The Words That Made Me Tough
Welcome to Women Honoring the West!
This month’s guest is a working cowgirl and an award-winning poet.
She’s a mixture of grit, savvy, and lady. I had the pleasure of meeting her last year during the Western Writers of America Convention in Amarillo, Texas.
Let’s open the gate and meet Betty Lynne McCarthy.
I spent the first thirty years of my life, except for 2 years in college, on the family ranch northeast of Miles City, Montana. East Fork of Cedar Creek was the XIT’s first cow camp. I always said it was “country so good Texans left Texas to get to it.”
I met one drover who came up the trail. He was 94, and I was 4. (Still counts.)
These were the men my father was raised among. It made for an interesting childhood for me. He always said I got bucked off too easily. He worried I would not be tough enough to ride with the crews of men.
I don’t know if I ever was.
One incident happened in my twenties. I didn’t talk or write about it until later years because I carried the guilt of my father’s judgment.
I was gathering remnants alone one day in October, a brockle-faced cow took her calf and dived into a brushy draw. I was riding a three-year-old; the ground had thawed a bit, and he lost his footing. We rolled to the bottom and came to a stop with him cast across me, unable to get up, and me staring at my saddle’s cinches.
He had every reason to panic and kick me to pieces, but he was lying quiet. I was scared to wiggle, to set him off. After what seemed like an indefinite time, I figured out how to unbuckle my shotgun chap belt and leave them and my boots underneath him. But I tore up one knee badly. When I got back to the barn, Dad could see we were covered from head to toe with mud. I was feeling pretty proud I’d gotten us out of the jam, and the colt wasn’t hurt.
Dad hesitated and said, “A good hand would have never gotten himself in such a fix.”
Well. If he wanted me tough and independent, those words did it. Plus, they reminded me I was treading in a man’s world.
I still struggle with it. Just last week, I snagged a calf that needed an antibiotic shot, and he and I were pretty evenly matched at 140 pounds apiece. In fact, it was turning into a draw as to who had whom. My husband came running up and hollered, “You could just ask for help once in a while!”
The calf is fine now.
My poetry is born of authentic experiences. I’m too lazy to write fiction where you have to invent the whole thing. I was fortunate to travel to Elko and other early Gatherings with some top-shelf poets: Wally McRae, Paul Zarzyski, Mike Logan, Tom Eaton, Gwen Petersen. It has taken me decades to hone my craft, but what a great example I had in these folks. I enjoy paying it forward, and I will mentor anyone interested in really learning the craft of rhyme and meter. So far, my track record is pretty good; most of them have gotten an invitation to Elko in their own right.
When my husband, Sean, and I left Montana, we ranched for a couple of years in New Mexico. But we could see the oil companies were going to have free rein, so we sold it, moved east to SW Missouri. We are raising high-end Angus genetics. To make sure I don’t run out of things to write about, we keep a couple of hundred sheep and brush control goats.
My latest collection, ETCHINGS, contains the WWA Best Western Poem, winner and finalist, gold and silver in the Will Rogers Medallion Awards, and the top Western poetry book and poem of 2025, voted by members of the Academy of Western Artists.
About Betty Lynne
Betty Lynne and her husband, Sean, of 36 years, have ranched in Montana, New Mexico, and now SW Missouri. Three very different climates, but their desire to be on deeded ground was their inspiration to move east. They raise high-end Angus genetics, conception to finish. Betty Lynne is an award-winning poet, WWA Spur, Will Rogers Medallion, and Academy of Western Artists top Western poem and poetry book. She has been a frequent performer at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, spanning from the early days of the 3rd to the 40th.
Connect with Betty Lynne
Facebook profile: Betty Lynne Grue McCarthy
Books can be ordered from me through Facebook or email:
Betty Lynne loves to hear from readers and those who enjoy poetry. Drop your questions and thoughts in the comments.
