Words by Chance Hoener | Photography by Chance Hoener | March 26, 2015<\/p>\n

The trio of rider, horse, and calf swerved across the southeast Kansas pasture in a blur of hair and leather, topped by a swinging lasso. Travis Duncan sent the rope sailing through the air, swiveling it around the calf\u2019s neck. The horse strained against the weight of the calf as Duncan stepped off and tied the calf’s feet. And as a man pulled a trailer around to load his runaway calf, the first job of the day was done.<\/p>\n

Duncan wears many hats, but they are all cowboy hats. He is a \u201cday helper,\u201d a man people call when they need help with their cattle. He shoes horses. And he wears belt buckles that show off his success on his ranch rodeo team. His way of life is an uncommon one in these times. A forgotten one.<\/p>\n

The old ways of the cowboy are dying out. The Bureau of Labor Statistics listed farmers and ranchers among the fastest declining jobs<\/a> in 2012 and the profession is projected to fall nearly 20 percent by 2022. Today, most ranches are large-scale ranches owned by big businesses or small family operations with full-time hired help. The takeover of tycoons in the ranching industry is a big part of this decline. But Duncan isn\u2019t a rancher; he\u2019s a cowboy. He doesn\u2019t own the land he works on, and he isn\u2019t a full-time hand. He does what people need him to do in a \u201chave horse, will travel\u201d business model. Some days he has a lot to do, and others he only scrapes by.<\/p>\n

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Duncan holds a horse\u2019s hoof between his legs while tacking on a new shoe.<\/p><\/div>