Bevo at home: The luxury ranch life of the University of Texas’ beloved mascot

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WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Few people – let alone cattle – are afforded the peace, quiet, and space that comes with living on 300 acres while surrounded by urban sprawl.

However, tucked away right off a busy highway in Williamson County is a pristine plot of land Bevo calls home. The rolling hills and knee-high grass serve as his personal playground, shared only with his half-brother Two Spot, the ranch owners John and Betty Baker, and one other longhorn.

If Bevo could talk, he may very well tell you that this kind of rest and relaxation is needed to help him recover from his adventures as one of the most iconic and beloved mascots in all of sports.

For a mascot named one of the top five in college sports history by Sports Illustrated in 2019, the year-round tailgates, birthday parties, weddings, and even funerals, in addition to gamedays, are now standard.

Even if an appearance is brief, the preparation leading up to it and the wind-down after typically take the better part of a day.

Silver Spurs

“Wherever Bevo goes, we go with him,” said Griffin Phares, a University of Texas senior and Bevo handler.

Phares is one of four UT Silver Spurs selected from a pool of around 50 tasked with caring for Bevo on event days.

It’s a responsibility the Spurs, an honorary student organization, have carried out since 1945.

The current group of four has spent the past year training, first with calves, before working their way up to the 2,100-pound Bevo.

“Coming out here every single week for training with the Bakers,” Phares said. “They’re teaching us how to talk and touch, working with younger cattle to get great experience, because this Bevo here is 10-years-old. He’s a veteran, he’s trained, he’s comfortable around humans, and sometimes other cattle aren’t.”

Those pre-game tasks include walking, feeding, cleaning, and brushing him before loading him into his trailer. From there, the Spurs make the half-hour drive down to Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, where more than 100,000 fans eagerly anticipate Bevo’s arrival.

Dream job

“After a few minutes, they’re kind of into the flow of it, they’re not pulling as hard,” said Silver Spurs Alumni Executive Director Ricky Brennes.

Brennes said walking Bevo has similar benefits to walking a dog in that the animal gets used to what it’s doing and starts to follow along.

He joined the four handlers on the ranch in the days before this year’s home opener to help shake off some rust and offer last-minute instruction. Brennes first started doing these pregame walks with Bevo 25 years ago when he was a student and handler himself.

However, his dream of working with the world-famous longhorn first came to him when he was even younger.

“It kind of started when I was five years old,” Brennes said. “My father took me to a Texas game when I was young. It was a Texas and SMU game. I saw Bevo, and I decided I wanted to be a Silver Spur right then.”

That dream continued to grow even after graduation. Brennes rose to his current position in 2013, when he said he pitched overseeing the Spurs to the university, thus creating the job he still holds.

Season debut

Brennes will be at the game Saturday, watching and offering any help needed from the sidelines. That support is something he himself gets from his wife and KXAN Anchor Erica, along with the couple’s two girls.

“A lot of people think it’s busy just during football season, but honestly, it is busy all year round, because Bevo has so many events,” Erica said.

The home opener marks the first real test for these new Spurs as they walk this Bevo, the 15th iteration since 1916, onto the field for their first time.

Phares said he and the rest of the handlers have some nervous energy they need to work out, but are also eager to help carry on the tradition.

“It’s [a] once-in-a-lifetime experience, to say you get to work with the biggest, best mascot in all of college sports is special,” he said.

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