Glenn Carlton is a third generation commercial cattle raiser turned bucking bull breeder. While raising cattle has always been a family tradition, the switch to raising bucking bulls has been a welcome change of pace for Glenn and Karen Carlton and their two sons, Colt and Chance.
Glenn had always had an interest in rodeo cattle. He rode bulls and also worked for stock contractor Buddy Pinz. His job as executive director of the North Texas State Fair also put him in touch with the rodeo industry and, eventually, stock contractor Sammy Andrews.
“When Bob Tallman started the Rodeo Stock Registry I knew the breeding deal would become legit. That’s when we started raising bulls. The first year I borrowed a Bodacious son from Sammy Andrews and put him on commercial cows,” Carlton said.
Over time, Carlton began replacing his commercial cows with his bred to buck heifers. “As I was keeping heifers I was reducing the number of commercial cattle and now we’re out of commercial cattle completely,” he said.
Carlton also continued to add quality outside genetics to his herd with great bulls like Achy Breaky, Copenhagen Vegas and Copenhagen Zandy. Most recently Carlton acquired 22 All Star, a NFR and PBR Finals bull, from Sammy Andrews. All Star is an A6 son out of a Broke Back V cow. “Our first calf crop from him is on the ground now and I like them better than any set of calves we’ve had,” Carlton said.
When picking bulls to breed to, Carlton said he looks for proven producers. “We’ve got a lot of Skat Kat in our herd. I like to have something that people recognize the name or a young superstar that you know has the ability. I won’t put a bull on cows just because of his papers. He’s got to buck. Actually, I prefer both,” Carlton said.
When Carlton started his herd, he went to top breeders like Roy Carter and Sammy Andrews for females. “I look at a cow’s conformation and the way they move. I want those cattle to be light-footed. I want to walk into a pen and see them turn and face me,” he said.
One of Carlton’s first successes came with a young bull he bought from Sammy Andrews. “Erks Me was an Erkle calf out of a Hooter cow. He won about 10 thousand in futurities back when there were only two futurities a year. He’s since gone back to Sammy and been Co-Bull of the Year in the Texas Circuit and went to the NFR,” Carlton said.
In 2004, Carlton’s bull Hooked in Vegas finished in third place in the ABBI futurity standings. Hooked in Vegas also placed at classic events and is currently being hauled by Sammy Andrews.
In 2006, Trouble With Humans was Carlton’s stand out. Trouble With Humans won the Wichita Ranch NBBA Invitational Novice Futurity and split third and fourth at the Texas Breeder’s Classic.
Carlton’s most recent star is CCC 541 Honky Cat. Honky Cat competed in two-year-old futurities last year and won just over $11,000. He was the NBBA Year-End Futurity Champion. This year Honky Cat has already been making a splash at NBBA Derby events. He recently won the NBBA’s Breeder’s Invitational Derby and pocketed nearly $8,000.
“We’ve been fortunate enough that one or two bulls every year has stepped up to where we feel confident to go down the road with them,” Carlton said.
But Carlton’s not keeping all the good ones to himself, either. “The last two $10,000 Texas Breeder’s Classic incentive winners were calves we raised. We will turn loose of some of the good ones too,” he said.
This year’s Texas Breeder’s Classic incentive winner was CCC 681, owned by Lynn Griffin. Griffin bought Copenhagen Zandy from Carlton several years ago and the two have continued doing business together since. “He has been raising some good stuff and I enjoy working with him. Glenn’s been in it long enough to have figured things out,” Griffin said.
According to Carlton, his breeding program has been a result of hard work and sticking with it. “We’ve also been fortunate enough to have some good bulls come along. We made some good purchases too. I bought a cow, #62, from Roy Carter. She raised Hooked in Vegas and she also turned out to be the mother to Uncle Kracker. And sometimes it doesn’t hurt to be lucky” he said.
Carlton said he owes much of his success to his good friends in the business like Sammy Andrews. “We wouldn’t have near the success we’ve had if it weren’t for Sammy’s help,” Carlton said.
According to Andrews, Carlton’s hard work is what pays off in the end. “Glenn puts a lot into it. He’s a smaller breeder so he’s got a hands-on deal. He puts a lot of effort into it and he handpicks his cows. He’s very selective about what he breeds,” Andrews said.
In addition to being dedicated to his own breeding program, Andrews said Carlton has a passion for the bucking bull industry as a whole. “I think Glenn’s a real caring person about the breeding business and puts his heart and soul into it,” Andrews said.
Carlton is optimistic about the future of the bucking bull business and said the key to growing our industry is in the aged events. “For it to work for all of us we need to support the futurity system. That’s the key to our market. It’s tough to pay the entry fees sometimes but the rewards are there in the end,” Carlton said.
He also encouraged new breeders to buy only registered cattle and get references on sellers when planning their purchases.
The immediate future of Carlton Cattle Company involves rebuilding their herd numbers. “We had to reduce our herd in 2005 and 2006 due to drought. Right now our goal is to restock these pastures we pulled cattle out of. We’ve got 250 acres that hasn’t had a cow on it in two years,” Carlton said.
Carlton said the family’s most important goal is to have a highly respected breeding program that produces quality cattle. From the way things have been going, it looks like they’re well on their way.
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