Karen Searle grew up on a ranch in Paradise Valley, south of Livingston, MT. She is passionate about preserving the ranching way of life, and sharing the history and culture of Montana ranchers with the rest of the world. She says, “Think of me as a native Montanan and a travel coordinator who is skilled as a matchmaker. Let me know your interests. I can put you in touch with ranchers whose Montana roots date back 100 years.”

Karen’s goals are to match guests with a ranch that will give them the authentic experience of Montana ranching.  And to help keep the Montana ranch heritage alive by creating a supplemental income for working ranch families.  

Her daughter, Saundra, has been involved in Montana Bunkhouses from the very beginning. In her early teens she was the wrangler and entertainer for guests from around the globe.  In recent years she has taken on the role of tech support, in addition to hosting guests who want what she calls the “Montana Summer Experience” to complement their ranch stay. She is incredibly proud of her mom, and excited to be a part of this new agri-tourism niche they are growing.

Paul Barnes has been a performance horse trainer for over 40 years.  He has started thousands of young horses, trained reined cowhorses, cutting horses, barrel horses, rope horses – even stakes-winning race horses.

His clients have won nearly every cutting horse award there is to win in Northern Nevada. His son is a past National High School Finals Rodeo All Around Cowboy and current college rodeo coach at the University of Las Vegas and his daughter has won a few things too.  

Hey! I am Alyssa Barnes, the host of the Earn Your Spurs Podcast. Thank you for joining me for the very first episode! I will be releasing a new episode every week featuring amazing individuals within the western space - cowboys, cowgirls, authors, movie producers - if they are involved in cowboy culture and have  a fascinating or inspiring story to share, you will be hearing from them on the show.

My goal with the podcast and the Earn Your Spurs blog is to provide a resource for people who want to live a little more western but aren't quite sure how to go about it. With the help of some of the top experts on the skills and nuances of the cowboy lifestyle, I will show you the right way to accomplish your goals or check those items off the ol' bucket list.