Tayla Fraser, Eat Cow Drill Oil Rope Calves
I first met Tayla at the 2013 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas. We were there with a large group, going to watch our friends bull True Blood, buck off Silvano Alves leaving the win in J.B. Mauney’s hands. Tayla and I never really got to sit and chit chat. Once we were home and recuperated, we ended up adding one another on Facebook. In the last eleven months, I have grown quite fond of Taylas quick whit and charm. I am grateful to know her and hope to see more of her over the years to come.
Before meeting Tayla, I had found a Facebook Group called Eat Cow, Drill Oil, Rope Calves. It would’ve been during Calgary Stampede that it popped up on my news feed, and I decided to follow it. ECDORC is for those who do just that. For those of us who support the western lifestyle, and are sick of groups like PETA, and VHS raising a ruckus over a way of life that many of us support and love. I had no idea that my funny new friend Tayla was behind it all.
When I do these interviews I always have a tough time deciding if I take the info and answers the person gives and mold it into a story, or if I go about it in the question and answer format. With Tayla I am going to go the Q&A route, because her answers are candid
Where did you grow up?
Boozano. Btown. The best town in the west by a damsite… Bassano! Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.
What you did when you were younger and how it shaped you to be who you are today
I was a pretty active kid. I was in choir, swim club, all the school sports, students union, and 4H. I’ve gotta say that my billion years in 4H led to some pretty awesome opportunities, friends and experience and I know for certain it’s landed me two jobs. I also think that playing a lot of organized sports (team and individual) helped me to be able to lead and trust others to make good decisions. All of that being said, I’m pretty sure I owe my parents my first million to repay them for all the fuel from carting me around the country.
What do you do for work, you’re always travelling! SO JEALOUS!
I’ve been really lucky to snag jobs that involve travel. I’ve got a little side gig doing photography and design, and that sent me to Texas to photograph some NBBA futurity and derby finals in Fort Worth, which was my first big trip alone, and I had an absolute BLAST. Right now I am fortunate enough to work for Canada Beef, and work with cattle producers from across the country to tell the Canadian Beef Story domestically and around the world.
Tell me about YOU, what would you want ppl to know
Once as a bridesmaid I a few too many glasses of wine at the head table, and made out with the MC at the podium during his speech. In my defense he dared a single girl to kiss him. Poor guy. He was so small…
Also the undefeated leg wrestling champion in one province and two states (Montana and Utah)
I have no idea where to start really. I love to tell stories, drink a couple beers and have a lot of fun. I’m single too, just saying….
Eat Cow, Drill Oil, Rope Calves – Explain it for those who don’t know.
ECDORC started really as nothing more than a pissed off rant below a CBC news story about the Vancouver Humane Society protesting calf roping. I was just tired of people ragging on Albertans for living life the way we always have. It really got under my skin that people take advantage of our prosperity here not knowing what it takes to make those things happen.
Knowing I couldn’t “really” make a difference, I wanted to give a stealthy “FU” to people out there who bitch and moan about how we live here. I wanted people to be able to give a wave or a silent nod to someone they knew was a supporter of a “western lifestyle” and show a little solidarity. I whipped up some bumper stickers, and the rest is kind of history I guess. It’s grown into a really great group of followers and some great friends. I’ve also given away way more swag than I’ve sold. It’s absolutely not a business for me. While it did pay for one trip to NFR, basically every penny that comes in goes back to some new related project.
Whose the audience for ECDORC
It started out with friends and family but quickly spread through southern Alberta. After CTV Calgary ran the story media outlets across Canada and the US ran the story in the next couple days.
Now we have 16,800 fans from across the world. Most of them are farmers, ranchers and oilpatch folks from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, the Dakotas, New Mexico and Texas. You’d really think I could find myself a man out of that group….
Now along with those awesome supporters came a slew of jerks and assholes. I had a flood of people email me with rude comments and even a pretty brutal death threat. I wasn’t worried; I was more convinced that I was doing the right thing. Someone rips off my bumper sticker (mine is a magnet) on a regular basis. I wish it was someone who wanted to keep it, but I suspect that’s not the case.
Favorite go to drink –
Whisky. By the bucket. Twisted Tea is my other go-to. Warm, cold, been sitting on a trailer fender for two nights, I don’t even care.
Perfect day entails
If I’m traveling I’m happy. I’m weird – I love airports and hotels and strange places.
If you were stuck on an island the one thing you would take with you is
It’s no surprise that I’d be lost without my best friend Sandy. Don’t tell her, but I’m really glad rodeo season is over so I can see her again!!
Favorite places you have been to
I don’t even know where to start. Belize is awesome. I’ve been twice, and it’s really hard to beat the island life of Caye Caulker, Belize. The rum, the seafood, the people…. The bar called the Lazy Lizard had a sign that says “a sunny place for shady people.” That’s pretty much my kind of place!
Belt, Montana has to be number two. It’s like any other tiny Montana town, but during rodeo weekend it’s like Montana Mardi Gras. Bands and people and booze aplenty. Even with the intensity of the hangovers I have on “Belt Sunday” this still makes the list. Oh the stories….. I always wonder if Sandy will ask me to come with her, because I generally make a complete ass of myself in front of people she has to spend all rodeo season with.
Atlanta is really cool. I love Texas.. I’m more into the stories and the memories than an actual place I think.
I can tell you with absolute certainty that I would never again go back to Guatemala! Being reprimanded by border authorities is not my kind of fun.
Whats it like to be married to Garth Brooks – but seriously? *
It’s tough, you know. Some days I wonder if Trisha will ever find out that her marriage isn’t even legal, but we’ll cross that road when we get to it. Haha! But honestly, Garth was my very first concert and it’s been a sordid love affair ever since. The 2011 show in Calgary was so unreal. I paid $500 for floor tickets, and I would have paid two or three times more if I had to. It was worth every penny to be a part of that show. His music covers so many life situations and emotions, and EVERYONE knows “Friends in Low Places…”
If you don’t already, clink the links to follow ECDORC on Facebook and Twitter, or follow her personal Twitter and Instagram.
I look forward to seeing her down the road, and I hope our next visit is over a couple of beers at a Garth Brooks concert.. Or at least a Garth CD playing in the background..
