As one of only a few girls raising bucking stock in “Cowboy Capital” Stephenville, Texas, bucking the naysayers is sometimes tougher than bucking the bulls.

Recently turning Sweet 16, Megan Walker doesn’t stop to mix sweet ‘n’ sour. She’s too focused and busy rising to new heights, galloping to the beat of her own horse’s hooves while helping oversee the family’s massive bull herd in two countries. “Just the fact that I raise bulls and I do everything that the guys do—they say, ‘you do that?” Megan smiled. “I’m my dad’s right hand, and whatever he does—gather them, do all the sorting—we do that in just a couple of hours, and I’ve been doing this since I was 6 years old.”

The teen, followed close behind by her 8- year old-brother Zane, and the 7-year-old twins Quentin and Amber, are all active junior breeders assisting their dad, Trevor Walke,r maintain two full-time bucking bull ranches in Texas and Canada. The children and their mom are based at their ranch in Stephenville (80 miles southwest of Fort Worth) but also travel across the international border to their other ranch in Saskatchewan, Canada. Because their dad is Canadian, they’ve kept dual citizenship and dual ranches. All total, the Walkers own 300 cows and 225 bulls. Their Texas property spans 600 acres, and they lease an additional 600 acres. The Canadian ranch is a massive 40,000 acres.

Call it a very long distance commute. Trevor Walker said they’ve been breeding bulls since 1991, then expanded to the U.S. in 2000. “I drove an average of 100,000 miles a year....we were pretty busy hauling bulls to the PBR. Back and forth from Canada to Texas is 1,700 miles and 37 hours—I know that number well!”

So does Megan. “It takes us about a dayand- a-half one way to get there. Now that I’ve started driving, we can get there faster...but it’s still long and miserable. We switch out every couple hours and we drive all night.”

The Walkers’ success is reason enough for the trot across two countries. “We put 40 bulls through the PRCA or PBR World Finals,” Trevor noted. They’ve also had other proud moments in the bucking bull business. In 2004, they earned ABBI Breeder of the Year, and were proud that Walker Bucking Stock Breeders was the first recipi - ent of this award. The Walkers won the year-end standings that year and again in 2007. That passion is now hereditary. From their Texas ranch, mom Rebecca Walker said Megan, a junior at Stephenville High School, has really grown into the family business. “Megan can do just about all of it—hauling, doctoring, gathering, sorting, feeding—she has been helping Trevor hay this summer, too. Megan was one of the first girls to get a Junior Breeder membership at age 10.” Megan got her first calf when she was just 2.

Trevor was also quick to praise his eldest child. “I can count on her. She knows where I am, and I always know where she is.”

He good-naturedly added, “I wish she’d be more into the bulls than the boys.”

Not only is Megan quickly grasping the family business, but Zane, Quentin and Amber are becoming her assistants. “They love it. They follow me out there to watch and learn,” Megan declared with sisterly pride.

Zane’s enthusiasm is quickly catching up. “All Zane ever thinks about is bulls, even on the trampoline. ‘Let’s play bucking bulls,’ he’ll say.” Zane is a third-grader at Hook Elementary and the twins are in second grade at Chamberlin Elementary in Stephenville.

Bulls are almost in the Walkers’ blood. Trevor, whose father ranched and rode bareback and bulls for 15 years, also took up bull riding and roping at age 14. Trevor made the PBR World Finals in 1994. “I got tired of getting on sale barn bulls, so we started raising bulls in 1988, and based ‘em off a prize bull in the Calgary Stampede; the bull Charles Manson.” Trevor noted he accrued the best bulls from differerent stock contractors to put together a set of cows for the Canada ranch, and then built the Texas ranch.

While Megan has five bulls, Quentin is proud to have his own bull. Zane, meanwhile, just sold his first bull, a 3-year old, 685 Hot Coffee, and his cow had a bull calf this spring. Amber tenderly helps care for her cow.

Megan excitedly placed 6th in the Junior Futurity in Ardmore, Okla. this year, but she especially likes being out on the range. “Sorting is my favorite part, ‘cuz I get to work with my favorite horse, Diablo, and teach him techniques.”

The Walkers are preparing five bulls for futurities, events Trevor calls a determining factor for the future of a bull. “Once they’re not doing well at futurities, we don’t keep them, especially at $2 a day feeding these 800- pound animals,” he explained. “We rate everything, knowing that 30% will turn back with a dummy, and about 10% are at the top of the game to win.”

Meanwhile, the kids have winning enthusiasm. “I love meeting new people at FFA and rodeos,” Megan animatedly shared. She competes in breakaway and goat tying in high school rodeo, as well as open rodeos and barrel racings. Megan is also the chaplain in the Stephenville FFA chapter, and recently competed in the Texas State FFA Rodeo in Dallas. Zane, Quentin and Amber are involved in youth rodeos. The boys also play football, while Amber enjoys gymnastics.

Both parents agree—it’s all about the kids. “If you don’t give them something to do, you have more trouble than if you don’t,” Trevor said. Rebecca proudly relayed, “The boys have all the PBR trading cards and know all the riders and bulls.” They even set up their own “ranches” with toy panels, bulls and semi-trucks, playing ranch, feed, haul, brand, and put on their own bull ridings. “Amber’s love is her horses and working cattle,” Rebecca added.

Megan’s goals are: “I want to go to college on a rodeo and ag scholarship, and then be an equine chiropractor or equine dentist.”

Meanwhile, Trevor plans to pull their last 100 cows out of Canada this fall, but will keep 200 horses there. “As long as the PBR is where it’s at, there’s where we’re successful,” he declared.

Megan smiled in agreement, and galloped off on Diablo across the vast Canadian ranchland, anxious to check on her herd.