When twenty-something Jordan Ray finishes her day of teaching agriculture mechanics at Shelbyville Central High School's Career and Technical Education program she's likely to get dirty working on cars at her father's shop, Hockaday's Auto Repair.

"I know my way around cars," she said. "I can do anything on a car. I grew up with it. I'm there every day after school, still."

And, as if teaching school full time and working on cars isn't enough to keep her fully occupied, Ray also has a cow/calf operation of several dozen head.

Jordan Hockaday married Tyler Ray in June. The foundation of their relationship is not set in places most people would think of as romantic --the venues they became acquainted involved cows and cars.

The couple first met when Jordan worked on Tyler's car. The relationship blossomed at the Bedford County Farmer's Co-0p where she and her dad purchased supplies for the family's cow/calf operation. Tyler is warehouse manager at the Co-Op.

When they started dating, three years before getting married, Jordan and Tyler each had their own cow/calf herds. They decided not to comingle their cattle.

"We realized if we ever broke up it would be bad. We'd have to separate our cows," she explained. "We decided to keep 'em separate."

Even after their marriage, they keep his and hers herds.

Tyler rents his grandparent's farm to keep his herd. Jordan rents a separate property for her cows.

Their cows are not purebreds. "We have Heinz 57," Jordan said.

Jordan has a Hereford bull. Hereford is an English breed. She did have a Gelbveigh bull, or Bavarian origins.

Tyler has a Simmental bull, of Swiss origin.

Do you and Tyler compete?

"Absolutely, absolutely," she said. "We keep 'em separate so I can bully him a little bit if I get a higher price."

"Who's doing better?"

"I don't know. I don't want to put him down. He'd get his feelings hurt," she said. "I'd say we're pretty even, but I've got the better calves right now, selling-wise. His Simmentals seem to be coming out with a little bit longer hair. For some odd reason, they don't like that at the sale barn. They all eat the same but he gets docked every time."

Jordan didn't initially plan on a teaching career. Before high school, she thought she might make her living working on cars. But that changed in her sophomore year when ag teacher Tommy Green started teaching in Shelbyville.

"Mr. Green came in and he encouraged us to become involved," she said. "That's when I decided I wanted to become a teacher. I want to be the inspiration for my kids that I had with Mr. Green."

Green's influence had a profound effect on Jordan. Before her time in the classroom with Green, Jordan was shy. She was OK changing spark plugs on a car but "just don't talk to me," she said. "I wouldn't have been able to speak with you." But under Green's tutelage, Jordan overcame her shyness. Nowadays, it doesn't take much urging to get her to talk. Her classroom experience with Green "totally changed my life, all for the better," she said.

Jordan graduated high school in 2015 and raced through her undergraduate degree at MTSU in three years. "I had to get out of there," she said of her rapid pace through college.

Jordan taught one year in Moore County before coming home to Shelbyville.

"They (Shelbyville) couldn't get rid of me," she said with a laugh. "I like being around people I know. It's my community."

Jordan's plans are not fixed.

"I haven't decided exactly what I want to do next," she explained, but for now she is enjoying her time in the classroom. "It's a challenge for me," she said. "I like challenges and every kid is different. You have to find out what makes them tick every day."

Jordan and Tyler are also looking for new niche in the livestock business. She doesn't like uncertainty. "The price of beef is going up but auction prices are going down," she said. "We want to get into something else. When you take 'em to the stock market you're taking a risk. We'd like something a little more stable. I don't know what it is yet."