Stephen Montoya
From the left, Alan Schutts, Nolan Ryan, and Tom Johnson talk about their experience in the livestock industry at a benefit dinner for the Fort Worth Herd.
He’s been lauded as the best major-league baseball pitcher to ever put on a glove, but if Nolan Ryan had his druthers, he would’ve preferred to stay on the back of a horse.
In fact, Ryan, who was the guest of honor at Wednesday’s Friends of the Fort Worth Herd benefit dinner at Billy Bob’s Texas, told attendees that he played baseball to help fund his first passion — ranching.
“From a young age, I became interested in ranching, and it has always been close to my heart,” Ryan said. “I’ve been involved with this industry for over 45 years. I knew once I was out of it as a kid, I would someday get back into it.
“Baseball was what allowed me to do this.”
Ryan, nicknamed “The Ryan Express” during much of his 27-year playing career, participated in a roundtable Q&A titled “Cowboy Conversations.” The event was part of the annual fundraising dinner that benefits the Friends of the Fort Worth Herd, a nonprofit organization that acts as the main support system for the Fort Worth Herd.
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past going-on 50 years, Ryan is the only major-league baseball pitcher in history to throw seven no-hitters. In his almost three decades as a player, Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and the Texas Rangers. Ryan is also known for striking out more than 5,000 hitters, a record that remains untouched. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame in 1999.
In 2008 Ryan became team president for the Texas Rangers. He was also a member of the ownership group that purchased the Rangers in 2010. In 2011 he became the CEO of the Rangers, a title he gave up two years later.
Currently, Ryan occupies his time living the cowboy life on his 18,000-acre ranch near Three Rivers in South Texas. Behind the scenes, Ryan says he always had a passion for ranching.
Ryan was joined by his longtime friend Alan Schutts, a former cutting horse champion and honorary vice president of the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. Tom Johnson, a cattle rancher and lifelong friend of the two legends was picked to moderate the event.
As the three men talked about everything from their favorite horses to what Johnson called “wrecks” (injuries sustained while cowboying), Ryan expressed his opinion on his own beef products, which have been on store shelves for two decades.
In fact, the main dish for this dinner was made with Nolan Ryan Beef. Attendees had a chance to taste his passion while hearing what an important role this industry played in his life.
“I think the quality of the product that we're producing today is better than it's ever been,” Ryan said. “As with many things in my life, I have high standards so when something isn't consistently great, I'll spend the time and energy to make it that way.”
Stephen Montoya
Of course, they were all there to help the Fort Worth Herd, which relies on fundraising events like this to help the organization provide capital for horses, feed, tack, veterinary care, and so much more, which, as you can imagine, costs a pretty penny.
Kristin Jaworski, trail boss and director of the Fort Worth Herd, said The Herd currently drives 17 longhorn steers twice a day seven days a week. That number isn’t arbitrary, either. It represents each decade Fort Worth has been a city. To top that off, The Herd also maintains between 12 to 15 horses that run along the steers for every drive.
“As you can imagine, running at this same consistency daily with all of the livestock involved can be pricey to maintain,” said Jaworski, who has been part of The Herd for 21 years.
In addition to the livestock, The Herd also maintains 20–22 employees, from barn attendants, to drovers, and even livestock directors. The employees of The Herd are paid through the city of Fort Worth’s culture and tourism fund.
“It truly takes a big team to put on a seven-day a week program,” she says.
The Fort Worth Herd began doing its drives in 1999 and is still the only twice daily cattle drive in the world. This ode to Cowtown is also considered the No. 1 attraction in Fort Worth and among the most visited in the Lone Star State.
