Doer Spotlight: Everything Cowboy’s Ted Stovin

Turning a passion into your business is the dream for many. Ted Stovin’s passion is rodeo and bull riding. A former bull riding competitor and current owner and runner of the online cowboy news site Everything Cowboy, Ted has made the transition from player to commentator and rodeo event organizer.

Ted has a passion for a niche activity, which didn’t really have an online presence when Ted started his site four years ago. Now, he is arguably the biggest solo contributor to rodeo and bull riding news in the country. Having participated in the sport, Ted has easily made the transition.

Ted Stovin riding a bull Image Credit: Lyle Aspinall/Calgary Sun QMI Agency

“I started in rodeo as a contestant,” said Ted, “From there I’ve done everything from rake the barrels during the barrel racing, time the event, announce, play the music, set up the speakers, set up the arena, judge, run the chutes to open the gates. All these together have set me up to run an entire show as I do now. Without starting from the bottom I wouldn’t know or understand all the different working parts which I still don’t know completely.”

Hailing from Drayton Valley, Alberta, Ted has the western cowboy blood needed to invest his life in giving more prominence to the cowboy sport. Although he lives in Calgary now, his work takes him to one rodeo after the other.

Being passionate about your business is great, but Ted’s passion is not just for his business, but for the sport as a whole.

“My main goal since I started with rodeo and bull riding was to see our athletes on cereal boxes in my lifetime,” said Ted, “I want to see our sport get to the main stream as I think that’s where bull riding, and parts of rodeo can be with the proper direction and focus.”

States and provinces across North America host competitions and events for rodeo and bull riding. One of the most famous is currently happening right now in Ted’s city – the Calgary Stampede. Every year the greatest outdoor show on earth brings the sport to the main stage. Sites like Ted’s allow for people to follow the sport after the show has been taken down. For some people, they may think that the sport is a fun pastime kept alive by old guys on farms who don’t want to let go of the past. But if you really look at everything that goes on in the rodeo world, that is not the case.

“Our sport is at a crossroads,” states Ted, “We are split between those who think we are heritage and those who really think rodeo is a sport. For us to be successful and stay alive, we need to adapt as we are in the entertainment business at the simplest form.”

Ted has some lofty goals in regards to his sport and his company. He has come a long way since he started the site and he plans to take it a lot further. He keeps going because of his love of the sport and the people that have made it their life.

Name: Ted Stovin
Does: Everything Cowboy Inc.
Role: Owner/President
Day Job: Everything Cowboy Inc.
Location: Calgary, AB
Inspired by: Creating change in this sport to see it prosper long after my lifetime.

Find out more about Everything Cowboy Inc.
Website: Everything Cowboy Inc.
Twitter: @TedStovin
Facebook: Everything Cowboy Inc.

Image credit: The Calgary Stampede Ranch honoured (or whatever) Ted Stovin by naming their bull branded number 868, “Everything Cowboy.” Photo by Deanna Kristensen