Kristy Lee Cook didn’t grow up in a rodeo or hunting family, but once she discovered those passions, she planted herself firmly in both worlds. Originally from Oregon, the 33 year old presently makes her home in Amarillo, Texas. Kristy is a country singer and songwriter who made her debut through American Idol, and has since released an album and four singles. She’s hosted the Outdoor Channel’s “Outdoors 10 Best” and Versus Channel’s “Goin’ Country”, while she’s currently the host of “The Most Wanted List”. The show is finishing its third season on the Sportsman Channel in March, with filming for the fourth season underway. “I really love sharing the outdoors with friends and family, and being able to go on adventures with people who have always wanted to do those things,” says Kristy. “That’s what started the show. I’ve gotten to check a lot of things off my bucket list and take other people along to check things of theirs. Capturing it on TV is even more rewarding, and sharing those memories with friends and family for the rest of my life.”
Kristy plans and organizes every episode of the show, and season three promoted elk, mule deer, and even Tahr hunting in New Zealand. “I’d like to try an Alaska hunt for something different next season,” she adds. Kristy’s sister, Terina Dutton, appeared on Kristy’s first TV show “Goin’ Country”, while their brother, Sonny Cook, has come on to “The Most Wanted List”. “My brother was really excited when I started hunting since he was the only one in the family that did it. He tried getting me to hunt years back, but I didn’t start until I was probably twenty-two. My boyfriend at the time wasn’t into horses and I wasn’t into hunting, so we decided to make a trade and get into each other’s hobbies. That started my hunting life!”
Near her home in Texas, the hunting opportunities include coyotes, hogs, and whitetail deer. Kristy often hunts coyotes with her boyfriend, Lee Orr, who does predator control for ranchers. “The coyotes are so over-populated here because they are the predator; there’s not very many mountain lions or wolves. There are hundreds of coyotes in a small area, and I think they’re coming in close to these ranches and going after livestock because the food is easier to hunt,” Kristy explains.
She and Lee recently took part in a weekend-long coyote hunting contest, while they hunt whitetail deer on one of the ranches Lee works for. “We take the Rangers out and load the feeders with Record Rack. Lee got a whitetail deer recently, and I was with him on his hunt, which was very cool. We use Record Rack to keep the deer around and keep them healthy. They’re a reputable company and their product works, and that’s why I’m stoked to have them also be a part of my TV show.”
When she’s not on her latest hunting trek, Kristy is patterning and seasoning a pair of stallions in the barrel racing. She grew up riding her friend’s horses and learning to work cattle and even move pipes and water lines on her friend’s family ranch. “I think it’s really rewarding and very challenging to make your own horses, and it’s really awesome when you’ve worked so hard to have a really good run,” says Kristy. She refers to the stud she raised from a baby, Tazer, as her miracle horse. In his six years, Tazer has broken his jaw, which was repaired with 300 stitches, colicked, overcome a problem with his suspensory ligament, and lacerated his right eye, which is 100% blind due to glaucoma. Kristy has mainly been running her horses in jackpots and barrel races around Texas, but her goal is to enter them in rodeos in the future. “I’m working so hard to rodeo on Tazer because I think his testimony of not giving up and his will to live is really powerful!”
Kristy competing at a jackpot rodeo in Clovis, NM – Christpher Cook
Though Kristy had taken a break from her music to work on horses and focus on her show, she’s written several songs in the meantime and plans to start recording soon. “It’s been nice to take a break from the road and spend time with the horses and get them where I want to go – it was hard to get them legged up and working and then leave for a month,” she says. “You can be overworked in an area sometimes, and all you need is a break to come back stronger. I’m excited to get some music going again.”
