Miranda Lambert performs at the 2022 CMT Music Awards at Nashville Municipal Auditorium on April 11, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.
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9 Country Stars Who Are Real Life Cowboys + Cowgirls

There are so many country singers out there with songs about cowboys, life on the range, riding horses, and more pertaining to the western lifestyle. And not all of them are actually able to relate to their lyrics. These country artists not only love the cowboy lifestyle but fully embrace it in their personal lives. From former rodeo stars to some who embraced horseback riding later in life, these singers are the real deal.

Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire, winner of the Best Roots Gospel Album award for 'Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope,' poses in the press room during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018

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Oklahoma native Reba McEntire grew up in a rodeo family. It's where she first got to sing for big crowds but she also grew up riding horses and was a talented barrel racer. She even owned a massive horse farm in Tennessee that she sold back in 2017. The cowgirl lifestyle and the rodeo is still really dear to McEntire's heart and a huge part of her identity, evident in her collaboration with another singer on this list with a rodeo song, Cody Johnson.

George Strait

George Strait performs onstage during the 2021 iHeartCountry Festival Presented By Capital One at Frank Irwin Center on October 30, 2021 in Austin, Texas

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The one and only George Strait grew up in the small town of Poteet, Texas. Growing up in a ranching environment inspired his love of horses and even got him into the rodeo in team roping in his 20s. When he's not making country music, Strait raises ropin' cattle and ropin' horses on his massive Texas ranch...a true cowboy through and through.

Lainey Wilson

Lainey Wilson performs on Day 2 of Country Summer Music Festival 2022 at Sonoma County Fairgrounds on June 18, 2022 in Santa Rosa, California

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Wilson grew up on her family farm in Baskin, Louisiana where her father started putting her on horses at the young age of 9. And this wasn't a gentle horseback ride through the backyard...these were untrained horses and she had to hang on for dear life.

"My daddy put me on the back of a horse when I was 9 years old. ... I was on the back of a horse before I could even walk. ... He would bring these horses home from horse sales that were not broke. He'd say, 'Ride it. Get on it and ride it,' " Wilson told Mainstreet Nashville.

The country star is the latest new addition to the hit TV series Yellowstone where she'll be playing a singer, but we really hope she gets to show off her cowgirl skills. Sounds like she'd definitely know her way around a ranch.

Miranda Lambert

Miranda Lambert performs onstage during the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 15, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/ACMA2018/FilmMagic for ACM

Country star Miranda Lambert is the real deal when it comes to the cowgirl lifestyle. She owns a massive 400-acre farm in Tennessee where she raises horses, rescue dogs and cats, and even rabbits. The horse barn particularly has 75 acres of pasture where she loves getting to ride out through the fields and trails in her spare time.

Cody Johnson

Cody Johnson poses backstage during the iHeartCountry Festival at the Moody Center on May 7, 2022 in Austin, Texas

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Another Texas native, Cody Johnson rode bulls in the rodeo and was a horseback riding prison guard before he hit it big in the country music world. While he's not hanging onto the backs of bucking bulls anymore, he does continue to ride cutting horses and occasionally competes in horse cutting events.

Jon Pardi

Jon Pardi is seen performing onstage during day 3 of the 2021 Tortuga Music Festival on November 14, 2021 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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Jon Pardi may have grown up in California, but that doesn't mean that after years of recording country music in Nashville, he hasn't embraced life as a cowboy. He's been riding horses for years and even loves to compete in team roping events down in Texas. Now we know that cowboy hat isn't just for show!

Shania Twain

Singer Shania Twain attends the "Who you gonna call" photocall during the 16th Zurich Film Festival at Kino Corso on September 26, 2020 in Zurich, Switzerland

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Shania Twain has always been open about her love of horses. She's been known to incorporate them into her shows, literally bringing them on stage at times. She's had numerous large ranch properties over the years including a horse ranch in New Zealand as well as Switzerland, but she's currently settled down on a Nevada farm for her Las Vegas residency where she spends her free time riding and enjoying her farm animals.

Willie Nelson

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Willie Nelson performs live on stage at the Luck Reunion on March 17, 2022 in Luck, Texas

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Country music's beloved outlaw really lives the cowboy lifestyle on his massive Texas ranch. His property, affectionately named Luck, is 700 acres and home to 70 rescue horses that were headed for the slaughterhouse. Now they are living the life, and so is Nelson, who loves spending time riding.

"My favorite place is my ranch in Luck," Nelson shared in a Facebook caption. "There's a pasture at the top of a hill where the horses graze and hang out at the water trough. The view is fantastic, and the horses are beautiful, healthy, and happy. The quiet is astounding. And when I get on my horse, the whole world changes. I'm one step closer to heaven."

Toby Keith

 Toby Keith performs onstage during the 2021 iHeartCountry Festival Presented By Capital One at Frank Irwin Center on October 30, 2021 in Austin, Texas

Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage

Oklahoma native Toby Keith is more than an award-winning singer and songwriter. Though he's owned horses for 20 years, he decided to embark on a new side business of raising race horses. His breeding and racing operation is under the name Dream Walkin Farms where he buys, sells, and raises thoroughbreds.

READ MORE: 7 Country Stars With a Rodeo Past