They say that behind every great man is a great woman. You’ll hear no arguments from the PBR family.
From wives, mothers and girlfriends to stock contractors and broadcasters, the Women of the PBR play many important roles.
Throughout the 2019 season, we’ll be sharing some of their perspectives on the PBR, fashion and the Western lifestyle.
Today, we chatted with Korie Nance, Cody Nance’s wife, about her introduction to the Western world, her style and how her medical background and her faith change her perspective on a dangerous sport.
PBR.com: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Korie! To get things started, where are you from?
Korie Nance: I’m from north of Nashville. Hendersonville, Gallatin area. But me and my parents and family have always worked in Nashville.
PBR.com: How did you first meet Cody?
KN: My sister has known Cody for years and she always told me he would be perfect for me. And one day he was having a bull riding at his house. It was a little $1,000-added bull riding, and it was around the Fourth of July. So I thought I’d go ahead and go to it. And that night, Cody had gotten off a bull and landed on his back. Like, flat on his back, knocked the air out of him, ran to the fence, and my brother-in-law yells, “I have a nurse here if you need a nurse!” You know, being obnoxious. And of course, I’m the worst blusher. My face turns bright red, and I stutter. And Cody’s a good-looking man, so of course, if it weren’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have spoken to him after the event. We talked a little bit with my brother-in-law and sister, and I actually reached out to him and asked him if he wanted to hang out in Nashville anytime. And we hung out one night in Nashville, kind of bar-hopping and dancing. And he said I won him over that night because he’d never had a woman buy him a beer. My dad always taught me if you invite someone out, then you should be the one taking the tabs. I won him over that night and we’ve been together ever since.
PBR.com: What was the first PBR event you attended?
KN: Actually Nashville was the first one. We had met that summer and I had gone to smaller bull ridings with him, and then Nashville was the first one I had gone to. It was either Nashville or Oklahoma City, but Nashville stands out because it’s my hometown and it’s just one of my most favorite events of the year too.
PBR.com: How were you introduced to the Western sports world? Were you in it before you met Cody?
KN: No, not at all. I had never heard of the NFR. I didn’t know anything. I hadn’t bought my first pair of boots until I met Cody. We grew up where it was mainly farming, but not so much cattle and Western sports-type atmosphere. But when I met Cody was definitely the first time I was thrown into the Western sports world. I’m going to tell you, some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. You can’t describe people like, “Oh, you know that nice lady we met at so-and-so?” because that would be pretty much everyone we meet every day.
And of course after that you meet some of the women, like the wives and the stock contractors and the girlfriends, and you follow them on Instagram, and that’s when you start seeing like, oh wow, it’s this whole world of fashion. I guess Instagram opened my eyes to what it really was and how big it really is.
PBR.com: Can you tell us a little about the strength it takes getting ready to watch Cody ride, knowing that injuries are possible?
KN: I was naïve coming in of really how dangerous it was. And Cody’s just so tough. Speaking of injuries, he’s out for six weeks. He had a dislocated hip. The whole time I’ve known Cody, for years now, this is the first injury he’s ever had. And we pray before, we have people praying for us, and I think that truly protects him while he’s riding. I don’t get nervous because he’s doing what he loves, and injuries are bound to happen, and whatever it is, we’re going to make it through it and in the end it’s all going to be alright.
PBR.com: You have a background in the medical field, correct? How has that helped you take care of Cody post-events?
KN: I’m an RN, yes. I don’t know if it’s been good or bad for Cody, because if you know a nurse or doctor, when someone gets hurt you’re like, “Oh, come on.” You kind of play it off. “Does it really hurt that bad?” Because I work in a CVICU (Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit) room. My patients have open heart surgery. So seeing a little blood, I’m like, “Just rub some dirt in it.” I don’t know if it hurts him or anything but he never complains about anything. The only thing he ever really asks me ever is to give him a massage or rub places out, but that’s about it.
PBR.com: What do you do for fun in your spare time?
KN: We have three kids. So they’re our fun. They keep us young. They’re 8, 6 and 4 right now. The youngest one’s out here with us right now. We just went out to a little pond a few days ago and caught some, I think they’re going to be frog eggs. We’re waiting to find out. And then we have some bunnies that they love, we have dogs, horses, so we’re working on maybe fencing our property and getting a little pet farm. You know, getting a goat and a pig for the kids. They love it.
PBR.com: How does Cody support your endeavors?
KN: He’s there for me whenever I need him. When I tell him I have an interview, he’ll take me to it, pick me up. I kind of put my endeavors on pause to help him with his for a few years, because bull riding is only temporary. So I kind of just went part-time at work and just help him follow his (dreams) for now. We have started a business, an LLC, to do custom beading, and he does leatherwork. So of course he’s super supportive of that. He’s actually going to a beading class with me next week. He doesn’t bead, but he’s going to go and sit, because we both think if we know a little bit about what each other’s doing – if I knew a little bit about leather and he knew a little bit about beading – our stuff that we make together is better because of it. So he’ll go to beading classes with me!
PBR.com: What’s your favorite jewelry to wear?
KN: I have to say Montana Silversmiths, because almost everything I own is theirs. When I first came in, they were like, “Try this and this and this!” And a lot of their jewelry you can have matching. So you can have a necklace, earrings and bracelet that all three match, and I really like that. Because it’s hard for me to match pieces out of random places where you get it, and they already have it for you. You just throw it on. I think what they stand for is really cool. I met Judy and some of the staff and they really want to encourage women to be themselves, and no matter where you are in your life. No matter if you’re Western or just an everyday person that’s never been to a bull riding or a rodeo and doesn’t know anything about it, you can look good with what you wear. I like that you can wear it every day, you can dress it up. They have really nice jewelry. Even if it’s inexpensive. You don’t have to break your bank to buy nice pieces.
PBR.com: How would you describe your style?
KN: I am a nurse, I wear scrubs to work every day, so I love the relaxed fit. I love comfortable clothing. What I wear, I want to be able to go jump on a horse, or be able to go pick up my kids and be comfortable and not have to worry about this showing, or this pulling down, or this getting dirty. I want to be able to play with the kids and not worry about it. So I would say more relaxed and comfortable clothing. But I do like the Western sports clothes. I love the high-waisted bell-bottoms, the patterns.
PBR.com: How did you select the pieces in your Montana Silversmiths collection?
KN: I actually sat down with my mom and sister and went through them together, and talked about what I would feel most comfortable in, would fit my style, what I could wear. I wanted to kind of pick a piece where I could wear it at home with regular clothes or dress it up. So the feather, the Moonlit Melody, we picked out because it had the bracelet, the earrings and the necklace that all matched, that you could wear every day, just going out to eat, going to church, or you could dress it up with something super fancy. I could even wear that with a nice gown. So I think that was something that was really important with me. I didn’t want pieces where I would put it in the jewelry case and tucked it away and brought it out for special occasions. We liked that one because it could be worn any time with almost anything I have.
You can check out the latest collections with Montana Silversmiths here. Stay tuned next month as we talk with another of the Women of the PBR.
