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- [00:02]
Podcast Host
We'd like to take a minute to acknowledge the businesses and operations that have sponsored our independent episodes. Now, if you're not into the Beefmaster breed, then you will be after you check out the Beefmaster Revolution Sale. TBR is hosting their fifth volume on October 5th. They've built a reputation to bring their breed the best operations and host a combined sale that allows you to purchase not only live lots, but also semen and embryo opportunities. TBR consignors had six of the 12 in the Grand Drive at the 2025 JBBA National show, and they're even more excited to see what the future holds. Make sure to check out their Facebook page. The Beefmaster Revolution Stale to stay up to date as time gets closer, but if Beefmasters aren't your niche, Charlize might intrigue you and ECP Cattle Company is one of the most significant upcoming operations. ECP Cattle is a purebred Charolais and commercial Sim Angus outfit in Northeast Oklahoma. Located in Adair, 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, ECP cattle is owned by Ethan Propp and his family and it's a fifth generation cattle operation. The purebred Charolais segment originated in 2015. Ethan and his family specialize in selling commercial and seed stock bulls, show heifer prospects, replacement females, semen and embryos. Sales are made privately, but also through online sales. Promotional and AI sires include the 2022 South Dakota State Fair Supreme Champion Bull DPC Copy 7 CET and the 2022 National Championship Charle Bull 3 Aces Crushing Hearts G879. Please reach out to Ethan at 918-864-6567 for more information on their program. Semen Sales and Sell Cattle now if you're looking for a business that contributes to your feed and supplement needs, then look no further. A and B Livestock Supply is located in Caldwell, Texas, ran by Brad and Elisa Hairston, and they've built a brand known to help the youth of the show industry in any and all species. They can ship just about anywhere and they'd love to talk to you on how they can help your livestock needs. Reach out to Brad at 512-760-6161 or Alicia at 979-571-2914 with any questions at all.
- [02:21]
Luke
All right guys, this is another independent episode. We've done one already, but I I couldn't help but not get Mr. Reese Tassen on.
- [02:30]
Reese Tassen
Now.
- [02:30]
Luke
It's a little of a weird and odd story. I met him in Mercedes, Texas, which is like way, way, way, way Way South Texas, probably deeper than I've ever been before. And I met him at a Beefmaster show. Worked for him for what, two, three days, and then after that. Me and Reese have been pretty close friends since then.
- [02:48]
Reese Tassen
Winnie?
- [02:49]
Luke
No, Winnie.
- [02:49]
Reese Tassen
Winnie, Texas. We weren't that far south.
- [02:52]
Luke
Okay, okay.
- [02:53]
Wesson
Yeah, stuff. Right. Weston.
- [02:54]
Luke
Sorry. It was Winnie, Texas.
- [02:56]
Reese Tassen
Okay.
- [02:56]
Luke
Anyway, since then, I've gotten to know Reese very well. I've worked for him quite a bit. So is Luke. And so with all this said, I think it'd be unjust for me not to get Reese on. He's influenced me in quite a few ways, and I very much look up to him and his knowledge in the industry. Now, granted, he shows Beefmasters. I ain't got nothing against Beefmasters, but it ain't as good as the ABC American show steers. Anyway. Reese, I'd like you to introduce yourself so everyone get to know you a little bit. Luke, give us an update and we'll roll on with questions from there.
- [03:28]
Reese Tassen
Oh, thank you all for having me on. Yeah, like I said, I met Wesson not too long ago down a Winnie at one of our BPG point shows, and him came and worked for us and, well, we had a good weekend. So I said he's good enough luck to have around once while I have him back. But, no, I appreciate y' all having me on. We've been, you know, raising and showing Beefmasters since I was nine years old. So I guess in about 18 years now we've been in it, you know, and definitely more serious the last, you know, probably five to seven years. This is what I do full time. I sell show cattle for a living. It's not always easy. So, I mean, I'm fully immersed in. This is what I'm passionate about. This is what gets me out of bed every morning. I mean, I live and breathe this stuff probably too much. Like, I. I have no life. This is what I do. So. But I'm obsessed with it, and I've met a lot of great people like you two fine fellas I'm talking to right now, so. But yeah, no, I'm glad to be on ready to. I've been looking forward to it, so.
- [04:35]
Luke
That's right. That's right.
- [04:36]
Wesson
Oh, yeah. So now kind of getting started into everything. What initially kind of got you into the Beefmaster breed in itself and what kind of made you stick with it? Was it anything being down south from. From the boot of Louisiana and sticking with the beef matches, just the heat and everything, or kind of what got y' all interested in that breed to begin with.
- [04:55]
Reese Tassen
Well, I wish I had a cool story. I'll be honest with you. Whenever I was nine, I was. Yeah, fourth grade. I was nine years old. My parents were, you know, trying to get me into the 4H deal and stuff. And there were some other kids who had older siblings that, you know, showed cattle and stuff. And they just started asking some families, you know, near us. I mean, my parents, they grew up, you know, and Metairie, out of around New Orleans, Louisiana. They knew nothing about cattle at all. I mean, nothing. So they were just asking, you know, some other parents that had kids, 4H and FA and stuff. And they were like, guys, you should show beefmasters. Like, they don't have any hair. It's easy. It's easier. Of the breeds. You know, at the time, this is, you know, 18 years ago now. Y' all should try Beefmasters. And we. My dad looked. I think it was maybe the market Bulletin or something in the. Okay, the newspaper. I mean, this is how far back we're going. It was something in the newspaper. And he found a Beefmaster breeder by the name of Kendall McKenzie. He lived, you know, probably like 45 minutes an hour away from us. We bought my first Beefmaster heifer for a thousand dollars. And her name was Showgirl. Yeah, we were one of those people. We were one of those people. And we got her and we had her home. And at the. The second day we had her, she got out and she ran away. Like, she disappeared. She ran away. So, I mean, we did not have the most luxurious start into this. If you think of, like, don't know anything. The people you, you know, hey, like, maybe they shouldn't have show cattle. We were those people, like 100%. She ran away. A few days later, she came back. Some, you know, friends that we had at the time, they helped us, you know, kind of get her broke and get started and stuff. So, I mean, we had the bottom of the bottom, worst experience as a start out. So we did. I would love to say my parents grew up having beefmasters. And we, we went after them for their fertility and docility and, and we love the, the structure and the muscle that they put in the cattle, but it's nothing like that. So it was, it was just look at the drill. A little bit of dumb luck, a little bit of ignorance, and probably a whole lot of stupidity at the time led us to the Beefmaster Breeze.
- [07:15]
Luke
That is awesome.
- [07:16]
Reese Tassen
Yeah.
- [07:19]
Luke
So with all this said, what was probably one of the biggest struggles when building all of this up to the size it is now. And then, obviously, that comes with trials and tribulations. So how did you overcome those?
- [07:32]
Reese Tassen
I'd say probably the biggest struggle, you know, starting out, it's just lack of knowledge. I mean, just not not knowing. I mean, I know it sounds kind of simple to say, but just not knowing. Not knowing what to breed to what to feed, I mean, how to set up stall panels, anything. I mean, we were a blank canvas, you know. And then, you know, starting out, we kind of figured it out a little bit. You know, we. We got, you know, some animals that were a little bit better, and then we got some that were a little bit better. And then, you know, when we're still kind of doing it wrong, you know, not breeding the right things, not feeding the right things. Heck, I still don't think I feed the right things. I learned something new every day. Every year I look back on a set of calves, like, man, I wish I would have fed that one this way and done this a little bit differently. But no, just a lack of knowledge and not knowing, you know. And then, you know, we had good breeders like Steve Emmons. He's been a big part, you know, of my success. He's taught me a lot, you know, not only about, you know, breeding and pedigrees and, you know, what bulls use on what cows, but he taught me a lot. And he probably doesn't know this, but about the business side of things, you know, as far as. Whenever I started transitioning and doing this for a living, you know, and trying to sell these cattle to make money and, you know, to, you know, make them work for me, you know, I've sat back and, you know, watched a lot of what he's done, and I've learned a lot of the business side of things. You know, he pro. He probably doesn't even realize that, but, you know, people like him, other breeders that we've, you know, bought cattle from, you know, and it would go without saying, you know, I learned a lot from Lady Ellis. I did. I mean, we bought our first, you know, real good one, I would say, from him was the Elizabeth cow that we still use to this day. And whenever I went to, you know, their place, I mean, it was like a high opening experience. I was like, okay, I'm doing a lot of things, not like they're doing, you know, and they're having success and I'm not, so maybe we need to change things up. So just that weekend, going there and seeing the way, you know, they did things the way, you know, they fed cattle, the way they handled things, you know, and look, I've learned, you know, different things and changed things up over the years. Obviously, that was back in 2017, 2018, I want to say, so that we got her, and she was a game changer, you know, I'm gonna say, leading up to. To getting her, you know, I had kind of taken a step back from the cattle thing. I would. You know, I thought I was gonna be a diesel mechanic. What? Diesel mechanic. School realized, hey, I don't really like working on things. Yeah. So I went to work for. You know, I stepped back from the show cattle thing. We kind of just had whatever bull we had breeding the cattle, and it kind of just. We just had things that were not very good. I'll tell you. Kind of the turning point for us. We had always gone, you know, we lived in Louisiana, and we had won the state beefmaster show a lot. That at the time, that was like our big show. We'd go to, you know, at the end of the year, and we'd win the breed, or we'd be reserved. We would always do well. And I had kind of taken a step back from it, and I brought my sister. Both my sisters and I hadn't really, like, been in it as much. And we went. And I remember we didn't win a single class. Like, we just had a horrible show, and we deserved to not win a single thing that year. This is probably 2016, 2017 around. Somewhere around that time. And I was like, okay, well, we need to. When you make some changes, you know. And at that point, I was like. I told them, I said, I don't know what's gonna happen. I said, but I promise you, we will never come to the state show and not win a class again. Not. Not while they're showing, at least. I said, I'm gonna make sure this never happens again. So we went and we sold. I think we had probably 40 or 50 head at the time, you know, past show heifers and stuff. And we sold pretty much everything. I mean, we sold down to dang near nothing. And then. Except, you know, a few that we kept and we bought Elizabeth, and we kind of just rebuilt from there, and, you know, it's been up and down along the way. But she was definitely the turning point for us. She's given us the Clarice heifer, and she's giving us playing with fire and all the. Everything we're showing right now is either a daughter, granddaughter, son, grandson of her, and some Type of way. It all comes from her. So, yeah, going back to your original. Quite. I know I kind of weaved a little bit there, kind of went off. But going back to your original question, but just the lack of knowledge, you know, just not. Not knowing, you know, And I look back at things we did, and I'm like, wow, I can't believe we used to do that. We were idiots back then. But, yeah, just a lack of knowledge, you know, that's the main thing, you know, I could say. And I mean, heck, money, more money is always nice, you know, I mean.
- [12:21]
Luke
Money keeps the world going around.
- [12:23]
Reese Tassen
Yeah. Lack of knowledge. You know, there were some tough times, you know, in there. You know, we first started out, you know, and thankfully, you know, we've gotten out of that. You know, things are a lot better and different now. But I'm thankful for all the struggles and setbacks and all that, because, I mean, you never learn, you never evolve and just win and win and win and all the time, you know, you'll have bad habits that you'll keep doing, and when you win, win, win all the time, I feel like you get lazy and you kind of step back and you're not as hungry, you know, and you. You fail to learn. So the setbacks, I think, are the biggest, and, I mean, I know they suck, but those big losses, those big disappointments, I think are the biggest blessings. You just don't realize it at the time. Absolutely. The.
- [13:13]
Wesson
The big mistakes and problems he has end up with you learning the most from.
- [13:16]
Reese Tassen
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
- [13:19]
Wesson
Now that you kind of. We all know kind of how you gotten started and got into it and got towards the top. I mean, nowadays, y' all no doubt have been one of the huge influences in the Beefmaster breed kind of as a whole, in itself, more so advancing, like, their show, ring presence in terms of the look and balance and stuff like that. So, like, I mean, that's nothing you can really change in one generation in its own. So how did y' all slowly kind of build up to kind of where things are now?
- [13:43]
Reese Tassen
Well, you know, at the time, like I said, there was, you know, certain cattle that were winning. And I was like, okay, our cattle do not look like that. We need to figure out whatever we need to do, whatever bulls are producing, those females, whatever they're feeding, whatever they're breeding, we need to do it to make ours look like that. And it. And I always tell everybody the Beefmaster breed is. And not taking anything away from other breeds, in my opinion, it's one of the harder ones to just raise that, like, one that goes and it'll just win all the time. Because in our breed, there's so many different type and kinds of cattle that are elite ones. Like, you could have one that's a little more traditional, a little stouter made. Maybe she's not rocket ship fronted, but she's just real good and put together everywhere. And she. She's a good one. She's an elite one. And then you have, you know, some like. Like Clarice, she's out there. Long neck, big legs, you know, might be a little extreme for some guys, but, you know, for, like, me and for probably guys that, like, you know, the younger generation, like, y', all, y' all probably gravitate more towards those kind, you know, so it's. It's always difficult, but pretty much just seeing what was winning and just adjusting our breeding program to that, you know, and trying to, you know, keep up with the trends. But at the same time, you got to know when to ignore the trends and just breed what you like a little bit, you know, I like cattle that are. I. And I know. It's. This is my saying. I like ones that make you stop and stare. Like, that make you. It's a good way to put it. I like ones that make you stop and stare. And that. That may not always be right. That may not be what everybody agrees with, but I like it when. I feel like when you're sorting a show, you're gonna see a lot of cattle throughout the day. It is so much easier. Whenever you've got one that comes in, you're like, okay, the water just got a little deeper.
- [15:33]
Wesson
What is that?
- [15:34]
Reese Tassen
What's that one? Where's she from? You know, good heifers are like good women. They will make you stop, and you're gonna remember. You're gonna remember them. You know, that. That's the kind that I like. I like, you know, long front ends, you know, good level, hip. But here's the thing that I prioritize the most. They got to be sound. They got to be good structured. I like a good, sexy back leg in one. You know, I. I. And I kind of stole this from Brent Cromwell. He would. He would always post this on Snapchat whenever, you know, he had a steer that reserved Houston, I think, two years ago, it's a black steer. He remember, he posted the Snapchat store. I'll never forget it. He said, you got to have a big back leg to win a big show, and you got to have a Big back to win a big show. And I was like, I love that I couldn't there, you know, there's something about, you know, one that's good fronted, you know, made right level hips, you know, has a nice silhouette. But you've got one that has a fat, sexy, nice design back leg on her that just goes a long way. Oh, yeah. I'm huge on structure. I like to be able to move well. It grinds my gears. Whenever I see ones that can't get out and move, don't handle their spine well, go out there and win. Because I'm like, ah, I know those aren't gonna hold up in the pasture. You know, I like ones that are sound structured, you know, and they're females, they don't have to be the stoutest thing in the world. They gotta be stout enough, you know, they gotta be stout enough. You know, said that there's always ways you could change them. But I like them to look like females, to be sound and functional. I like some foot size and bone and that. That's just kind of what I've always liked, you know, that's not everybody's cup of tea, but I think it's a lot of people's cup of tea. Even whenever it's not there.
- [17:22]
Wesson
Yeah.
- [17:23]
Reese Tassen
Yeah. Even whenever it's not.
- [17:25]
Luke
Okay.
- [17:26]
Reese Tassen
It's not their cup of tea. They want to. They want a sound structured, big legged one with a neck. You know, they might not admit it, but deep down they want that.
- [17:38]
Luke
For sure. Absolutely. So you're talking about ring presence, stop and stare, all this nonsense. Anyway, what genetics did you all seek out and, and how did you build connections to have opportunities to get those genetics? I mean, you'd mentioned going to Ellis's, and I'm sure there's many more as well. I just want to hear how you went about that process of growing and building connections to have the opportunity to get these genetics.
- [18:06]
Reese Tassen
Well, like I said, you know, a lot of those breeders talked about earlier, you know, growing up in, you know, in the breed, you know, we met them through that, you know, whether we bought semen from them or bought show heifers from them, made connections with them, and, you know, in a lot of ways, I tell everybody, when you're learning, steal a little bit of knowledge. Whenever it comes to knowledge, you should be a thief. You should, you should copy, you should paste, you should, you should plagiarize as much as you can and make it, but at the same time make it your own. You know, take a little bit from this Guy take a little bit from this guy, you know, okay, that worked for them. Maybe that didn't work.
- [18:37]
Luke
Absolutely.
- [18:38]
Reese Tassen
You know, and just. And in the Beefmaster breed, you know, I think, you know, of course there's some people that get along, some people that don't get along, just as you have with any breed, any association. But for the most part, you know, everybody is pretty willing to help, especially the younger generation coming up. So we were very fortunate to, you know, kind of grow up, you know, through JBVA and, you know, BBU and BPG and kind of learn from a lot of those older breeders and make connections with them and then, you know, as far as selling cattle and the connections are made there. Social media, man, social media, like, I, I know I probably aggravate people, but I don't really care. I will post on my Facebook story just to remind people, hey, we're here, we're doing our thing, right? You know, and I've sold a lot of cattle that way. Like, I usually don't list a lot of them for sale. I'll just post a story of a calf and people will message me, hey, do you have anything for sale? And kind of, you know, get the dialogue going and just if people don't see you, I feel like they'll forget about you a little bit. You know, I try to, you know, post on social media and get those connections and I tell you what, you know, we've met a lot of people and you know, through jackpot shows, traveling and doing jackpot shows when the girls were younger, you know, you'll have a couple judges sort your cattle there and they'll maybe see them and appreciate them. And then when you see that judge at a different show down the line, they're like, oh, I remember those people had some nice cattle, you know, and they'll remember you, you know, so I think it's good to whether you're campaigning on social media, you know, because your customers, that's a lot where a lot of people are going to be there. A lot of people that are new to this and looking for cattle to buy, they're going to look on Facebook and see, you know, who's doing well or who has cattle for sale. So, you know, definitely I, I'd say, you know, growing up in the breed and meeting people the old fashioned way and through social media, you know, a lot of those connections have come that way and I mean, brought us a lot of business. And I mean, if it wouldn't be for Facebook, I probably wouldn't be Able to sell a dang thing. I'm being honest with you, you know, so I hope they don't ever. Hope nobody ever bans. You know, they can ban TikTok. You don't need to ban Facebook. So. Yeah.
- [20:43]
Luke
That'S awesome. Shout out.
- [20:46]
Reese Tassen
Reese Tassen.
- [20:47]
Luke
They, they have an Instagram account now. Did his big booming. It's rolling.
- [20:53]
Reese Tassen
Well, look, I'd like to say I was behind that, but that's my sisters. They're running. Yeah, they're running tested cattle company Facebook and, and Instagram. I do the tick tock, though. I know I might look like.
- [21:06]
Luke
I could definitely tell you weren't running the Instagram by the song choices.
- [21:11]
Reese Tassen
Oh, yeah, I, I do. You know, a couple of those Tik Toks. Like, you know, I did the one about torching the ca. You know, I'm like, I don't care if people. I want people to make fun of me on Tik Tok.
- [21:21]
Luke
This guy's trying to become the next Will Meadows.
- [21:24]
Reese Tassen
Yeah. No, no, like I say, I say it. All my videos, I'm like, please leave a hate comment. I want.
- [21:33]
Luke
Please leave a hate comment is diabolical.
- [21:37]
Reese Tassen
But no, no one has. Like, people don't get, oh, look, that ain't no good. Some people might not want that. I, I enjoy the negative attention. Like, I don't mind it at all. Like, I enjoy it. Like, hey, let's debate. Like, you're, you're. I tell everybody. There's nothing you're gonna tell me that I haven't told myself. Like, I mean, I'm ugly, whatever. I'm skinny, weak, stupid. I don't, I don't care, man. Like, it doesn't bother me at all. But yeah, no, I'm definitely behind the TikTok. But as you can tell by the low quality videos with wind whipping in the background, that's me. And the girls are definitely behind the Facebook and Instagram.
- [22:14]
Luke
That's awesome. That makes sense then in another universe, Rhys Tassin is a, is a professional MMA fighter.
- [22:26]
Reese Tassen
Oh.
- [22:27]
Wesson
So kind of now back into the barn and y' all show variety of heifer, calves, breads, pears, bulls, you name it. Y' all do a little bit of a little bit of it all. So, man, I know feeding wise, that's a bunch of different ways you can kind of go about pushing, holding, maintaining, pushing up to a show, maintaining to the next one. So how do y' all kind of go about it, ranging from maybe a heifer to a bread to a pear or a bull?
- [22:48]
Reese Tassen
Well, I'll tell you, it's a. It's always a learning curve. And all of them are different. Each individual is different. You know, they're all different. But I'll say this, like feeding a Beefmaster. So we fed a couple semis Red Angus. We've shown, you know, other. Like a couple Euro heifers of other breeds. The Beefmasters are definitely the easiest to feed, I would say. And with them, I find less is more. You know, you take a more simplistic approach to feeding them. You don't throw a bunch of supplements and crazy stuff at them and it works a lot better. And it just kind of depends on the individual. Like with our pairs, I find once they have a calf, you can just kind of pour the feed to them. You know, they're bracing that calf and you don't have to be as cautious about feeding them, you know, feeding those females. Look, I've definitely screwed a couple up over the years. I mean, I'll be the first to tell you, like, ah, I could have fed this one different, you know, and I used a product maybe I shouldn't have used, or maybe I, you know, you just kind of got to gauge it to the individual, you know, I. Feeding the pears is a little bit easier, you know, because you can just kind of let them go. Feeding the bulls is pretty easy, I would say. I mean, you just kind of. I might get a lot of hate for this, but I find when it comes to beef master bulls, just let them eat, you know, just. Just let them eat. Like, I mean, let them chill out. Yeah, I've never had a problem getting a bull too fat, you know, I mean, if you get a bull too fat, you've. Oh, buddy, you rolling cold. You get a bull too fat, I'm gonna take the hat off, I'm gonna shake your hand. Hey, man, good job. Like, I mean, I just. Naturally though, you know, the testosterone those bulls have in them, you know, they kind of stay leaned up pretty good, you know, and I've had difficulties getting that cover on those bulls in the past, especially when they're kind of breeding cattle. So we kind of gauged it and use some higher fat, lower protein feeds on them. But with the heifers, you know, I've really noticed, especially when they're young, don't try to get them too greasy too quick. Just feed them a lot of good fiber, you know, and just kind of ease them along. Look, I have one in particular that we're dealing with right now. I pushed her way too hard just trying to get her greasy, get her big. And I'm kind of fighting that right now. Whereas in the past I've never pushed him chart, I've never tried to have the biggest, fattest calf in the cap division. I've always told everyone it's fun to win the cat division but that does not matter. You want to win the show. At the end of the day when she's you know, a bread or urlan or pear and she's big enough to win that cap division is short lived. So I've never tried to, you know, have those big ones like that that are ready. Mine are always a little greener a little further behind and they always kind of, you know, get right about that year old mark when they time for them start winning, you know.
- [25:31]
Luke
Absolutely.
- [25:32]
Reese Tassen
And I'll tell you as far as feeding, it's best to have an open mind. I never act like I know everything. I'm the smartest guy in the room. I listen to a lot of people that I respect that are older than me, that have more experience in this. He may not care if I'm giving him a shout out right now. Doug McCollum, that dude can feed one. He can feed one. They fed that heifer they had from us that was supreme at Houston junior this year. That I mean he had her looking awesome and you know, I, he helps me out with a lot of feeding. I mean right now he's telling me what to feed a couple of my calves. That guy is a wizard. He's a genius. Like I will bow down to him when it comes to feeding. Like he can, he can feed one. So that's a big thing when it comes to feed. I find a lot of people, they try to get locked into a box like oh, we feed this feed or we, we feed this product. And it's not always that way. Like you may feed one thing to one animal and you know, your heifer, the following year she might not need that product at all, you know. Right. Be open minded and you got to be able to, you got to be willing to change, you know, whenever you're feeding those things now like ones we've shown that are full sieves and stuff, you kind of know, okay, well we fed her full sister this, she's gonna feed this this way or she's not gonna feed this way. So I mean like I said, it goes back to knowledge, having knowledge of those genetics, you know, as you go it helps you with everything. Feeding one, breeding one. So I mean with the feeding as far as showing pears and breads and stuff. I. I like to. By the time they're bred, I like to be able to just kind of kick those things out on a round bale, maybe get them up two or three weeks before the show, give them a lot of fiber, a little bit of feed, just to kind of have them filled out and let them rock and roll and keep them fresh. You know, if you've done the proper work and management while they're young, when they get to that heavy bread, you know, era of their life, you can just kind of coast and. And be relaxed with it.
- [27:27]
Luke
So.
- [27:28]
Reese Tassen
Absolutely. Yeah, it's. It's a. And I'll say, with what we do, I think all animals have a prime. They have a prime. They have a. A time in their life, whether it's when they're a calf, when they're a yearling, a bread, a pear, when they're gonna look their best, and they're never gonna look better than that particular moment in time. That doesn't mean they're not gonna. Not win, you know, but all animals have a prime. It is very difficult, what we do travel into. You know, we have, you know, point shows, they kind of start. Let's say they start at Congress, and then we show Congress, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, have a little bit of a break. We have our Beefmaster. You show in June, Junior Nationals, and then we have a bunch of point shows through the fall, and then it kind of starts back over. It's really difficult to keep one looking, you know, 10 out of 10 all throughout, you know, the year. I mean, it's. It's tough. I mean, there. If you got one that's always going to look, you know, game day ready and ready to go. Hey, hats off to you, bro. You. You did something special, you know, and there's ones that have a longer prime than most, you know, So, I mean, it's just tough. I find when you're feeding for a specific target show, in a lot of ways it's a little easier, you know, you. You know, hey. And on. On March 25th at 8am this one has to look her best, you know, not March 25th at 8am she's got to look good. And then 30, 60 days later, she's got to look that good again. It's just very difficult to maintain that. That look for that. That long, you know. And like, for instance, Clarice, she looked really good. She, you know, won a lot as a yearling, a calf, as a yearling, you know, she did good as a. As A bread. But now she's a parent. She looks. In my opinion, people might disagree, but, hey, I don't care. In my opinion, she just won the cow cat pair show at nationals. To me, she looked her best as a pair. The utters there, like, there's no more guessing. Like, hey, she's. She's the cow, you know? Right. So, like, I thought a lot of these beat bass rappers, they'll have different phases. They may be a good bread, and they may kind of fall apart as a pair, you know, so it just all kind of depends on the individual. Like I said, I think most animals have a prime, and it is, you know, a little harder we do to maintain that prime. That's why we show a bunch of different ones. You know, maybe one, one she's not. She's looking like a seven out of ten. Maybe this one's looking like a ten out of ten at this particular moment, you know? Right. So, I mean, it's. It's trial and error. Not all of them feed the same. I'm still learning, you know, I'll probably look back next year, what I'm doing right now. Like, man, that was pretty stupid, so.
- [30:03]
Luke
Well, with all this said Reese, I think would be an interesting story is sparked my interest is you and Doug's story. I don't know how y' all met. I never really asked you that question before. And maybe some points of why you look up to him so much.
- [30:20]
Reese Tassen
Well, I'll tell you, the first time I ever saw him, they had their first beefmaster heifer, and they, you know, did really well with her. And matter of fact, one of the first times I met him, we were at beefmaster junior nationals, and in 2020, and we won national show with a heifer we bought from Ammons that year. And I saw Doug's heifer there, and they did. I think they may have won a division or they did something with her, but they. But I was like, wow, that heifer is the one to beat. Well, then they went on. They, you know, won Houston. They supreme. They supreme. The American deal with her did really good. And I was like, man, that guy, you know, he really knows what he's doing. And then they came back with. They had a bread for. They raised out of that cow. They came to Cattlemen's Congress. It was our first year going, and she won. She wins the open show with a calf. And I remember telling my mom, my sisters, I'm like, guys, I don't know what we're doing or what's gonna Come. But that female has the most seamless silhouette I've seen on one big bellied, you know, sound good fronted, you know, still stout enough. And I was like, wow, that one is really, really neat. And to me, I don't know about. For anyone else, but that female, for me, was the benchmark for the silhouette I had been after since then. And at the time, you know, that was in January. So right after that, Clarice was born in Mars. And I was like, oh, this one kind of fits that bill a little bit. And I saw how he had that one looking, and then he went on to do well with her. And then I really started talking to him, kind of talking with him about buying him buying heifer from us. You know, I was like, honored. I was like, oh, wow. You know, Double column wants my heifer for me. You know, I've heard a lot of good things about this guy like me. Doug McCullough wants to buy for me. I've made it, mama. I made it. You know, and, uh, well, they came and they bought Viddy, the heifer that, you know, they won Houston or Supreme with this year. Bought her. She was, you know, green, but, you know, had the right pieces. And I remember I was trying that. We had her out in the pen. He was looking at a couple of cats we had. I remember I was trying to, you know, do my little sales pitch, if you will. I was trying to tell Doug, hey, her mother did this, and I think, with speed, she'll be this. And he just stopped me and say, reese, I want the heifer. And he shakes my hand. That was it right there. I said, okay, good to me and say, hey, I love the heifer. And I'm not gonna lie. I was scared to death. I tell him all the time. I was scared to death of him. I was. I was intimidated by him, you know, somebody I looked up to. And I was, you know, I was kind of intimidated by him. He comes to our house, he buys a heifer, and I'm thinking, he's just going to be in and out. He stayed probably two and a half hours talking, and it just shows you how you maybe misjudged somebody when you don't know them, you know? And not that I didn't like it. I was just intimidated by him. I was like, wow, this guy, you know, he. He's kind of intimidating. And he stayed and talked with us, and I was like, oh, wow, he's the coolest guy. And then, you know, we got to, you know, be closer with them through Them having that heifer and they've since bought, you know, they bought three more heifers from us. They bought two from us this year. And they been a really good family. You know, their daughter, she is, you know, awesome showman. I mean, they work really hard. And I'll say as far as, you know, looking up to him with the feeding and stuff, every time, like he took a heifer from me and he got her looking away that I've never got one of mine looking, in my opinion. He got her so big bellied, so fresh looking and just kept her together. And I finally told him, I said, man, what, what do you do? Like, what's the, what's the sauce? What's the secret? And he's like, man, I just feed on him and love on them.
- [33:54]
Luke
So I just feed on them and love.
- [33:56]
Reese Tassen
I still haven't got the blood blueprint yet. So maybe he'll give it up. Maybe I'll give up the secret recipe one of these days. But no, but he's helped me out a ton and he's giving me a bunch of feeding tips and stuff along the way. So, I mean, they're a good family. And like I said, that guy, he knows his stuff. He can take one that is, that is a good heifer and he can make her an elite heifer. And I think that's very hard to do. You know, a lot of times when you sell cattle, sometimes it goes the other way. You can sell any leaf one and maybe, you know, they, you know, drop a little bit in quality. You know, family's not experienced or something, but he can take one that's a seven and make her 10 or an eight, maker of 10. And boy, if he gets a 10, oh, you gotta have fireworks. Yeah, he can feed one. He's good, really good at what he does. I mean, like I said, I am a lot different than other people. It is so easy to see someone who's successful, see someone who's competitive and be like, oh, I don't like that guy. Or, or, or they must be doing something wrong. It's easy to have that kind of judgment. But I've always been the opposite. If I see someone who's having success, I'm like, man, I want to go, I want to go see what that guy's doing. I, I want to learn from them. I like being around successful people. Even if someone, you're successful baseball player, football player, you're successful, lawyer and accountant. I want to be around people who are good in the field, that, that they're in who are the best at what they do because you can pick up something from everyone. I've always been attracted to winners, you know, no matter what. If you surround yourself with good people and people who have same goals as you, it's going to rub off on you. You will become your environment. If you hang out with a bunch of idiots, well, you're going to be an idiot. You know, you hang out with a bunch of smart people. Not saying you're going to be a genius, but you might be smarter than we were yesterday.
- [35:50]
Luke
That's right.
- [35:51]
Reese Tassen
You know, it's just like anything. It's like, man, if you see a guy and he's always got a pretty girlfriend, I want to know what cologne he's wearing. You know, where's, what does that guy smell like? You know, what's he doing? You know? But I mean, that, that's always been the way I thought. Like, and it's really easy to see someone that's, you know, successful and you're like, oh, I mean, they must be doing something wrong or something nefarious. And you to like, resent someone who's successful when really you should be thinking the opposite. You should flock to that person. You should talk to them as much as you can, learn as much as you can from them. Because, see, most successful, I'm not going to say all, but most successful people want to see people succeed. Me, like, there's a lot of families that I've, you know, helped over the years and still have good relationships with. A lot of. Some of them you don't. I mean, sometimes you grow apart with people or whatever. But I like to see people succeed. You know, I, I, I love it. It's what I live for. And, you know, it kind of goes back to the main reason. I mean, yes, I do this for a living and show cattle, you know, beef master cattle, pay my bills and feed my family. But I do this because there is nothing like the look on that kid's face who has work their butt off in the barn, put in the hours, put in the time and finally reaches that goal. That is what. Because it brings me back to me. Look, whenever I showed, I mean, I didn't have anywhere near the success my sisters had. I didn't show as good a cattle as they did. You know, I, I did very well, you know, for the time. My parents did what they could and they got me the best animals they could. I'm forever grateful for them for that. But I remember what it was like to, you know, go to those shows and not have a prayer of winning, not have a chance. And, you know, I remember the people that were good to me growing up and, and coming up in this. And I remember people that weren't so good to me either. So I always told myself I ever got in a position where I could influence somebody, I want to be a positive influence on them. So, you know, like Riley. Riley Purvis. Purvis family is very close with us. They travel a lot of places with us. Salt to the earth, good people. I am forever grateful that we ran into them and met them. Riley is nine years old and she. Or ten years old. She's ten. She's ten. She'll kill me if she hears this.
- [38:12]
Wesson
Oh, yeah, she'll come over tonight.
- [38:16]
Reese Tassen
And she was the youngest person last year to win the supreme Showman at our junior nationals. And then she went back again and won it this year. To my knowledge that no one has won it two years in a row. And I, I think she's still the youngest winning it for the second year in a row. And, you know, she was already. I'm not going to say she was, you know, an unfinished product. Whenever we started traveling with them and showing with them, she was pretty good. But, you know, we've, you know, trying to work with her and help her on showmanship, and she's absolutely lethal now. And it brings me so much pride just to see someone who's young, you know, improve and get better. But that's what I do this for. You know, there was a. Had a family that, you know, started off buying cattle from me, and they didn't have the most money to spend the biggest budget. And I, you know, worked with them and got them heifer and they came back and they, they spent a little more money and they got a little bit better heifer. And they bought a little bit better one this year. That kid, he. He won his first grand champion at state fair. And then he was top three in the bull supreme with his bull that he got from us. And you could tell it just lit up his worm. He didn't even know how to, how to act, you know, and I was. That his dad was so happy. And to me, that experience and seeing that kid's hard work payoff and that family's hard work payoff is worth more than any high seller at a sale. It's worth more than a buckle or ribbon or accomplishment we've ever had. That is what keeps me going. If this I ever got to a point where I didn't make any money off of this, and I had to do something else for a living. I would still do it just to. Just to be able to help people out and help someone accomplish their goals. I mean, that's what I live for.
- [40:03]
Luke
That's awesome. And having that mindset, I think, takes people that are about halfway there to the point where it's successful enough to say, hey, that person's made it. But having this progressive mindset. What's yalls next step in trying to stay ahead of the curve in terms of quality? Because we all know that you're chasing after the next bit, the next best thing, the. The next supreme female. I mean, you're always talking to me at shows about what we can do here, what we do here. This is what I want to do next. I want to know where does that lead to now?
- [40:38]
Reese Tassen
I think the main thing I'm chasing is not staying stuck in the past. You know, I. I see this a lot with people, and they may have a cow or female that has some success, and they will get some good, you know, offspring out of her that find success. But I think the most important thing is to keep moving forward. The whole point of this deal, if you have a donor cow, you want her daughters to be better than her, and then you want her granddaughters to be better, and then you want their daughters to be better. So right now I'm focusing on, you know, taking this next generation of females that we have and utilizing them because I feel like they've, you know, they've raised the bar for us, and I want their calves to raise the bar another notch. And it's important to try to find those matings that work. And listen, I've had a lot of failures, you know, when it comes to matings, it's. I tell everybody two plus two doesn't always equal four. Whenever you're breeding cattle, you might have a bull that you think is real good. You bring them to your best heifer, and it's a nightmare. And you might have a bull that's okay. And you bring him to your best heifer, or you're not best heifer, and you have the next great one. So right now it's just trying to, you know, expand upon, you know, the females that we've made that I think have made people stop and stare, you know, and adding to them by. But also trying to keep the real world cow pieces in there, you know, like, I. I don't want to get. I don't want to confuse anybody when I say I want ones to that make people stop and stare. Oh, they need to be cows too. You know, I, I saw a video on Facebook this week. I forget the gentleman who was judging, but he was saying that for his environment, he doesn't like the wild necked ones. He likes them as stout and sound and his big rib. And I agree with all that.
- [42:20]
Luke
100. The one from Glenn Martin, the Indiana State Fair.
- [42:25]
Reese Tassen
Yeah, yeah, I agree with everything he's saying. Like that is spot on. They need to be cows. But boy, you know what's special? Whenever they can be the stoutest, the biggest footed, the soundest, the biggest belly and good easy doing type of cattle, but they can also have that long out there front end. I always tell everybody, you know, I've judged, you know, when I've judged a few shows, I always say it whenever I like the ones that are, that combine the show ring pieces with the real world cow pieces. It's very, you can make them that are showy and for the show ring and you can make them that are cowie. But when you can do both, those are the ones you don't pass up. Those are the ones that can take you to the next level and they can change your program. And that's what I try to do. You know, I respect the real world cattlemen. Like I said, these cattle have to make money. I, I can't afford to have a bunch of hard doing ones that are bad uttered that aren't going to make it. When I turn them out on grass. They got to be, you know, good doing sound. They have to be, you know, good milkers, have good udders. I'm for all that. But I like to find the ones that can do all those real world cattle things and put it in a really beautiful, neat, elite package. So I'd say that's what I'm after right now. And I think we, I personally, I think we've done a good job of doing that. You know, in my opinion, Clarice is the wildest neck, longest neck thing you can make. But she has a beautiful utter. She's doing a heck of a job raising her calf. She laid down and calved unassisted. She's holding her body condition really good. Yes, she is on show feed, but I have no questions about her when I turn her out on pasture. So right now, you know, as far as what's next, it's just staying ahead of the curve. I tell everyone you're never gonna make it in this deal. Like be like, oh, we have the best ones and we're up here and the game's over. We got it. We done figured out the game, boys. It's over. We with the, that line, that goal post is always moving and you have to continue to move with it. When you get complacent, you stop improving. And that's whenever you will, you know, have, not only will your cattle, I'm not going to say they're necessarily going to go down in quality, but they may stay the same. And even though they're good, even though they're good right now, your best one right now, five years from now, if your breed has done its work and the, your and the, the your breed is improving, the ones who are good right now shouldn't be the best five years from now. The ones five years from now should be way better than the ones five years before. Yeah.
- [44:59]
Luke
So consistent progression.
- [45:00]
Reese Tassen
Yeah, you want to stay and, and progress. But there's timeless things. Sound ones are never going to go out of style. Good doing, big bellied ones are never going to go out of style. Good hipped ones are never going to go out of style. As far as the other odd oohs and oz things that you know, come in and out of this deal, the trends, those are going to change, you know. But if you can keep the cattle sound, keep them big, middle and good doing like that gentleman said in that video that's been going around this week on social media, you can keep those basics and then, and then try to put the oohs and ahs and the extras on them. That's where you can really make something special. And that's what, you know, that's what I'm trying to do now and trying to keep doing, keep innovating. In a perfect world, you want one that can be the beauty queen but can also, but can also be the stay at home mom, if you will. You know, you want one that can, that she can go win a beauty contest, but boy, she can have those babies and she can raise those babies and she'll protect those babies and she'll look good doing it. That's what you want? Yeah. Oh man. That's what I'm after.
- [46:09]
Wesson
That's awesome.
- [46:10]
Reese Tassen
Go, Go ahead, Luke.
- [46:11]
Wesson
So like being from the South, I mean, I know just a little. You do. It's extremely hot. So kind of breeding wise, do y' all kind of, you have certain seasons, there's times y' all kind of prefer to breeding because I know like breeding heat and stuff they don't always take. And it can be tougher to breed around.
- [46:31]
Reese Tassen
Yeah. I mean, like, well, heck, we're breeding some now. We're setting up the set tomorrow. I feel you, you know, breed. But you know, I'll say this with the Beefmasters, it is definitely better than most breeds. They're very heat tolerant and obviously when it's real hot, we'll have a little less, you know, conception rate. But I say, look man, going back to those real world cattle, cattle traits, the beef mat breed is very heat tolerant and they're very good. It is a little more difficult in the heat, but we try to breed, we try to have, you know, a spring calf crop, a summer calf crop and a fall calf crop. Honestly, we like to have ones in different divisions, you know, for the show ring. And I, you know, not always, but I try to have cattle, have a set of cattle sell all throughout the year, always have a set that I'm weaning and you know, getting broke and getting ready to, you know, be sold because, you know, we have a, we're very blessed, very fortunate. You know, I have a lot of people that will reach out different times of the year and maybe they want a summer born or a springboard or, you know, a fall born. So this year we'll have, you know, this is the first year we have a good set of springs, a good amount of summer borns on the ground and a good amount of ball borns on the way. So like I said, we try to have three calf crops, you know, and it's, you know, really gets expensive when you're flushing that much, but it's worth it, you know. And I think when you find those good ones, you want to try to make as many of them as possible because, you know, calf 1, 2 and 3 out of that set, Ambrose cats may not be the one, but four or five and six might be. So we just try to keep them coming and keep them calving, you know, about three times, three different sets throughout the year is what we're trying to do. Like last year I didn't have a whole set of fall calves, so I didn't really have. I think I had two. That two fall heifers is all I had. So this year I have a lot more on the way, you know. But as far as I'll say with this breed, you know, we're pretty flexible on being able to breed during it whenever it's really, really hot during the summer. They're very heat tolerant and they do very well. And as far as our recips go, we try to get all the Angus, the black Hided cattle. We try to put embryos in them in the fall or, you know, and, you know, the wintertime because it is a little tough on them. But we, you know, run a set of commercial Red Angus that are half Red Angus, half Beefmaster, and they're excellent for to transfer to through the summer. Pretty heat tolerant. We have good conception rates. They have just enough Angus in them to, you know, to really take those embryos and be very fertile. But they got just enough American in them to be a little more heat tolerant, a little tougher. So that's kind of what we do. We've been very successful, you know, making those crosses and using them as resets. I've never sold any. I've kept 100 of the red Angus and Beefmaster females that we've had born because, I mean, I believe in them. So if I haven't accomplished anything as far as making good show cattle, I think I've made some decent resets.
- [49:35]
Luke
Now that you say that I've never asked this or, or even seen it, but is there a chance that a percentage Beefmaster female, is that a thing? I've never paid attention to it, but I don't recall that.
- [49:48]
Reese Tassen
Yes. So through the Beefmaster breed, we have the E6 and Advancer program.
- [49:54]
Luke
That's right.
- [49:55]
Reese Tassen
This deal gets a lot of people confused, but I'm gonna break it down, try to. In the simplest terms I can. An E6 is a registered Beefmaster parent, whether it's, you know, the sire or the damage. And then one crossbred unregistered animal, or just an unregistered Angus, unregistered Hereford, it's just the other parent does not have any papers and that. And there's only E6 females. There's no such thing as E6 bulls. Now in the. And I'm pretty sure with the E6 is if you go through the proper steps, you can breed back to a bee and. And so many generations make them back to a purebred. Now in the Advancer program is a registered animal of another breed and a registered Beefmaster. So say I take a semi and breed her to a Beefmaster bull. You get a half blood, breed that one back to a Beefmaster, you get a three quarter and you breed that three quarter blood back to a purebred and you. They could show as a purebred. They're registered as a purebred. And through the Advancer program, you can register bulls as well. So it really works out if you get a three quarter blood and a lot of Programs have utilized this. They get a three quarter blood Beefmaster bull and say he's a quarter Angus, quarter, semi, whatever the other cross is, and they breed him to their whole herd of Beefmaster cows. Well then now those calves are all purebreds and registered. And the reason why it has to be a registered animal for the advancer program, because you're breeding back to a purebred and so few generations, they want to be able to do the genetic test and to make sure you're not putting any of the genetic defects of other breeds. Not just not talk about a bunch of club, Club cabs, Weston. But you don't want to. They don't want us taking, you know, any of those crazy club cap defects and breeding back and then ending up with a purebred Beefmaster that is carrying some of those genetic defects. So that, that's why they make the Advancer deal the, you know, registered animals. A lot of people get confused by that and I may have misspoke on a couple of the odd details, but that's pretty much the gist of that. And beef. I'm on the board of directors for the Beefmaster promotion group we actually just passed to where we'll have E6 advancer female shows at our open shows. I don't know all the shows yet that we'll have it. We're still kind of ironing out the details, but starting through, I think beginning of 2026, any of the BPG Open shows like Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, for example, where we show Beefmasters, we'll be able to show the E6 advancer females for. Well, so pretty much what the ultra black is to the Brangus breed, what the F1s are to the Brahmin breed, the percentages are to the semi breed. That's pretty much the equivalent of the E6 advancer deal. So now you'll start to see a lot more of those things shown. Hopefully. Hopefully that, you know, show grows a lot more and successful. I know in the Junior deal, like in Texas, they'll show those as arbs. So there's probably quite a few in there. There's probably some in there that don't even look like it that you're, that you, you won't even notice. But there's, there's quite a few that show as arbs in Texas and, and there's quite a few through Louisiana, Mississippi as well. That. But we actually, we raised an advancer bull that was supreme at the Louisiana state show. He was supreme American, the supreme overall. And as Far as I know, I could be wrong. I think he's the only advanced Beefmaster advancer that's supreme that show. So, I mean, and like I said, yeah, a lot of the bulls don't get, don't get shown as much because there's not a lot of places to show the bulls. But they, they're neat. Whenever you get a good one, some, it's a really neat program. And it's growing like that E6 deal is taking off. I know we've the E6 heifers that we've sold, you know, in some of our sales, they've, you know, got a lot of attention, a lot of traction. And, you know, they, they, they do a good job of bringing in. I find they bring in a lot of people from maybe the club calf world or, you know, other breeds because maybe they might, you know, get a Beefmaster cross deer or a half blood heifer, and they'll end up, you know, buying a purebred. So they've done a good job. That program's done a good job of bringing new families and new faces into our breed. So it's, it's been big for the Beefmaster breed for sure.
- [54:10]
Luke
I just got two things to say. Rhys Tassen for president and his Tasson Cattle Company gonna start showing E6s and advancers.
- [54:22]
Reese Tassen
Yeah, no, I don't think I need to be the president anything. I could barely manage my own life. I don't think I'm, I don't, I don't think I'm knocking Donald Trump out of the president's seat anytime soon. But. But no, but, no, we have a couple. And traditionally in the past, we've always sold any of our E6s and advancers. Usually we don't keep any just because I really don't like for. It's always been something that I've been able to sell to people. And Kale hasn't had one that she was showing to show against them. Kind of something different. You know, we did, we had one this year that we're going to show at Junior Nationals, but she just didn't want to be a show heifer, so she, she didn't make the trip so easy enough. But, but with them opening up open shows, you know, we have a couple, we have some, you know, charolay and some semi cows that we have bred. So, you know, if any of them have one that's good enough, we'll definitely be showing one. We raised one a few years ago that reserve Junior Nationals, and we actually sold her too, but that was the only one. We actually. I think maybe we've brought one more, but that's the only one we've shown, to my knowledge, at Junior national, she reserved it as a baby, so. But traditionally, we've always sold them. You know, it's given a lot of families that we sold them to, a lot of families we show with as well. So maybe we've. They didn't want to buy purebred, as we kind of travel with them, and it put them in a different division, different breed than we were, so. But yeah, we'll. I'm sure you'll be seeing us with some soon, hopefully, if the good Lord blesses us with some good crosses, you know.
- [55:55]
Wesson
Oh, yeah. So, Reese, so before we start to kind of wrap come towards an end, I know me and Wes know. I'm sure not many people else listen or know, but you are big into ufc, correct?
- [56:07]
Reese Tassen
Oh, yeah. It's the only sport. I want.
- [56:11]
Wesson
I want to talk about that for a sec, because I know we've heard.
- [56:13]
Reese Tassen
This is about to go sideways. This is about to go sideways.
- [56:15]
Wesson
So why are you so into it? Like, when were you, like, I'm all in.
- [56:21]
Reese Tassen
All right, I'm gonna tell y' all why. I'm gonna tell y' all exactly. Exactly. When I became a fan, I remember, I think it was around 2016. My dad, he. You know, he's a what you'd call a casual combat sports fan. He'll watch the big box and fight to the big MMA fights. He's not. He's not deep into it like I am now, but I remember he bought the pay per view. Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz 2 was the first MMA fight I ever sat down and watched, and I was like, oh, my gosh, this is the best sport ever. Like, this is legal. They let me. They let these guys do that. And then, man, I mean, I. I've never been, like, a football fan, baseball fan. Like, I would rather. I'd rather watch grass grow than sit down and watch an organized football game or baseball or anything. But, man, when it comes to the UFC fights, I am watching them. I'm marketing on the calendar, I'm buying pay per views like that. I mean, I'm obsessed with it. But I'll say that the thing that really made me a fan, like, made me a fan about it, I started listening to a lot of these guys stories, and, you know, there's guys that come from horrible backgrounds, and through this sport, they are able to change their circumstances, change their. Their life, you know, and, you know, I'll listen to a couple of those podcasts where Joe Rogan will interview those guys and talk about just the stuff they had to go through to get to where they are. And it's always inspired me because, again, like, successful people, people who've had to go lot, it's easy to be a success, everybody works hard. But it's a lot easier to be successful when, hey, when you're born into a family's, got a lot of money, hey, here's the blueprint. You're going to go do this, this, and this. College is paid for. Not take anything away from people who are like that. Hey, every. I mean, those people work hard, too, but when you come from nothing and you have to make it yourself, that's what a lot of these guys come from. And it's inspired me. Like, there's. I'm like, if they can do it, they can come from the situations and the backgrounds they came from and be fighting on TV for millions of dollars and giving back to charity and stuff, then why can't I get up out of bed and go feed cows, go work hard in the hot sun with no one punching me in the face, you know, so, like, I mean, I've always been inspired by that in the work ethic these guys have. Like, these guys will train, you know, all year long for a fight, and they may go out there and they may be only in there for five minutes. They may knock the guy out the first round and be done. And something about that. It was. It was. It was, to quote y', all, Dustin Poirier, he's a fighter from Louisiana. He just retired. He said something that spoke to me, and, I mean, it has lived with me ever since I heard it. He said that he's lived his whole life working for a goal, working towards something, working towards the next fight, the next thing. And, you know, whenever he doesn't have anything planned, he gets restless and, you know, he, you know, starts to, you know, kind of doubt himself, get down on himself. And I've always kind of related to that, you know, planning for the next show or the next sale, getting those next group of calves broke and sold. Look, I know it's a crazy comparison to draw, but it's something I've always been able to relate to, having something to look forward to, you know, and to work towards. I. I do not do my best whenever it's kind of that idle time. We don't really have much going on, don't really have a bunch of calves in the bar, I get bored. You know, I got to have something that I'm working towards. So I'm drawing a lot of inspiration from those guys, you know, And I think it's the best sport on earth because you can place, you play golf, you can play football, you can play baseball, you play basketball, but you can't play fight. So, I mean, I, I, I am a fan through and through. Anybody who'll sit here and talk about MMA with me, man, we can talk, we can do a whole other podcast on that. So that's awesome. I mean, I take inspiration from it. And if anybody pays attention, nobody probably does because nobody cares about nobody as big of a nerd as I am about this stuff. But most of our bulls and a lot of our cattle are named after, like, my favorite fighters, like the Bubba's Black Beast. He's named after Derrick Lewis. I straight out of Houston, Kid. Kid Dynamites. Named after Mike Tyson. That's what they called him when he was young. A lot of I love naming the bulls after that now. A couple people, they kind of get it, you know, but some of them don't. That's okay. I understand it. So I get a good lot. We, we get a good laugh out of it back at our barn. Yeah, whatever. We name them after something like that. But no, that's what I'm here, see. If you want to talk cows or mma, I'm your guy. Other than that, you want to talk politics or something, you can. Or baseball or football, I'm probably not going to listen, so.
- [61:09]
Luke
Yeah, okay. But before we wrap up this episode with our last two questions, I got to know the most inspirational or, like, adrenaline rushing fight you've ever watched.
- [61:19]
Reese Tassen
Oh, that's a good one, man. That's tough. I've seen a lot of good fights.
- [61:28]
Wesson
Too many.
- [61:31]
Reese Tassen
I'm gonna give you two. The big, the best comeback I've ever seen was Leon Edwards vs Kamaru Usman 2 for the undisputed UFC welterweight title. I. It was, you know what? It was probably the most inspiring. So Leon Edwards had lost the first fight to Kamaru Usman. And then it was five years, four or five years later, he wins a bunch of fights, works his way back up the title shot. Kamaru's the champion, knocking everybody out, beating everybody. And first round, Leon comes out, he wins the first round. He was the first guy to ever take him down. I was like, oh, this is a little interesting. Well, then Usman started doing his thing, taking him down, grinding him out, beating on him. I was like, oh, he's going to win the fight by decision. It's pretty boring fight. Well, in between, you know, championship fights or five rounds in between the fourth and fifth round. Leon's like dejected, sitting on the, on the stool. He's beat. He's a beat man. And his coach, and his nickname is Leon. He's Leon Rocky Edwards. His coach is like slapping him. He's like, come on, Rock, come on, come on. He was like, you got five minutes, five minutes to change your life. He's like, think of your mom back home. You think because these guys don't make a lot of money on the come up, they only win, they only make a lot of money, they become champions. Like, think of your mom back home. You want to change her life, you want to buy her a house. And he gets up off the stool. He tells you coach, he was like, you got, he tells, coach tells me you got five minutes. He's like, go after him. He's like, this is it. He's like, this is five minutes for the rest of your life. He goes out there and with 50 seconds left in the fight, he head kick KOs and walks off. Fights over and I mean, wins the title, goes on, defend the belt, makes a lot of money and I mean it was the most inspiring thing. Like, and then the crowd starts going, rocky, Rocky. Just like the Rocky movies. Oh, it's goosebumps. That's an awesome one. I mean he, he's crying on the mic. That was the most, that's the most inspiring thing I've ever seen. I was like, man, I mean, he got up off the stool and he won that deal. I mean it was literally, I was watching the fight with a friend of mine. We're watching on our phone because we couldn't get it on the TV at the hotel we were at. We were actually at a show. I forget what show we were at, but we were at the hotel and you guys know it's like 11 or 12 o' clock at night to watch these things. And we're about to turn it off. He's like, oh, he's going to win by decision. As soon as he goes, almost click his phone off, he knocks him out. So that was pretty inspiring. You know, I don't care who you are, if you can't take inspiration from a guy, you know, getting off the stool to go win and change his mother's life, buy his mother house, get her out of a bad situation, then there ain't much that's going to inspire you. So I re Watch that clip sometimes just to get amped up. Whenever I need some inspiration and I'm feeling down for myself, I know what.
- [64:07]
Luke
I need to do next time before we go to a show, we got to turn that, that reel on in the truck before we go walking around.
- [64:12]
Reese Tassen
Oh, man, I'm telling you, if you ever want just to get fired up, you need to go on YouTube. And look. Leon Edwards, KO's Kamar Usman Rocky edit with the Rocky music in the background. Oh, dude, you'll make. You want to get up at 1am and start running. I mean it. If I listen to it in the truck, I'm like, I gotta. I gotta get out. I got. I gotta jog. I gotta jog. It'll fire you up. Oh, but yeah, no, no, that's what I'm into, man. Good show, Catalan. Good fights. And look, with all that said, I ain't saying I could fight like those guys. I just like watching on tv. So nobody. If you'll see me on the street. Don't try me. I'm just a fan.
- [64:53]
Luke
I'm just a fan.
- [64:55]
Wesson
I'm just watching. So, Reese, what's. Maybe some quotes, songs, Bible verses, something like that? It kind of keeps you going day to day. Or is it just fighting?
- [65:09]
Reese Tassen
As far as bible verses, you know, there's something. And I. I don't know the exact bible verse, but I remember reading it. I remember I was in a hotel room. I used to haul equipment for my dad's truck company. I remember I was in a hotel room. We moved some equipment up in Pennsylvania, and we had to wait till we got unloaded. And I remember for some reason, I picked up the. I was. Something was going on in my life at that time. I remember I picked up the Bible that was in the hotel room at the time. And I was just the one, you know, that they put in the nightstand. I read. And the verse, it said, be good to those who are. Who are wrong to you. And that's just always stuck with me, you know, a lot of times in this deal, you know, you, friendships will come and go whenever you. Especially when you're. And sometimes it's not always under bad circumstances. Sometimes people just grow apart. But especially if you're someone who finds some success, you. You're gonna have those friendship funerals. You're gonna have people who. They get jealous and envious of you, you know, and unfortunately, it's. It's like that, and it's unfortunate sometimes people that, you know, you tried to help and you put a lot of time into and they'll turn on you. But I've always that bible quotes lived with me. If you want to, you know, hate on me and talk bad about me, that's fine. I don't care. They, I know who I am. There's nothing you're going to say about me that's going to ruin my day or make me feel bad or even get at this point in my life. I'm 27 years old. You're not going to get me angry. You know, I, I don't care. I know who I am. I'm confident in myself. But if, if you're going to do wrong to me, I'm just going to be good to you. You know what I mean? I'm not going to be your best friend, but you want to talk bad on me, I'm gonna do the opposite. Someone tells me oh, so and so has been saying this about you. Oh, that's very unfortunate. You know, he's a real good guy, you know, and just go on about your day. Talking bad about someone has never made anyone look good, you know, and trying to tell some people who really know you, they're gonna know the real you and you don't need to convince them. Anyone else who will believe any nonsense said about you, let them believe it. I mean, that's how I, that, that's what, you know, how I think and, but yeah, that bible coach always lived with me, you know, be good to those who are wrong to you. And you don't need to lower yourself. You need to rise above and it's. There's nothing. A lot of times, you know, I call it friendship funerals, you know, whenever you maybe have a falling out with somebody, you know, and it's unfortunate, but it happens, you know, and it sucks whenever you have to have those friendship funerals with people. But I like to look back, you know, and be like, be thankful for the time you spent with that person, the memories you had through your friendship. Hey, I'm glad it happened. You know, we're at different phases of our life right now. Maybe we're not, you know, as close to friends anymore, but that's okay. But no matter how wrong someone is to me, I'm not going to be wrong to them. I'm not going to. I'm never going to let someone doing wrong change who I am, you know, and that's what I always tell people. You know, any young people out there listening, if you, you know, don't stoop yourself down to those levels, just don't let anyone change who you are, always stay true to you. And at the end of the day, you know, there's people who are not going to like it. There's people I know, there's people who don't like me, and that's okay. Hey, that's their prerogative, you know that. It's a free country. They're free to not like me. But I'm never going to lower myself down to. To. To that, and I'm not going to let it change me, you know?
- [68:38]
Wesson
Absolutely.
- [68:39]
Reese Tassen
So that's something that I've always tried to live by. I'm not saying I've done it perfectly. I've definitely had my moments where I've lost my cool, as we all have, you know, and said and done things that we're not proud of, that wish could have done differently. But with a little age and a little maturity, you kind of see things clear, and it's just not worth it, man. It's so much easier. Just smile and wave. Smile and wave.
- [68:56]
Luke
Shake, smiling.
- [68:57]
Reese Tassen
Wave, boys. Hey. How are you, man? Oh, that's good. Nice to see you. Just keep on going about your day because, I mean, the whole posturing and mean mugging and talking, it's not going to get you anywhere. It's. I promise you, it's not going to make your bank account any fatter. It's not going to pay your bills any faster. It's not going to get you fed. It's not going to help you do anything. It's just going to waste time, you know?
- [69:22]
Luke
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And so, Reese, when I first met you, I had been told by your mom that you'd been a very consistent listener to this ordeal. And so you know what question I'm about to ask you, and I hope you were prepared, but I know you're going to answer with a good. In a good way. But, Reese, what empowers you to be better than who you were before?
- [69:47]
Reese Tassen
You know, this might be like a cliche thing to say, but, you know, me and my wife recently just had a little girl back, November 1st and probably before that. My answer probably would have been different, but, you know, and you boys, one day, whenever y' all have a family, you know, and you have children, you'll understand this. But my daughter empowers me to be better. Because whenever you have kids, it changes you. It makes you look at things a lot differently. You have someone who's looking up to you and who's going to, you know, your. Your voice will become their inner Voice and the things you say will become, you know, what they play over and over again in their head. So being a good example for my daughter, being someone that she could be proud of, hey, that's my dad. You know, that's what empowers me to be better each and every day. I want, you know, I want her to be proud of me. You know, I want to be someone that she can be proud of and someone she can look up to and be a good example. You know, like I said before, we, you know, had her. That might have been a little of a different answer, but I think that's what empowers me to be better and do better every day, because I've got someone paying attention now and. And, you know, definitely had younger people maybe looking up to me before. This is someone who, whenever you have children, they're gonna be looking up to you all the time. They're not just going to see you in a professional setting. You know, they're going to see you day in and day out. And it's easy to have that mask on in public and, you know, present yourself in a professional manner. I mean, we all, you know, you have the way you act at home and the way you act out in public. Obviously, you know, when you're comfortable at home, it's just your family. So having her inspired me to be better, you know, all around and just handle things differently. Be more patient, be more understanding, you know, and not to get, you know, super religious with y' all or anything, but, you know, whenever I pray, I always ask God, you know, help me to be a better father, a better husband, a better friend, a better son, brother than I was yesterday. At this stage in my life, I'm not in competition with anyone except person I was yesterday. I'm not trying to be beat, anyone personalized yesterday. And as long as, you know, I can do that, then I can grow and I can be more successful.
- [72:06]
Luke
Yes, sir. Absolutely. So with all that, you said you didn't want to get too religious, but I'll get a little more religious. We do a verse every end of episode, and I'm not going to stop doing it. I think it's important. I think it's. I think we all need to be reminded of why we do this and why we are allowed to do this. So today's verse comes from Galatians 6, 9. I'm reading out of the NIV because if I read in any other form of the Bible, I'm going to not read it. Like, just can't do it. But it says, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. And honestly, it couldn't have been more right in the middle of the. The dartboard. Like everything that you've been saying, Reese resonates with that in an immense way. And I think that's just incredible. And I think that's God just working the way he does. But with all this said, Reese, I wanted to have you on for a long time, and why I didn't do it sooner if I knew that it was going to turn out like this. I'm kicking myself in the shin right now, but this was awesome. And it's by far one of my favorites. I'll just say that blatantly in front of everyone. I don't know how Luke feels, but it feels good. This is awesome. I couldn't. I couldn't have asked for it any better, but I already know what the title is going to be. UFC Fights or Beefmaster Cattle featuring Reese Tassen. That's how it's gonna go.
- [73:34]
Reese Tassen
I. I appreciate it, man. And that. That Bible verse was very good. That was spot on, you know, and, you know, he kind of goes back my. You know, my dad, he always told me, he was like, don't ever give up. You know, he's like, you're gonna have setbacks. You're gonna get knocked down. But my dad would always tell me this, and I can't end this podcast without me throwing this in there. And it's something I lived by this day. It's not how you win, it's how you lose. Anybody can be happy and be a good person when you're winning. It's when you get knocked down. How are you going to get back up? How are you going to treat the people around you when you don't win? And I think that Bible verse sums that up. Don't ever give up. Keep moving. For sure.
- [74:17]
Wesson
No doubt, for sure.
- [74:19]
Luke
So, Luke, you got anything tech on?
- [74:22]
Wesson
And I think it's been really good time. A good. However long it's been, I thought it was a great way to end it out and close it out for us.
- [74:31]
Luke
Awesome. Well, good deal, everybody. I know we're in an independent season or not even a season. I shouldn't have said it that way. These are independent episodes. But season five is coming soon. I'm thrilled and excited for what's to come because me and Luke have been working real, real hard to maintain one of the most successful features I think we can put together with all this said. This is empowering you with Reese Tassen. We'll see you all next time.
- [74:57]
Reese Tassen
Thank you.
- [74:59]
Podcast Host
Make sure to check out our new and improved website@empoweryou podcast.org where you'll find the team's background, our sponsor stories and merchandise. But also check out our social media on Facebook and Instagram at Empower Upod where you'll find sneak peeks of episodes and their release dates, as well as sponsor recognition and much more.
- [75:19]
Reese Tassen
We are proud to have you as.
- [75:20]
Podcast Host
A listener on and hope you enjoyed. Make sure to give us a five star rating and have a blessed day.