First of all, thank you for having us here at Faces of Agriculture!! We’re the Brannan sisters and we are best friends, business partners, dreamers, cowboy-girls and advocates of the cowboy/ranching world.
We were both born in Ventura, CA….in the land of the Vaqueros. But we were raised all over, NV, CA, Scotland, and MO…so it’s a little difficult for us to know where we’re from. Our dad was a saddle-maker turned cowboy turned international terrorism specialist, so our upbringing is really different than your typical cowboy or rancher.
Liz is the oldest at 25 and used to start colts for the public and braid rawhide, until she moved to Northeastern Nevada and became the first woman outside of family to cowboy on the Quarter Circle S Ranch, for the Van Normans. Getting the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the best cowboys out there was an amazing experience for her.Liz got chronic Lyme disease and eventually had to quit cowboying full time, and now lives with Adrian in Northern CA. Because of her health limitations, Liz focuses on other aspects of the cowboy world now. She and Adrian are partners and are writing a book called Buckaroo Barbie and Liz runs their blog, which you can check out at,www.buckaroobarbie.blogspot.com.
Adrian is the youngest at 20 and at the ripe old age of 14 was given the opportunity to make a CD. She now has 3 albums to her name, one of which was produced by her childhood hero, Tom Russell. Her latest album, Buckaroogirl, was released early this year, to the clamor of fans who had been eagerly awaiting its arrival. You can check her music out at www.buckaroogirl.com. She also has a blog, www.adrianbuckaroogirl.blogspot.com
Today, Adrian travels full time for her music and Liz works for her little sister as her Personal Assistant. We have the BEST working relationship…we are a team. Because of Adrian having a public platform to speak from because of her music, we are able to promote the western lifestyle in a different way. It’s always a fun experience when we’re traveling and someone stops and talks to us because of our hats, our boots, or Adrian’s guitar, and you can see their preconceived notions being challenged because of our lifestyle. It’s been really eye-opening for us to see just how many people really don’t understand where their food or beef actually comes from. Many of them are genuinely surprised that beef cattle are still raised on ranches in the United States, and cared for by real cowboys.
When we’re not on the road, we really just enjoy being home. Our folks rent the house on the ranch where we live now in Northern CA, and the ground is leased out for cattle. We ride our fat horses, maybe shoot a little and occasionally a neighbor needs some day work. Adrian especially needs time to cowboy in order for her to remain connected to this way of life and retain her sanity. Liz still tries to make time to braid rawhide and occasionally ropes at a neighbor’s branding.
We feel so blessed to have been able to grow up with the lifestyle that we did…as a cowboy’s kid there is no better feeling than getting to go to work with the “big guys”…and the practice of passing on information and traditions to the next generation is something we very much believe in, and want to continue in our own lives.
Thanks to Adrian and Liz for a great feature!! We wish you much success and keep up the great work! Be sure to check out the Buckaroo Barbie Blog and Facebook Page. You can learn more about Adrian's music on her blog and Facebook page.
Are you an advocate for you way of life? Are you passionate about ranching and farming? We need your story! Send Elizabeth or Jamie an e-mail at foafeature@gmail.com to learn how you can be the next FOA feature!