would never make a dollar off of DTBAC, but she feels like it’s been a catch twenty-two because it’s been difficult to make something that you’re not getting paid to do your full priority. After a lot of contemplation, she said that by thinking that way she was making herself blind to what running a non-profit meant and that paying herself to make this dream her top priority shouldn’t be a bad thing. Another thing that we talked a lot about is this industry as a whole and how difficult it is to work in this industry, let alone run a non-profit. There is a lot of ego in our industry and it’s not fair to expect everyone to be an expert. She said that growing up she always thought that the only way you could be successful in this industry was by being a professional cowgirl trying to make it to the NFR, but now she’s learned that you don’t have to fit the mold in this industry to be happy. She hopes that DTBAC can help kids see that they don’t have to have the nice horse or rig to find happiness here.
Horses are the whole reason why HB is who she is today and because of that she has made it her life’s work to give that opportunity to other kids. If there’s one thing about HB, she’s a hustler and having multiple streams of income has always been the name of the game for her. Outside of DTBAC, she is also successful on social media, has a podcast, barrel races and gives lessons to kids in her area all while still studying business management and administration in pursuit of her bachelor’s degree. Clearly, she has a lot on her plate. When I hear the phrase “salt of the Earth” HB is one of the first people that comes to mind. Over the past couple of years she has become one of my best friends, biggest cheerleaders and voice of reason and knowing that she is the person behind the Dare To Be A Cowboy mission fills me with so much joy. To know HB is to love her and I hope that this blog post gave you a little bit of insight on one of my favorite people to love. If you’re interested in being a part of the DTBAC mission I hope that this gives you the courage to reach out and be apart of something that is so much bigger than all of us.
Until next time,
xoxo, lex
Cowgal Chatter 