EPISODE
14
Boosting Women's Sports with Linsay Rosser-Sumpter
EPISODE LINKS.
SHOW NOTES.
In this episode of McFarland Minutes, Lindsey Rosser Sumpter, the Commissioner of Women’s Rodeo Championship, shares her incredible journey in the rodeo industry. Born into a family deeply rooted in rodeo, Lindsey discusses her experiences from growing up in the industry, competing, coaching, and her roles with Professional Bull Riders and Otero College. She recounts the development and impact of the Women’s Rodeo Championship, aiming to offer equal opportunities for female athletes in rodeo. Lindsey also emphasizes the importance of inclusivity, her passion for supporting women in the sport, and the positive effects of collaboration within rodeo organizations. This episode celebrates the stories of female athletes, their challenges, and achievements, and Linsay’s determination to continue growing and innovating the sport.
00:00 Introduction to Episode 11
01:04 Lindsey Rosser Sumpter’s Rodeo Journey
03:44 Becoming the Commissioner of Women’s Rodeo
05:32 Balancing Family and Rodeo Life
06:16 Achievements and Challenges in Women’s Rodeo
08:02 The Passion Behind Women’s Rodeo
13:27 Magical Moments at Women’s Rodeo
20:43 Celebrating Women in Sports
24:35 Partnerships and Future Goals
27:10 Women’s Rodeo Championship: Inclusivity and Opportunities
29:27 The Story Behind the Logo: Fancy
31:33 In Her Boots: Celebrating Influential Cowgirls
35:32 Challenges and Opportunities in Rodeo
46:20 Collaboration in the Rodeo Industry
51:26 Soft Launch to Monday: Personal Reflections
ABOUT THIS EPISODE.
In rodeo, legacy isn’t just passed down but lived, day in and day out. In this episode of McFarland Minutes, we talk with Linsay Rosser-Sumpter, whose roots in the arena run deep. Her background in rodeo isn’t just history, it’s the foundation for the progress she’s driving today. You’ll feel it in the way she speaks about her grandfather, Cotton Rosser, a showman, a legend, and the kind of man who believed the crowd deserved more than a show. They deserved a story. Linsay grew up working the fences, watching the production come to life from the inside out, touching every part of the sport: competitor, coach, and commissioner.
The camera doesn’t lie. When she talks about the Women’s Rodeo World Championship, you see the fire behind her words. This isn’t just an event, it’s a movement. One that carves space for the girls watching from the stands, dreaming of their turn. For too long, women’s events in rodeo lived in the shadows. Now, under the bright lights, they’re stepping into a spotlight they’ve earned. Linsay talks partnerships as well, “Together,” an organization backing women in sports, is one more step toward breaking barriers, not just for rodeo but for women in every arena. Her vision isn’t about competition among organizations. It is about community and building something bigger than any one person or brand.
This episode isn’t just about rodeo. It is about progress, legacy, and what it means to ride for something bigger than yourself. Linsay Rosser-Sumpter isn’t waiting for the future of women’s rodeo. She is building it, one ride, one story, and one champion at a time. Leadership isn’t loud. Sometimes, it is quiet, steady, and determined.
IN THIS EPISODE.
Linsay Rosser Sumpter
Commissioner of Women's Rodeo Championship
https://www.linkedin.com/in/linsay-rosser-sumpter-98090b28/
https://womensrodeochampionships.com/
Linsay Rosser Sumpter is a woman of many hats. Born and raised within the rodeo business, a wife of a six-time NFR steer wrestler Wade Sumpter, mother of two, rancher, horse trainer, Women’s Rodeo Championship Commissioner, and collegiate agriculture professor, Sumpter has a full plate.
With a passion for preserving the western lifestyle and rodeo, she determined to continue and expand on the opportunities for women in rodeo. She has been involved in various aspects of the rodeo scene, including acting as a spokesperson and advocate for the sport appointed as the WRC Commissioner in February 2022, Sumpter is also served as the head rodeo coach of Otero College in La Junta, CO. With 15 seasons under her belt as head coach, Sumpter utilizes her skillset to develop the knowledge of rodeo to her college athletes simultaneously molding their skills in the classroom and arena. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University in Agriculture Science, and a master’s in mass communications, Sumpter had a successful rodeo career herself. Prior to joining Otero College in June 2009, Sumpter held positions with PBR (Professional Bull Riders) as a PR and Marketing Manager. Sumpter is a third generation of the famous Rosser family of Marysville, CA. She assisted in all aspects of the production of rodeos with her hall-of-fame grandfather Cotton Rosser’s Flying U Rodeo Company. Sumpter continues her career as a professional breakaway roper while maintaining her duties as mom to all her son’s baseball games, wrestling tournaments, and flag football games. She was the recipient of the Western Sports Foundation Gritt award as well as the winning of the Montana Silversmiths 2024 Trailblazer recipient.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS.
NATALIE MCFARLAND
PRESIDENT, FOUNDER
MCFARLAND PRODUCTIONS
After freelancing her way through college, Natalie established McFarland Productions in 2014, which has continued to grow rapidly over the last few years. Her passion and focus have always remained the same; capturing, understanding, preserving and promoting Ranching, Farming, Western Lifestyle and AgriBusiness. She has always had a love for the western culture and even at a young age it was unmistakably clear she would someday find a career serving the industry.
Natalie grew up on a small ranch, rodeoed, showed horses in a variety of disciplines, showed livestock, and participated in 4H and Oregon High School Equestrian Teams. She has trained herding dogs and started colts, worked with sheep and cattle and has had the experience of racing to finish up a hayfield before a rainstorm hit. She understands the joys, sorrows, wins, losses and hard work of ranchers and farmers. That’s why McFarland Productions can produce authentic marketing campaigns for the businesses, organizations, events, and brands of the western and agriculture industry – it’s who she is.
With a passion for building community surrounding brands, Natalie focuses on building real connections between companies/brands and the people that make up their community. Telling the stories of your customers and making them apart of the brand’s story is her main focus. Creating real, human, meaningful connections and strengthening community within the western and agriculture industry through strategic marketing services.
SCOUT FOSTER
OUTREACH MARKETING MANAGER
MCFARLAND PRODUCTIONS
Scout’s faithfulness to the agriculture and western sports industry is rooted in tradition. Growing up in Central Florida, she stood by her family as they supported different sectors of the industry, including raising beef cattle, bucking bulls for local rodeos, and spending weekends with her grandparents who lived on Disney’s Wilderness Preserve.
Moving away from The Mouse, Scout graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Nation’s top agricultural communications college at Texas Tech University in 2022.
Now residing in Crockett, she and her husband, Lane, keep busy raising beef cattle and bucking bulls with her family. Scout also loves gardening, raising chickens, reading, and her two dogs: Rue and Dill.
