Started For Cowboys,
By Cowboys
An Interview with BUTCH KNOWLES, Co-Founder of Farm-City Pro Rodeo
Rodeo Life: Why is it important for you to portray
rodeo and western values through the concept on a
handshake��
Butch Knowles: We didn’t have contracts with contractors,
we didn’t have contracts with our sponsors. Everything
was a handshake and a verbal agreement and
everyone stuck to them. To me, because I’ve been in the
western lifestyle my whole life ranching and rodeoing
and lived around those types of people, that’s how it’s
done. Your word is your word and some��mes you wish
you can take it back, but if you make a commitment with
a handshake, good or bad, you have to commit.
RL: What goals have you met since star��ng Chute Eight��
What are your current goals��
BK: The goals, of course, are to create more revenue.
Once we create more revenue, we want to make the
rodeo that much bigger and give out more prize money.
They just rebuilt the arena up there, and I wasn’t involved
in that but they need new grandstand, or it will go
straight into the purse.
It’s a professional rodeo put on by cowboys for cowboys.
We know what brought guys to the game and that’s
what we wanted to do and that’s s��ll the ini��al goal: to
increase the purse and make it as big as we can.
RL: Why is it important to support the sport of rodeo
and the cowboys behind it��
BK: I’m a huge rodeo fan, it’s been my whole life. I started
compe��ng as a young man. Everything I have is in one
form or another a��ributed to rodeo and what it stands
for. It’s a great way of life, it really is. I’m obviously done
compe��ng, but I have friends all over the United States.
Nothing is be��er than the comradery and friendships
you build.
RL: How can rodeo fans get behind Chute Eight Whiskey
and support the rodeo��
BK: I think one takes care of the other. I want people
drinking the whiskey because it’s really good whiskey,
and it is. When I entertain, I like to have a good whiskey
available for whoever wants it. If people drink it because
it’s good, then they are going to pass it around, it’ll
spill over into other parts of life and not just in western
lifestyle. If it’s successful, then that means everything is
successful including the rodeo.
RL: Why did you decide on Whiskey�� When did you
decide to expand to vodka��
BK: The original idea was to have vodka and not whiskey.
When they developed the vodka, the dis��ller said that
they had a really good blend of whiskey. The vodka was
the original a��empt and then whiskey took front and
center from that. The vodka is very good as well. We
have both available. There’s a lot of people that drink
vodka that don’t drink whiskey. There’s a big vodka
market that really is untapped.
RL: What can we expect to see in the near future from
Chute Eight Whiskey��
BK: Chute Eight Whiskey is trying to grow in di��erent
markets. The rodeo itself has bought the rights back
for the whiskey, so it’ll be adver��sed di��erently and it’s
going to open up some avenues to where we can get the
whiskey out there, and not just here in the Northwest,
but na��onwide. That’s the ul��mate goal. It really ��ts
everywhere.