Jared Searcy and #ReelCowboy Media are transforming equine sports with slow-motion reels and innovative equine photography. From barrel races to the Breeder’s Challenge, see how his unique approach is reshaping the industry.
In the world of equine performance, photography and media has become an indispensable part of the show. Today, it is unusual to find a horse event without at least one photographer, and many of these shows also have videographers who film each run as well as provide livestreams. Thanks to these individuals, equine sports are receiving more attention than ever before. One of these talented people, Jared Searcy, has taken a different approach to capturing what happens in the arena, and his gamble has paid off tremendously. His business #ReelCowboy launched in 2023, offering high-quality reels to barrel racers across the country, rocketing him into the equine media market. His videos stand out because they are shot in a slow-motion TikTok style, making them popular with racers wanting to gain views on social media.
Jared grew up in Hendersonville, North Carolina, a place not known for having an equine community. He later moved to Asheville, and he did not have anything to do with horses until his early twenties when he moved toward Charlotte and became friends with some rodeo folks. He first attended rodeos as a spectator, but after a while he decided to try his hand at bull riding, something that did not last when he realized he was not going to pay the bills atop a bull. After this detour, he moved back to Asheville and married his wife Megan; the couple now has a four-year-old son named Jaxtyn. Jared’s journey into media began when Megan bought him a camera. He started in landscape photography and eventually ended up photographing a wedding at Taylor Ranch in Asheville. The venue owner, Ashley Taylor Oliver, had a daughter named Haley who invited Jared to come take pictures for an upcoming NBHA barrel race, an offer that would end up changing the course of his career forever. He began taking photos for local barrel races and rodeos, and he got the idea for his reels after observing content posted on TikTok. He says, “I wanted to do something a little bit different because I know there are a lot of great barrel race photographers and rodeo photographers… I wanted to still be in the arena with them [while] not competing for the same stuff.”
Jared started creating short-form content that quickly gained traction, and he has now worked everywhere from small jackpots to the 2025 Breeder’s Challenge in Fort Worth, a race that was one of his biggest goals. So far, he has worked in eleven states, and he works over forty events a year; currently, twenty-one hundred barrel racers have ordered his reels. One advantage of his videos is that with the combination of slow-motion and high visual quality, they make great tools for veterinarians and farriers trying to see a horse’s problems. They also allow the riders to get a detailed view of their hand positions so they can pinpoint any mistakes they make. Jared says most of the professional riders are especially interested in being able to see their hands, so he makes it a point to find angles that help him capture them. While he does want angles that look good on social media, he says, “[Mainly], I want [riders] to be able to see what went on during that run.” He is also aware of the extreme responsibility that comes with being an equine photographer. He strives to post professional content that uplifts the horse community, saying,
“I have the ability to shine a light, and I get to pick where the light shines. Not everybody get to do that.”
In an era where it is easy and personally profitable to record someone’s bad day, Jared does his best to use his camera’s spotlight kindly.
Being an artist in today’s world comes with all sorts of challenges, one of the foremost being artificial intelligence. When asked about it, Jared says, “AI has a place, and we’re all gonna have to adapt to it, but at the same time, you still gotta be creative enough to get it to do what you want it to do…” He views his own art as something that has evolved alongside the barrel racing industry, and he stresses that his work is less about him and more about the riders. He says, “People work really, really hard just to get there and run… whether they win or not, they deserve any piece of content that anyone can grab for them at these shows. There’s so much time and effort put into these horses… At the end of the day, it’s an opportunity to catch a memory for somebody [so they can say] ‘I did this, I made it.’” His advice for others wanting to get into equine media is, “Be careful when you say no… a lot of times you need to say yes because what will come out of it will get you further down the road. You can’t win if you don’t enter!”
From the local hometown show to the NFR and even the Olympics, competitors and the special bonds they have with their horses are being recorded for future generations, preserving equine sports and lifestyles. People like Jared are helping create something unprecedented, as this generation’s time in competition will be the most documented in history. As photographers and videographers continue to dream up new ideas and push the boundaries of equine media, horse lovers everywhere can rest assured that their efforts, traditions, and partnerships with their horses will spread far beyond the arena for years to come.
