When J. Storme was an infant, her grandpa was put in charge of watching her for a few hours. Unsure of how to handle the situation, he took her to see what he knew best: his cows. As they rode around in the pickup truck, he held her up to the window for her to take a look. This moment seems to have embedded itself in her heart, as she has been watching cows and working alongside her grandpa ever since.
Despite her quiet daily life, J. Storme Birdwell (formerly Jannise) rose to national fame after appearing on the reality television program The Ultimate Cowboy Showdown, hosted by country singer Trace Adkins. As she competed alongside other women (and lots of men) from around the country, she showed the depth of her character, faith, stockmanship, and horsemanship. Although she didn’t take home the final prize, she left the nation with a lingering reminder that there were classy cowgirls out there as handy as the men and as kind-hearted as could be.
Her stockmanship skills come from years working with her family on her great grandpa’s ranch, Herbert Clubb & Sons Cattle Co, which is run today by her 89-year-old grandpa with assistance from Birdwell and her brother. They run red and black Brangus cattle, as well as Brahmas on the ranch. In addition to this outdoor education, she attended college at Sam Houston State. Yet the ranch never stopped calling her home and she carries on the family tradition both of fine ranching and strong women.
She rides with poise and confidence, traits no doubt gleaned through long days and years in the saddle. While her grandpa originally bred horses, moisture and mosquitoes brought on a swamp fever outbreak that took breeding to a standstill. Although their horses are now immune, the conditions linger in their mind when evaluating prospects, as it takes a certain creature to thrive in the wet marsh climate that was previously home to rice fields.
One of J.Storme’s first personal horses was a mare purchased as a weanling from the RA Brown Ranch in Throckmorton, TX. J. Storme and her grandpa would frequent the bull sale and one year saw a good deal on a well-papered filly. With her grandpa’s encouragement, she took the initiative to train it herself, using Clinton Anderson videos and taking tidbits to guide her through the process. She found herself on a new learning journey and has since trained a second horse as a personal mount.
When not working cattle or horses, she competes in ranch rodeo events and enjoys photography. Her husband, Jacob Birdwell, is a team roper but is eager to join his wife in the ranch rodeo arena and did so just a few weeks ago for the first time. While most of her Instagram photos depict cows and ranch work, the ones that feature the happy couple show smiles and sweet love. The ranch shots give gritty glimpses into how cattle are cared for, and Birdwell is intentional in sharing photos that can help educate the general public on ranching and aspects that are often misunderstood.
J.Storme and Jacob have made their home on a long dirt road down the street from her grandparents. J.Storme affectionately refers to their old farmhouse as being made of “50 shades of wood” but like the ranch, it tells the story of the lives within a family woven together over time. Even her name bears family ties, with everyone on her dad’s side having a “J” name and her mom and grandma having the middle name Storme. While her parents never added anything to the J, her name seems a natural fit.
With Christmas time approaching, J. Storme plans to pull out her cactus Christmas tree and also put-up outdoor lights. She jokingly admits only her grandma and the UPS man get to see the lights but says it is worth it to see how it makes her grandma smile.
J. Storme is the kind of person you’d be proud to call a friend, and yet she speaks with pride over how blessed she feels by the relationships in her life, drawing special attention to the gift of doing life alongside her grandpa and now her husband.
You may not see her on the television screen again, but you’ll find her in far more important places: horseback pushing cows, sitting in a church pew with her grandparents, or at the ranch rodeo.
Perhaps this is a testimony to her grandfather and great grandfather far better than the ranch’s reputation: the strength of character and grit in their own cowgirl J. Storme.
