Kolten Thigpen is Livin' the Dream

He and his family live on their West Texas ranch outside of Sweetwater, TX. He married his high school sweetheart, Sarah, and together they are raising two boys, Lawson and Brexton. The Thigpen family loves the Lord and is filled with gratitude for the incredible life they get to live.

Cattle have always been a part of Kolten’s story. He grew up working for his Grandpa Frank Helvey and older brother Kelley Thigpen. Frank and Kelley have both owned and operated sale barns in South Texas, as well as ranched and traded cattle from the time Kolten was a baby up to the present day. It is through this lens that he grew his roots. His family also loved showing cattle—mainly market steers—and this is where Kolten’s passion really took hold.

As a young boy, he would buy and resell bottle calves through the sale barn until he earned enough money to purchase a yearling Brahman heifer (aka "Horned Heifer") that ran through the sale ring one day. That Horned Heifer would grow up to raise his first bred-and-owned female, Sady, who was sired by his favorite Brahman bull of all time—Arnold Sanders' bull, Blacky.

Beyond all the nostalgia Sady brought, she also had a personality to boot. She was more like a human—or a dog—than a cow, and she absolutely adored Kolten. With her second calf, Sady raised a half-blood steer sired by Ammo that went on to earn the coveted bow-legged H brand at Houston for the Rodriguez family. Kolten was a freshman in college at the time. That achievement only fueled the fire—he wanted more, and he was bound and determined to make it happen.

From the humble beginnings of backyard bottle babies, a Horned Heifer, a pet named Sady, a five-acre lease from his family (where his dad was his unpaid employee), and a $5,000 FSA loan, Kolten has grown to own and operate QB Cattle Company, Bullnanza Stud Services in Texas and Oklahoma, and Express Livestock Genomics.

Kolten brings attributes like resilience, the ability to perform under pressure, and leadership—developed during his time playing football at Texas A&M—into the cattle industry.

He says he earned his "master’s degree" while working at V8 Ranch, where he learned the nuances of the seedstock business, how to manage a show barn, and how to prepare and show cattle at the highest level.

There is nothing that could have better prepared him for his future endeavors than those years of hands-on work.

Kolten, however, is adamant about sharing that he is in no way “self-made.” His success exists only because of three things:

The Lord’s favor on his life
An incredible family—both the one he was born into and the one he married into
All those who paved the way before him and those gracious enough to help him along his journey

Though still a young man, Kolten gets to stand on the shoulders of giants in the industry because of the knowledge and experiences they shared with him. Men and women like Eddy and Pam Thigpen, Frank Helvey, Kelley Thigpen, Rodger Welch, Paul Aelvoet, Sloan and Jim Williams, Brandon Horn, Dennis Poole, Brandon and Rachel Cutrer, Tom and Becky Rees, Joseph Crouch, Casey and Amy Ballard, as well as a host of professors at Texas A&M University, have all left their mark.

The wealth of knowledge and experience Kolten has gained from every corner of the cattle industry is now being compiled and offered to you. The commercial, seedstock, and stock show worlds are deeply woven into his life story—and he wants to help you avoid some of the mistakes and pitfalls others have made. His goal is to equip you to climb to the top of your mountain as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Drop me a line!