Photo courtesy of Andy Seiler

Andy Seiler : Faith, Family

and Florida Heritage

by Cynthia McFarland

PRCA Rodeo Announcer Ocala’s own Andy Seiler is working the premier event again, bringing his own brand of rodeo knowledge, cowboy class, and humor to town.

When Andy first dreamed of making his mark in rodeo, he figured he’d do so as a roper. Instead, his natural story telling ability, quick wit, and love for the sport, have put him in demand as a professional rodeo announcer and television commentator.

His voice is routinely heard on national rodeo telecasts, but he’s still the down-home Marion County native and third generation Floridian whose rural roots run deep.

“I don’t remember a time I wasn’t horseback. Growing up, I wanted to be a cowboy. Working cows and watching my parents team rope, it caught on like wildfire.”

–  Andy Seiler

Farming family

“My mom’s side of the family has lived over in Volusia County for 100 years, so we have deep roots in Florida on both sides,” says Andy, 37.

One of four children, Andy has an older sister, Amber, and a younger sister, Niki and brother, Matt.

Andy was barely 6 when he got his first mount, a gray pony named Cowboy.

“I don’t remember a time I wasn’t horseback. Growing up, I wanted to be a cowboy,” says Andy. “Working cows and watching my parents team rope, it caught on like wildfire.”

From that first pony, Andy moved up to bigger and better horses. He started competing in junior rodeo about age 8 and rodeoed all the way through high school.

Andy attended Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala. He played soccer and baseball in school but focused on rodeo. He loved team roping and perfected his skills as a header.

He was 17 in 2004 when he and a partner won the National High School Finals Rodeo in team roping. This got him thinking about the potential of earning a college scholarship.

Rodeo remained a serious part of his life after he headed to Troy University in Alabama. Majoring in Broadcast Journalism, Andy graduated in 2009.

“The majority of my schooling was paid for by academics, not rodeo,” he says.

Photo courtesy of Andy Seiler

“Boyd called and asked if I’d like to start announcing again. I said, ‘I’d love to, but if I’m going to do this this, I need to make a living.’ He asked if I’d like to announce Rodeo Houston in 2014 so that was my first big break.”

–  Andy Seiler

“In 2008 I was introduced to Boyd Polhamus, a senior statesman among announcers and an NFR announcer. I didn’t do too well at the college finals that year, so I didn’t make the finals, and he gave me the opportunity to announce for three days,” recalls Andy.

That stint announcing with Polhamus at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyoming, was enough to convince Andy he wanted to do this as a career.

After graduating college in 2009, Andy became a full-time rodeo announcer.

That same year when in New Orleans for a University of Florida/Louisiana State University football game, Andy ran into Lauren Duke on Bourbon Street.

They had both attended elementary school and high school at Blessed Trinity in Ocala but were going to different colleges.

“I really hadn’t seen her since high school, and we weren’t in communication, but after we bumped into each other in the street, that was it,” says Andy.

The two married in 2011.

Andy had moved home to Ocala in 2010 to work on his family’s peanut farm. He loved the rodeo announcing, but it wasn’t paying well enough then for his plans of marriage and family.

A long-time fan of the television show “Wheel of Fortune,” Andy’s skill with word puzzles paid off when he drove to Tampa for try outs and made it on the show. That segment aired in November 2013, during which he won second place and almost $9,000 cash.

Back in the arena

“Boyd called and asked if I’d like to start announcing again,” he recalls. “I said, ‘I’d love to, but if I’m going to do this this, I need to make a living.’ He asked if I’d like to announce Rodeo Houston in 2014 so that was my first big break.”

Once Andy had that major rodeo under his belt, things snowballed from there, and his announcing business continued to grow.

He has announced at Rodeo Houston every year since.

“For Rodeo Houston, we’re in the same broadcast booth they use for the NFL and use the same television producers they use for NFL, so the television production for Rodeo Houston is second to none,” he notes.

Andy typically works 80 to 100 rodeos a year, so he travels anywhere from 100 to 120 days a year.

Depending on the venue, Andy will either work in the announcer’s booth or be calling the live action from horseback in the arena.

“For Rodeo Houston, we’re in the same broadcast booth they use for the NFL and use the same television producers they use for NFL, so the television production for Rodeo Houston is second to none.”

–  Andy Seiler

“I’m not always horseback, but that’s what I like most. It gives a real personal feel,” says Andy, who prefers to haul his own mount, Pepper, his 18-year-old gray Quarter Horse gelding who has a world of experience.

“It’s a trust thing,” says Andy about bringing his own horse. “There’s a lot going on in the arena and you have to be able to trust the horse you’re on, so I try to bring my own.”

At this point, Andy and Pepper have done close to 200 performances together.

“We’ve had him for 10 years. I’ll be kicked out before he is,” says Andy. 

Although Pepper is currently the Seiler family’s only horse, Andy says they’re in the process of getting another horse. Eventually he’ll need a younger mount to haul for his rodeo jobs, but Pepper will always have a home on their farm.

Behind the mic

Having been in the arena himself as a competitor for years, Andy has a genuine understanding of and great respect for the cowboys and cowgirls on the rodeo circuit.

“There is no guaranteed money in rodeo. All rodeo athletes are independent contractors, so you have to go to work if you want to get paid,” he explains.

As an announcer, Andy does his homework ahead of time, spending about four to five hours prepping before each performance. He gathers background information about each competitor to share once he’s on the microphone covering that event.

“I’m a visual kind of guy, so I write notes and highlight them to lock it in. I use different highlighter colors for different things. I joke with my wife that I have a pen and highlighter budget,” says Andy. “Other announcers have different systems, but this system works best for me, so I keep using it. You have to be true to yourself and your own style.”

In his notes, Andy includes details about what the athletes and animals have done and where they’ve had success. His goal is always to help rodeo fans better understand the sport and feel like they get to know the athletes.

“We’re trying to make everybody feel like a cowboy or cowgirl for a night, even if they don’t live in an agricultural environment,” he says.

“I look for personal tidbits. I don’t like to go as far as Facebook ‘stalking,’ but I want fans to understand when someone comes out of the chute why does this run or ride matter,” says Andy.

“The thing that’s different about this as opposed to football, is that football players are out there for an hour. These athletes are out there no longer than 30 seconds to a minute. That’s their window,” he says.

“For every run, you have 30 to 60 seconds to get everything out there. It’s my job to make the fans informed and the athletes feel special.”

“We’re trying to make everybody feel like a cowboy or cowgirl for a night, even if they don’t live in an agricultural environment.” 

–  Andy Seiler

“You want people to hear the difference in in your voice between a 68-point ride and an 88-point ride,” he notes.

While rodeo announcers aren’t necessarily comedians, it helps to not take yourself too seriously.

“I am a guy who likes dad jokes because I am a dad. If you can’t laugh at yourself, you probably can’t laugh at anything,” smiles Andy, who admits he’s a natural storyteller.

Some announcers can ad lib better than others. Quips and jokes get reused if they’re funny and bring laughs.

“Everybody says things again if they work, but a joke that’s funny on Saturday night might not be funny on Sunday afternoon after people just left church,” Andy observes wryly. “I try to use the things that work, but I don’t want to be the guy who always says the same thing.”

He also has an unwritten rule that he won’t “go there” with certain topics.

“I never touch on politics or people’s families, but anything sports related is fair game,” he says.

He makes a point of staying up with current events because that tends to play well with the crowd.

“When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, I got some play out of that,” he grins.

Family matters

The family enjoys rural life in northeastern Marion County near Anthony.

“The piece of land my wife and I built our house on is the land I grew up baling hay on as a teenager,” says Andy. “Valerie Dailey helped us find this 10-acre property in 2018. It was like coming full circle, so now my kids are raising 4-H animals on land I grew up baling hay on.”

The beauty of Andy’s announcing duties is that his family gets to accompany him to some rodeos, making it a family vacation of sorts.

“The family goes with me to Houston and Estes Park, Colorado, for the Rooftop Rodeo in July,” says Andy.

It takes a certain outlook and personality to excel at this unusual job.

Photo courtesy of Andy Seiler

“Honestly, you have to have a ‘never quit’ attitude, because there’s going to be lots of times you’ll want to. It’s really a struggle when you’re starting out. Make sure you have some sort of career going alongside this because starting out you won’t make a living at it, especially if you have a family.”

–  Andy Seiler

“Honestly, you have to have a ‘never quit’ attitude, because there’s going to be lots of times you’ll want to. It’s really a struggle when you’re starting out,” says Andy. “Make sure you have some sort of career going alongside this because starting out you won’t make a living at it, especially if you have a family.”

Andy began working at Seminole Feed in 2016 and has been the sales manager for three years.

The local feed mill has been very understanding about the travel required for his announcing gigs. Seminole also sponsors athletes, and Andy often meets with them while on the road for rodeos.

“We are very faithful people. I think all these things that have happened, the things we’ve done and the people we’ve met are because of God. I’m a firm believer,” says Andy.

“I couldn’t do any of this without my family–from my parents to my siblings, to my wife and kids,” he adds. “When I travel and they can’t be with me, they make sure all the pieces of the puzzle are there.

“That–and the history of where I’m from–has been my rock. Between my faith, my family, and our Florida heritage, that’s what I stand on.”