J Storme Birdwell

hometown:

HAMSHIRE, TEXAS

Proffession: RANCHER

After returning home from Alabama, J Storme reconnected with her now husband Jacob, and the two got married in 2021. In July of 2022, the couple had their first baby, a little girl they named Jennings. Even with an infant daughter, J Storme continues to compete in local ropings and works full time for the family ranch. In the last year, she has devoted much of her energy to trying to save the family operation after her great-uncle passed away. J Storme says being a new mother has changed her priorities. Her focus is on saving the family ranch to be able to raise her daughter with the same lifestyle she had.

ROB: ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOMENTS FROM SEASON ONE WAS WHEN TRACE ASKED YOU WHO YOU WOULD LET GO FROM THE COMPETITION AND THE LOOK ON YOUR FACE WAS PRICELESS. ARE YOU COMING IN WITH A NEW FIRE THIS TIME? DID YOU PREPARE DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME AROUND?

J Storme: I want to be more vocal, but I still want to be me. I’m not a mean or aggressive person or even a cocky person but there are just certain things that I am. I would love to win, but it’s more important for me to be me and that’s why people liked me so much in the first season. And that’s what I told them I was like, “I’m not going to fake it. I’ll try to be more vocal and I’ll try to tell you what I think about people, but I’m not going to do it in an ugly way.” That’s just not who I am.

ROB: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO COME BACK FOR THIS SEASON?

J Storme: I like being a role model for girls. There are not a lot of women in our industry that girls can look up to and I want to help change that.

ROB: DO YOU HAVE PEOPLE COMING UP TO YOU THAT RECOGNIZE YOU FROM THE SHOW? WHAT IS THAT LIKE FOR YOU?

J Storme: It touches my heart, honestly. That’s probably the main thing that had me come back this time. You could ask my husband and my best friend. The weeks before I kept telling myself, “Why am I doing this?” I was worried about taking my baby this far and just so many other things, I was thinking I should just call them and tell them I wasn’t doing it anymore. But both my husband and my best friend Kirby, told me they were so shocked when I did this the first time because I was so shy back then. I’m still shy, but I was really shy back then. Nobody could believe I did it.

I had to remember I did this to make a difference, and to inspire people. So if nothing else, when I go there this time and I have one person that reaches out to me, one little girl, and they talk about how much of an inspiration I was, then that would be worth it. This is why I had to come back. I’m putting myself back out there for that. That’s how much it means to me. I feel like God made me who I am and gave me the gifts he gave me for a reason and I should show that.

ROB: WHAT IS THE KEY TO BEING A COWBOY?

J Storme: Being a cowboy means you have to be true to yourself. You have to be honest, it’s about integrity. In my situation, it’s the legacy. My family has a legacy built up already and I need to keep that legacy going. There are so few people left in the USA running cattle operations. It’s like 2% of the US population that feeds the rest of the population. So my family and I are included in that 2% of people that are feeding everyone else and it’s just so important to me to relay a positive message about what we do because so many people see it differently. They don’t know the truth about everything and a lot of people don’t know where their food comes from anymore.