By: Jolee Jordan
If you come to McBain, Michigan on the Thursday of Labor Day weekend, you may be surprised to find yourself in a traffic jam of lined-up campers and vehicles that likely outnumber the 600 residents of this sleepy little town in north-central Michigan.
What brings the throngs of folks to town, all willing to wait in line to park and camp in a cow pasture for the long weekend?
The draw is Hughston’s Cow Camp, a gathering for camping, activities, and now award-winning International Professional Rodeo Association (IPRA) rodeo.
Created by Bill and Bonnie Hughston, Cow Camp is held on the family’s 400-acre cow pasture. Many decades later, the event is still run by the Hughston family, just several generations removed.
“Bill and Bonnie were trick riders and had a lot of acts for rodeo like the Bucking Model T Ford,” Kari Hughston explained, noting that her in-laws did everything from Roman riding to trick roping as they traveled the rodeo circuit.
At the heart of Cow Camp is the Hughston family itself. Bill and Bonnie had five sons, Dallas, Denver, Laramie, Star and Laredo. The “boys” and now their kids and grandkids keep the tradition going each year.
“Each of the wives have taken on an aspect of the production, like handling the grandstand ticket sales, the camping reservations, sweatshirt and t-shirt sales, or gathering the bands,” said Kari, who was introduced to Cow Camp at age 16 when she was just dating Laramie or Lum, as he’s known in the family.
“We all work at it plus we have a lot of volunteers who help.”
Many of those volunteers have become basically extended family.
“We have some families who’ve been with us for 25 years,” says Braden Hughston, youngest son Laredo’s daughter. “They pick up trash, drag the arena . . . just do a lot of jobs that no one wants to do and we really appreciate those on the front lines like that.”
Braden has stepped in to run promotions for the event, including managing Hughston’s Cow Camp Rodeo’s Facebook page.
We all do have our own little part,” Braden said. “That’s the fun of it, we’re each doing different things.
Drawing between 500-600 campers each year—some of whom use the event as their annual family reunions, Cow Camp activities include a guided trail ride, cornhole tournament, chili cook-off, competition for the Most Patriotic Campsite, special family events during the rodeo, church services, live music and of course, the rodeo itself.
Cow Camp may last just four days but planning never ends for the Hughstons.
“We stay busy all year long,” Braden said. “We have a meeting in the spring and every year we usually take on a new project. Like last year, we added new bleachers.”
The Hughstons lend a hand to the next generation of rodeo competitors as well, hosting the Michigan High School Rodeo team’s finals.
Today, the whole family lives within about three miles of each other and near Cow Camp which should be noted is not a rodeo venue year round.
“It’s not always setup for rodeo . . . it’s a cattle pasture. So, we have to transform it for rodeo every year,” Braden laughed.
In addition to feeding the family’s cattle, the venue hosts family gatherings like Christmas as well as some graduations and weddings, including Braden’s own to bronc rider Eli Hershberger this summer.
But make no mistake, rodeo is a common thread weaving through the entire Hughston clan.
“All of the family have ties into it,” Kari said. “Some just have day jobs and do rodeo part time.”
Along with running one of the largest herds of Angus cattle in the state, Star works as a pick-up man as does his son Trace, a former saddle bronc rider who worked the International Finals Rodeo (IFR) in Guthrie, Oklahoma last year. As the only one of the boys still immersed in the sport, Star is given the task of handling rodeo planning.
“Star decides on the stock contractor and contract personnel for the rodeo,” Kari said.
Naturally, Star and Trace are the pickup men at Cow Camp. In addition, the family makes sure they always honor their roots with a trick rider as a salute to Bonnie.
The other brothers all eventually found their way behind a steering wheel for their day jobs, just not one going to a rodeo. Dallas worked as a longhaul trucker before his retirement, Denver hauls logs and Laredo also has a truck. Kari and Lum own a trucking company, specializing in hauling livestock.
“Lum was a bareback rider in his day but decided he wanted a weekly paycheck,” Kari said.
Today, Kari and Lum scratch their rodeo travel itch by following their grandkids’ exploits.
Eldest Blayne competed at the IFR last season in the bareback riding. After winning a go round, he finished fifth in the final World standings. Charleigh served as the Michigan High School Rodeo Queen and competes in barrels, goat tying and breakaway while youngest Tessa has just started high school rodeo but is already working with her cousin as a horse trainer.
Though Braden says she doesn’t like competition as much as her cousins, she stays connected to the sport through her line of children’s books, the Cowboy Coy and Rodeo Queen Quinn series, along with other rodeo related writing projects. She has also been a contestant for Miss Rodeo USA for the last two years.
Star’s grandkids are younger but also following the family legacy into rodeo.
“It’s wonderful to bring them up in this lifestyle,” Kari said.
Rodeo has always been the main focus of Cow Camp according to Kari, and the Hughstons sought out sanctioning with the IPRA in 1988. The rodeo has been growing steadily over the years, seeing a big spike in interest after COVID locked people down.
“Since COVID, it’s really grown,” Kari observed. “People were wanting to get out.”
As a result, the Hughstons added a fourth performance to the 2023 edition of the rodeo.
“Our night performances have been sold out so we added a matinee last year for the families,” Kari said. “We added more seating and were probably two-thirds full for the matinee, so we were happy.”
The Hughstons welcomed some big names to the 2023 edition of the Cow Camp Rodeo including eventual 2023 IPRA World Champion Heeler Stephen Britnell, who won the team roping, and 2023 Rookie of The Year Emily Stiles, who claimed the title in her signature event, barrel racing.
The Hughstons also got to cheer on their own, as Blayne rode his way to second in the bareback riding.
As expected, Kari points to moments where the family participates in the rodeo as her favorites in her four-plus decades at Cow Camp.
“It’s neat for the grandkids to be a part of the rodeo,” she said, whether that be in the grand entry or competing for IPRA championship points.
Each year, the Hughstons come up with a different theme but patriotism and community are always part of the pageantry.
“I love the goosebumps I get when they sing the National Anthem,” she admitted, noting all singers are local including a Michigan High School Rodeo Association member set to perform in the matinee this year. “We strive to keep our openings community involved with past veterans walking out each performance.”
The love of Cow Camp is not exclusive to the Hughston family. The IPRA contestants showed their appreciation as well, voting Cow Camp the 2023 IPRA Outdoor Rodeo of the Year.
The unexpected recognition was greatly appreciated and Kari points to the smooth working relationship of the entire Hughston clan that keeps the tradition of Cow Camp alive and thriving.
“It’s astounding that we all get along so well,” she said. “And that we all appreciate what talents everyone brings to the table.”
