Ranching and Rodeoing: Ruby family carries on multigenerational traditions
Between raising four active children and running cattle in four different locations, Jess and Mike “Mikey” Ruby have learned a thing or two about multitasking.
Home base for the Ruby family is a ranch on 8 Mile Road about halfway between Riverton and Pavillion, but they’re constantly on the move.
With three additional operations and a range of rodeos and sports to keep up with, the Ruby family spends most of their time behind the wheel of a truck or on the back of a horse.
Ranching roots
The Rubys run an Angus cow/calf operation, and their ranching roots can be traced back to Mikey’s grandfather Willis “Bill” Ruby and father Mike, Sr., who arrived in Fremont County from Nebraska in 1967.
Bill and Mike, Sr. ran cattle on three operations near Lander, 8 Mile Road and Atlantic City which have now been passed on to Mikey and Jess. Mikey spent his childhood the same way his children do now – taking care of cattle, rodeoing and learning from the generations before him.
Mikey says he’s grateful for the way he grew up and the ability to be “grandfathered in” to the ranching way of life.
“This is what I’ve done from the time I was a kid, and this is the only thing I know how to do,” Mikey says.
“It’s just one of those deals you keep taking on,” Mikey continues. “It’s carried us, and it’ll continue to trickle down the family steps.”
In 2018, Mikey and Jess added another operation near Castle Gardens.
“We’re a little spread out and constantly bouncing back and forth – a hundred miles this way and another hundred the other way,” Mikey says.
Castle Gardens is a year-round operation. Heifers are bred to calve in April and May in order to avoid most of the harsh winter conditions. Jess notes working with “desert cows” keeps everyone on their toes.
“Since they’re out there year-round, they don’t see people very often,” Jess says. “They calve out in the sagebrush and are pretty much on their own. We touch them one time when we brand in the spring and once more when we wean them.”
The Atlantic City operation – also referred to as the mountain place – sustains roughly 600 head of cattle. Pairs are calved out at home near 8 Mile Road from February through April, then shipped to take advantage of good mountain grass in the summer.
According to Jess, gathers take four or five days, aided by crews and the couple’s kids – who are the fourth generation in the mountain – when they’re not tied up with school or sports.
Come fall, the Rubys sell their cattle at Riverton Livestock Auction and start preparing for the next season of busy ranch life.
Rodeo road
Like ranching, rodeo runs deep in the Ruby family’s blood. The couple has four children – 20-year-old Aidan, 17-year-old Aislynn, 13-year-old Eion and Eli, who is eight. They are all carrying on a tradition started by Mikey’s grandfather and passed down through the generations.
Aidan has been riding bulls since he was a child – same as Eion and Eli – and has been making a run at a professional rodeo career since this summer. Eion and Eli continue to rodeo at their respective age levels, in addition to playing football and wrestling.
Aislynn has also been active in rodeo throughout her life. She does a little bit of everything, but her favorite events are breakaway roping and barrel racing.
She rides in the “Mike Ruby Memorial Rodeo” championship saddle she won the first year the family held a memorial rodeo in honor of her late grandfather and has hopes to attend Laramie County Community College on a rodeo scholarship following graduation from Wind River High School.
“We’ll have 20 years put into the Wyoming High School Rodeo Association when it’s all said and done between the oldest and the youngest,” Jess notes. “Our family vacations are taking the kids to the Junior High and High School Rodeo Finals.”
Evenings at the Ruby household usually involve rodeo practice in the family arena, which was constructed from start to finish by the Rubys. Mikey put in the bucking and roping chutes, and Aidan helped with welds as young as eight years old.
With a view of the mountains in the background and friendly passersby on 8 Mile Road, it’s a great place to get in some quality family time while sharpening competitive skills. A host of neighbors and friends made through high school rodeo are often in attendance at the evening practices, ready to offer words of encouragement and celebratory high fives.
“Just about anybody is welcome to come and practice here with our kids,” Jess says, highlighting the tight-knit community the family has found through rodeo and living in the area.
“This valley is pretty close-knit,” she continues. “You know you can count on a neighbor if you ever need anything. The ag community is very special.”
Continuing traditions
In terms of the future, the Ruby family’s legacy of ranching and rodeoing seems secure.
“All four of them have an interest in ranching,” Jess says. “They all enjoy it.”
It will be some time before the kids are ready to slow down from their busy rodeo schedules – and longer even before Mikey and Jess are ready to retire – but in the meantime, the kids are learning the values and work ethic they’ll need to carry on the Ruby family traditions for generations to come.
“With our kids, respect and responsibility are huge,” Jess says. “I don’t think they’d want to be raised any other way.”
Grace Skavdahl is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
