By Jessica Crabtree

Influences come in all sizes, forms and fashions. Some mold you, form you and define you. Krece Harris is a product of his family’s influence. That influence was in rodeo. As a youth, his life began in the Texas Panhandle on a feedyard, “My dad Tom Harris co-owned and managed a feedyard in Hereford until I was seven. Then we moved to Kingsville.” Relocating to south Texas is something Harris described as “one extreme to the next.” Moving to the historic King Ranch, known for its size, history and legacy, provided a great childhood for Harris and his brother Ty. His father managed the feedyard there and the land surrounding it.

“I was in the third grade when I drew my first paycheck,” Harris shared. He said for the time on the historic ranch, he was surrounded by great men and cowboys. Learning and developing his own horsemanship skills, “I remember each guy got two colts a year. I would ride colts on my lunch break. I started out riding them then dragging a log. I had no clue what I was doing, but I had some incredible horsemen around to learn from,” Harris stated. There, Harris began to develop his skills as a horseman and also friendships that would last him a lifetime, such as with good friend, Chris Kleberg.

As Harris grew, so did his interests to compete in the arena. That propelled Harris to youth rodeo, high school rodeo and amateur rodeo. “My mom [Geneva Cockrell] grew up running barrels with my aunt, and her brothers both roped,” Harris explained. “My grandmother has nine grandsons, and we all rope,” he smiled.  Harris gauges he’s roped all his life saying, “From the time I was old enough to walk, I had a rope in my hand.” However, the rodeo cowboy didn’t limit himself—he team roped, calf roped and steer wrestled. “Steer wrestling was probably my favorite event, but I just didn’t have the size. I knew team roping was what I enjoyed most,” Harris explained.

After graduating high school, Harris left his home in south Texas to pursue a college degree, first at Odessa College on a rodeo scholarship. While at Odessa College, he roomed with two-time National Junior College Calf Roping Champion and four-time NFR qualifier, the late Shawn McMullan.
From there Harris transferred to Texas A&M University, changing his degree from agriculture business to marketing. It was transferring to Tarleton State University that brought Harris to North Texas.

While attending Tarleton, Harris landed a job working for Classic Rope, which later changed to Equibrand. “When I started working there I was the thirteenth or fourteenth employee. When I left, they had a staff of around 200. It grew.” You could say Harris was gaining ample experience both in the arena and outside the arena in an indirect way to rodeo. As their National Accounts Manager, Harris traveled the United States promoting the brand at trade shows. “I went to Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Reno, Denver and San Diego, Calif.,” Harris elaborated. Harris admitted the people were great and the experience opened a lot of doors.

To read more pick up a copy of the July 2017 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.