Trailblazers
The Texas Ranch Roundup chooses to recognize outstanding ranches who, over a lifetime, have shown in word and deed that they have earned the respect and admiration of the livestock industry. These ranchers have never sought out the limelight or public acclaim. The representative of the breed of men and women who individually shaped the Texas cattle industry, they are modest, honest, quiet and unassuming. Their success, in a lifetime pursuit of the cattle business, makes them worthy of consideration as role models for generations to come. Indeed for young people contemplating a career in the ranching business, their accomplishments and exploits are an inspiration. The history of the cattle industry is made up of a patchwork of individual stories of hard work, cow sense, sacrifice, luck, and accomplishment. The Trailblazer Award winners and their stories typify this colorful history.
2025 Trailblazer Award Winner:
Rick Nolan
Ricky Ray Nolan was born on May 2, 1956, in Knox City, Texas, to Dean and JoAnn Nolan. He spent his early years on ranches around Post and Crosbyton, eventually moving to the Y’s Ranch near Paducah as a teenager. It was there that his love for saddle bronc riding and chasing wild cattle through the brush truly took root.
Cottle County is also where he met the love of his life, Debbie Isbell. A Paducah native, Debbie became his lifelong partner in marriage and in ranch life. The two married on November 26, 1977, and set out on a journey that would take them across the American West, living and working on ranches from the Canadian border to the Mexican line. Along the way, they raised two sons: Monty Ray and Ricky Lynn “Bubba.”
Ricky is a fourth-generation cowboy who has followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. Over the years, he’s worked on some of the most iconic ranches in the business, including The Pitchfork, Circle Bar, Four Sixes, the O RO’s in Arizona, The Masterson, Long X, Waggoner’s, and many more.
Though his cowboy journey has taken him far and wide, Ricky has always found his way back to Knox County—the red soil and cedar country that has always felt like home.
Previous Trailblazer Winners
- Jon Means
- Bill Phinizy
- Pete Bonds
- Billie Farley, Jr.
- Jimbo Glover
- Don Carter King, Jr.
- Weldon Hawley
- John Moorhouse
- James Gholson
- Mike Stephens
- Emry Birdwell
- John Welch
- Jack Whitten
- Jim Link
- Joe Self
- Mac Daniel
- J.R. Edwards
- John Merrill
- Alvin “Cotton” O’Neal
- Robert (Bob) H. Moorhouse
- Ronald Lewis
- Bill Craft
- Tom Moorhouse
- Billy George Drennan
- Wilson Scaling
- John Glenn “Sonny” Halsell
- Dudley “Dud” Ellis
- Tom B. Saunders IV
- Bob Byrd
- Glen McFarland
- Bill Flowers
- Richard Bumpus
- Rusty Tinnin
- Keith Slover
- Paige Baize
- George Self
- C.M. “Buzz” Dolan
- Rusty Culp
- Rob Brown
- Charles Schroeder
- Bob Thompson
- Matlock Rose
- Buster Welch
- Jim Ed Basham
- Joe O’Neal
- Boots O’Neal
- Wes O’Neal
- Melvin Mason
- Ted Burkett
- James E. White, Jr.
- J.N. “Buzz” Thorp
- Lawrence Harmel
- Sheep Morrow
- Dick Harper
- Luke Smith
- Helen K. Groves
- Manford Elliot
- Richard K. “Dick” Montgomery
- Don C. King
- John R. “Rich” Anderson
- Dr. Wm. J. “Dub” Waldrip
- N.L. “Boss” Winter
- J.J. Gibson
- Ted Gray
- John Vance Stevens
- Lathan A. Withers
- John Gaither
- O.W. “Ted” Sorrells
- Bob Morris
- Roy Boone
- Wright Hock
- Bill Hemphill
- William Henry Green, Jr.
- Piney Eiland
- George Truett Self
- Carl V. Self
- Jim Humphreys
- Virgil Johnson
- G.L. Proctor
- Richard Aubry “Aub” Stokes
- Tom Blasingame
- Jack Idol
- Foy Proctor
- Watt Reynolds Matthews
- Joe Parker, Sr.
- Frank Derrick
- G.D. “Nig” London
- Emry Birdwell, Sr.
- J.C. “Togo” Moorhouse
- Bryant Edwards