ADiamond in the Rough by Susan Bedford   Afew years ago, David Simpson was a man with some cows and a handful of bucking bulls. He was a familiar face at ABBI events—one of the many guys with a small bucking bull operation and big dreams. Fast-forward a couple of years. Simpson now owns futurity bulls, classic bulls, PBR bulls and short-go bulls—and he just purchased an 18-wheeler so he can haul as many bulls to events as PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert invites him to bring.   The rising success of Diamond S Bucking Bulls is a gem of a story, but it is no fairy tale. The program has been built solidly from the ground up—with countless hours of hard work and unwavering dedication. Simpson’s involvement in cattle began in 1996 when he and his father started Diamond S Cattle Co., a commercial cattle operation. Bob Tallman was Simpson’s neighbor—and within a few years, Simpson caught Tallman’s fever for bucking bulls. “Tallman talked me into breeding some cows to Bodacious,” recalled Simpson. “We went to the first sale and bought a few cows,” he explained, “and it went pretty slow for the first four or five years as I slowly built my herd up to where I am now—about 150 momma cows,” explained Simpson.   The industry first sat up and took note of Simpson last year when he purchased three bucking brothers for $250,000— Shanghai, Panama Red and Gigolo. “Because I was just one of the guys, I think people may have been surprised by that purchase,” said Simpson.   Back in 1998, when he got his first bucking bulls, friend and neighbor Scott Pickens flanked them for Simpson. “I’ve known Scott since he worked for Rodeo Stock Registry. When the ABBI started and Scott went to Oklahoma to work for them, he’d still come back and flank bulls for me at competitions.” Simpson’s passionate about bucking bulls—even though his “real” job is in the oil and gas industry. “Right out of college I went to work for the ranch. After about four years I branched out and began working for our family oil and gas company. It was important to me to be a part of what my dad has built—so that’s my main job,” explained Simpson. The bucking bull deal is important to me because I do it on my own on the side.”   The industry may have been surprised by Simpson’s quarter million dollar purchase, but it was just one carefully orchestrated move planned by Simpson and Pickens—part of the master plan to make Diamond S Bucking Bulls a significant player in the industry. Bucking bulls may be his “side” job, but Diamond S is far more than a hobby. It takes full-time employees to keep it running. And Simpson is no absentee owner. “I make it to about 75 percent of the events my bulls buck at this year,” related Simpson. Simpson’s family shares his passion for bulls. Wife Aime, daughter Taylor and son Logan all enjoy going to PBR events.   “My daughter Morgan doesn’t really care about the bulls yet— then again, she is only 10 months old.” When he can’t be at an event he doesn’t worry— the bulls are in the extremely capable hands of his old friend Pickens. “I can’t be gone for two or three weeks at a time, like Scott has to be. So my family and I will usually fly into an event. I think my eldest daughter roots harder for the cowboys than she does my bulls! But I really love to go,” confirmed Simpson. Pickens was lured away from his ABBI job of registration director to help expand the Diamond S program last November. Pickens now hauls, cares for and flanks the Diamond S Bulls.   “Having the opportunity to work for David is great,” related Pickens. “It has given me the chance to be in on the ground floor and being able to see the direction we’re going is exciting. It is all coming together now and I can really see that David and Diamond S Bucking Bulls is going to be a prominent breeder and stock contractor in the PBR for many years to come.” Pickens calls Weatherford his home along with his wife Kelly whom he married in November. Kelly grew up in a rodeo family and is a trick rider. She also trains horses and pitches in around the ranch.   “She’s really supportive of me and understands the rodeo lifestyle so she is okay with all the traveling I have to do,” said Pickens. Diamond S Cattle Co. ranch manager Corey Hall also cares for Simpson’s bucking cows, heifers and yearlings. “Corey has been with me for 10 years and has taught me more about cattle than just about anyone,” said Simpson.   Another invaluable member of the Diamond S team is Tommy Fowler. “My father-in-law works for me on the ranch and he’ll feed and handle things when Scott is on the road. I’m also hoping to hire someone to be on the road with Scott so he has someone to help him with the driving.” As the Diamond S team grows, so does the herd and Simpson’s genetics. “This year was the first year for breeding where I really had enough bulls that I could pick and choose what to use. I went with what I thought were our best bulls at the time—Cat Daddy, Deputy Sheriff, and brothers Shanghai, Panama Red and Gigolo. I also put a Futurity bull—407—on some heifers,” related Simpson. “Since then we’ve acquired Hot Stuff and Okeechobee Spots—which I think are two of the better bulls myself. I think Okeechobee and Cat Daddy are about even. Hot Stuff is still kind of green, but I think once he comes along he’ll be one of our better bulls.” Pickens agrees with Simpson on using 407, who has had a strong Futurity showing so far this season. “Our top two Futurity bulls are 407—which is a Houdini son out of a Skat Kat cow that David raised. The other one is 421 Velvet Elvis. He’s a Velvet Hour son out of a Kish-bred cow,” said Pickens. “David has also partnered with the Jaynes Gang this year on some good Futurity bulls—like M49 Pazzaz, who is currently sitting third in the ABBI standings.”   “I’m real high on Cat Daddy,” said Pickens when pressed to name a favorite bull, “probably because he’s our No. 1 bull. Hot Stuff from Bennie and Rhett Beutler is also one I’m excited about. And of course I like the three brothers. All three have very different personalities. They all buck and they’ve established themselves on the PBR tour.” It is hard for Simpson to single out a favorite animal. “I do like bulls that start out slow and get better and better every time. We have one bull called Dozer that I got from Trevor Walker like that. Hot Stuff also gets better each time we buck him. Okeechobee had a real good trip in Tulsa,” recalled Simpson. “Shanghai has been the highest-marked bull of the year so far—but he is on-and-off sometimes. Sometimes he’s real rank and other times he just looks lazy—but he’s still one of my favorites. Cat Daddy on the other hand does the same thing every time. There’s another bull I like— Powerhouse— which I got from Trevor Walker.”   Powerhouse is named after the gym Simpson owns in Weatherford. He has 30-40 cows in his herd that he has bought from Walker. “Trevor has really helped me grow along the way. If I need any advice, I can just call him,” stated Simpson. “When I first started going to ABBI Classic events I didn’t have a truck or a driver. Guys like Lyndal Hurst, Chad Weishuhn, Jerry Lindley and Billy Jaynes were my friends and really helped me along the way.” Simpson thinks Diamond S’ best bet for the ABBI events in Las Vegas is bull 407. “I think 407 has a good shot at being in the top 10 in Las Vegas in the Futurity.” Simpson will be in Las Vegas for the duration of the PBR World Finals and the ABBI Finals. “I’m hoping we get 10-12 bulls in the PBR Finals, but we’ll see.” The future looks bright for Diamond S. “The oldest bull on the truck is 6 years old,” related Pickens. “So we’ve got a good core group with longevity.”   “I’ve got my herd big enough now that next year I should have 50 bull calves of my own. Eventually I want to be able to fill my truck with my own bulls that I’ve raised,” affirmed Simpson. “I love doing this. My goal is to have 30-40 PBR bulls going down the road that are good enough to stay in the PBR. Bulls that everybody likes—the riders like them and Cody (Lambert) likes them. If you look out there, there really aren’t a whole lot of contractors who have a truck and pot and haul a lot of bulls—and someday I’d like to be known as one of the bigger contractors.” In the rough and tumble world of bucking bulls, Diamond S is the genuine article—and is really starting to shine.		Scott Pickens and David Simpson.     The Simpsons: Taylor, Aime, Morgan, David and Logan.     Diamond S’ 407 scored 84.25 points and won second place with $3,656 at the ABBI Futurity inStephenville.     Diamond S’ Cat Daddy bucks off Jody Newberry for 45.5 points in Billings.
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