#187 Jim Swearingen | He Set the Table for a Rodeo Dynasty
From Beyond the Chutes by Doug Simcox
April 28, 2026 · 20 min · Season 1 · Episode 187
About this episode
Jim Swearingen discusses his role in building a rodeo community in the Northeast.
Recorded last fall at Mike Swearingen’s Rodeo Reunion in Wyoming, New York, this episode of Beyond the Chutes sits down with a true patriarch of rodeo in the East—Jim Swearingen. Husband to Nancy, father to Mike, Sam, Danny, Pearl, Patty, and Beth, Jim didn’t just raise a rodeo family—he helped build a rodeo community. From a small riding stable in Western New York to the early days of Little Britches Rodeo in the late 1960s, Jim put kids on horses and gave them a place to start. What followed shaped generations of cowboys and cowgirls across the Northeast. If you’ve ever been to the Attica Rodeo—founded in 1959 and still filling the stands today—you’ve felt the impact of the Swearingen family. This is more than a conversation. This is legacy, hard work, and the foundation of rodeo east of the Mississippi. Follow Beyond the Chutes for more real stories from the rodeo road. #BeyondTheChutes #BeyondTheChutes, #Rodeo, #JimSwearingen, #AtticaRodeo, #LittleBritchesRodeo, #RodeoHistory, #CowboyLife, #WesternHeritage, #RodeoFamily, #BullRiding, #CalfRoping, #CowboyLegacy, #WesternLifestyle, #RodeoPodcast, #AmericanRodeo, #CowboyStories, #RodeoLife, #PRCA, #IPRA, #EastCoastRodeo
People in this episode
Host: Doug Simcox
Guest: Jim Swearingen
Topics covered
- rodeo
- family legacy
- community building
- cowboy culture
- Northeast rodeo history
Keywords
- rodeo
- Jim Swearingen
- Attica Rodeo
- Little Britches Rodeo
- cowboy legacy
- rodeo history
- Northeast rodeo
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Little Britches Rodeo, Attica Rodeo
Places: Wyoming, New York
More episodes of Beyond the Chutes
- #191 Chris Anderson | Mike Swearingen, Hard Way Bull Riding & Life on the Rodeo Road · June 2, 2026 · 14 min
- #190 Inside The American Rodeo with Lane Peterson | The Road to Arlington, $2 Million & The Eastern Regional Finals · May 19, 2026 · 40 min
- #189 Rolling Smooth: Behind the Scenes of Podcasting on the Rodeo Road · May 12, 2026 · 37 min
- #188 Cowboy to Full-Time RVer: Stan Cromlish’s Rolling Smooth Story · May 5, 2026 · 38 min
- #186 American Rodeo Eastern Qualifier: Winner Interviews - $2 Million on the Line · April 21, 2026 · 30 min
- #185 The American Rodeo: From Lexington to Arlington: Winning Rides, Big Stakes, One Step Closer · April 14, 2026 · 1h 17m
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