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Lush fescue surround the nearly 800 to 1,000 cattle housed at Hickory Hill.
Ike Cox, left, and Jeff Smith, with their families, share a special friendship in their partnership.
USTRC’s Reputation For High Quality Productions Comes From Producers Like Jeff Smith And Ike Cox here have been some memorable teams in the sport of team roping . . . some so well-known and liked that when they stop roping together, fans call it getting “a divorce.” Names like Speed and Rich, Jake and Clay, Matt and Allen come to mind. But how about Jeff and Ike? Now, before your start thumbing through old NFR programs or checking out the USTRC Open Tour list, just know that you’ll not find the names “Jeff and Ike,” listed anywhere, but do know that if it weren’t for this great team, the sport of team roping, at least in the past decade or so, wouldn’t be where it is today. Ike Cox, a lifelong citizen of Bethany, Missouri, and Jeff Smith, of Hutchinson, Kansas, are partners in C Bar S Cattle Company, the largest single contractor of Corriente cattle in the United States . . . probably the Western Hemisphere, and their attention to detail in providing conditioned cattle help make USTRC team ropings the best in the nation. While neither in the partnership can nail down the exact year they decided to get together, both can tell you that it’s been a good partnership, not only financially, but also personally.
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26 / JUNE 2011
“I’ve got three partnerships going on right now, with a guy who farms with me, one guy who is in feed and grain elevator with me and another with Jeff, and I’ve been real lucky because they’re all going good,” says Ike. “We’re very close,” Jeff agrees. And that closeness extends to both families, as Jeff’s brother Greg serves as a flagger, while Greg’s wife Michelle handles much of the marketing, travel and planning. Ike’s daughter Monica serves as a secretary while wife Mary keeps the books straight for all the ropings and the businesses. Other family members also play a role in the operation. Whether it’s over a freshly grilled Corriente steak (surprisingly lean and good) or standing in the arena, the ease with which Jeff and Ike work is evident. For Ike, getting into the cattle contracting business was in a word . . . an “evolution.” The family business was, and still is, the local feed mill and grain elevator, but Ike says like many in his generation, growing up to be a cowboy was always a dream. “My generation didn’t have Wii’s and iPods,” he says. “We had Roy Rogers on our lunch boxes and we wanted to grow up to be cowboys. So, when some guys started