Wilson County News - Agriculture Today - Meet Curt Pate, ‘cow whisperer’

Wilson County News
June 30, 2009
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Many people might remember the movie “The Horse Whisperer.” Now meet the man who served as an equine technical advisor for the 1998 movie -- Curt Pate. Because of Pate’s teaching technique, some people have called him “the cow whisperer.”

Pate has been an American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Professional Horseman, a featured clinician at AQHA Regional Experiences, and a rodeo announcer. He performed his public horse demonstrations for 15 years with Purina and Priefert, manufacturers and suppliers of livestock and pet feed and quality ranch and horse equipment, respectively.

Currently, and for the past four years, Pate is involved with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (NCBA) Stockmanship and Stewardship Tour. He can be found conducting ranch roping and cattle demonstrations, spending approximately 300 days a year on the road.

For producers, the beef industry has changed in the past five years, as well as for the consumer. Once, the consumer was interested in “good tasty beef.” Today, the consumer wants to know that the animal is treated properly, Pate said.

The national beef association found in a survey that 97 percent of consumers “love eating beef,” if they know that the animals were treated humanely.

When questioned as to how the public would know the treatment given to the beef they consume, Pate said that the public “will believe us” just as a handshake is an honest gesture. “If we lie, the cattlemen would be audited, since the government is watching us.”

A person “doesn’t understand the world of horses without cattle,” he said during his horse demonstration. Pate teaches the same principles used with a colt as with handling cattle, hence the nickname “the cow whisperer.”

Pate also teaches different ranch roping techniques, including roping from the ground -- walking and in a standing position -- as well as low-stress roping astride a horse.

Pate’s seminars include a few hours of classroom prior to actual field demonstrations. He also conducts a four-hour stockmanship and stewardship class that includes gathering or rounding up the cattle, processing at the chute, and loading and hauling the animals humanely. He also conducts two-hour demonstrations for the public.

Pate’s wife, Tammy, has also been involved in teaching the technique for more than 20 years. They have two children, Rial and Mesa, who are also involved with cattle and horses.

The Pates, who just sold their ranch in South Dakota, currently reside on a ranch in Montana, running 50 head of cattle.

At the present time, Pate and his wife are considering another move, this time for a five-year stint in Russia to help assist with the startup of a 10,000-head cattle operation.

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craig shell
california
June 30, 2009 4:00pm

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I traveled all over the USSR over 20 years ago and I saw a lot of great cattle country,
mostly in the Ukraine. It reminded me of the central Canadian plains. ... Read More