West Texas Stewardship: Vick Bozeman’s Story of Land & Cutting Horses

Vick Bozeman doesn’t talk about conservation as a theory. He talks about it the same way he learned everything that matters. Through work, repetition, and responsibility.

“If dad gave you a job, you finished that job. And you did it right,” he said. “You did not do it twice.”

That principle has followed him from childhood into a lifetime of agriculture on the South Plains and more than three decades of service as a Director of the Lubbock County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). For Bozeman, stewardship has never been optional. That’s the difference between land that lasts and land that doesn’t.

Growing up ranching in Dickens and Lubbock counties shaped how Bozeman views livestock and land. From an early age, he learned that good ranching wasn’t about how many head you owned, it was about understanding what the land could give, and knowing when to ask less of it.

“You didn’t grow cows; you grew grass,” he said. “Honestly, we’re all just grass farmers.”

Drought years made that truth unavoidable. Stocking rates had to match reality, not hope, and conservation wasn’t about trends, it was about survival. Before the drought, Bozeman ran roughly 125 mother cows. Today, he runs closer to 84, adjusting numbers to what the land can handle without depleting it.

Bozeman has watched West Texas agriculture evolve from small fields and labor-intensive irrigation, to today’s technology-driven systems. But the biggest shifts, he says, came when producers started thinking differently about soil and water.

On the water side, efficiency matters more than ever. “We’re not making water,” he said. “Drip irrigation didn’t just improve yields, it helped us use water smarter.” For Bozeman, conservation is about restraint as much as innovation. “Don’t farm it all,” he said. “Use the extra ground wisely.”

Bozeman’s connection to cutting horses runs deep, and it’s never been just a hobby. When his sons were young, Bozeman trained horses himself, hauling his family to shows and using cutting horses as working partners in cattle management, building what he could with what he had. “We didn’t have any money, but we were going to cut horses,” he said. “I trained my own horses.”

What began as a passion slowly grew into something more. As his son Stuart found his footing in the cutting horse arena, the operation began to change shape.

“He showed his first cut horse when he was nine years old and won the youth class,” Bozeman said. “And I knew it was time to quit.”

For Bozeman, stepping back wasn’t loss, it was purpose. “I think that’s the job of a dad,” he said. “To advance your kids, help them as much as you can, and then get out of the way.”

Today, the Bozeman name is widely respected in the cutting horse world, something Vick still describes with a sense of disbelief. “It’s the dream of impossibilities,” he said. “No down-pro trains their own horses, competes like he competes, or wins like he wins. He’s done the impossible.”

Through it all, Bozeman sees a clear connection between horsemanship and stewardship. A great cutting horse is never rushed or forced. It responds with timing and control. He approaches land the same way.

“A really good cutting horse knows how to control a cow,” he said. “Just like a good cow dog.” The same principle applies to the land. “Good ground is good ground,” Bozeman said. “But only if you take care of it.”

Bozeman joined the Lubbock County SWCD board in 1991, expecting to serve a single term. More than three decades later, he’s still there, because the mission matches what he’s always believed.

“What conservation districts do is what we should all be doing,” he said. For him, service is part of stewardship, giving time and experience so future producers have a chance to succeed.

“If we don’t have conservation on the South Plains,” Bozeman said, “We’ll be right back where we were during the Dust Bowl.” When asked what he’d tell young producers today, Bozeman doesn’t overcomplicate it. “Have a plan. Don’t overstock. Improve what you have,” he said.

It’s advice shaped by decades of farming, ranching, and watching the land respond, good or bad, to the choices made on it. And it all traces back to the same lesson he learned as a kid: Do the job right. Respect the land. And always, shut the gates.

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You can find the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board at www.tsswcb.texas.gov, on Facebook, and on Twitter @TSSWCB. The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, established in 1939, administers Texas’ soil and water conservation law and delivers coordinated natural resource conservation programs to agricultural producers through the State’s 216 Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board is the lead agency for planning, implementing, and managing programs for preventing and abating agricultural and silvicultural nonpoint sources of water pollution.
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