MTRHA Member Biographies - "REAL" Ranch Horse Invitational Sale!

MTRHA Member Biographies
young. He began working for the
Dept. of Livestock as a brand inspector
in Sidney in 1968. He transferred to
Miles City in 1978. He graduated from
farrier college at Sturgis in 1966 and
has shod horses every since. He has especially enjoyed participating in ranch
rodeos, and working cattle at the yards
and in the country.
Rowdy Alexander
Busby, MT
Rowdy grew up on a ranch outside of
Busby Montana where after College he
returned to put together his own herd
along with his wife Sarah and kids, Bailey, Isabel and Laney. Having a small
herd of cattle. Rowdy makes ends meet
by riding outside colts and day working
for local ranches. Coming from rough
country Rowdy’s horses get plenty of
quality time in the hills and are exposed to all aspects of ranching.
Gary Anderson
Miles City, MT
Gary grew up at Sidney, working at
feedlots and various ranches when
Martin & Melanie Anseth
St. Xavier, MT
Martin and Melanie Anseth manage
CH Land & Cattle Co. at St. Xavier,
MT. They along with their children
Silas Ivory and Natalie have lived there
for six years. Before coming to the CH,
they worked at the Padlock Ranch
when Dan Scott was manager. Silas
rode with Martin in the feedlot from
the time he was seven. Later when they
moved to the Conley camp, Martin
took out a branding wagon each summer, where Silas was one of the crew.
Ashley Quarter Horses
Lynn, Lance & Lanell
Forsyth, MT
Ashley Quarter Horses is a family run
operation that has been raising versatile
performance horses for over 40 years.
They have concentrated their program
around the close-up breeding of proven
versatile performance lines. Ashleys
goal has always been to produce the ultimate ranch and rodeo horse that has
good feet, bone, withers and disposition
as well as other desired traits. Their
horses are born and raised in rough
country and are an integral part of our
commercial cattle operations. Find out
more about these horses and bloodlines
at www.ashleyquarterhorses.com.
Clint Bainter
Plevna, MT
Clint Bainter is from Plevna, MT and
was married to Maggie Nemitz on November 19th 2011. He grew up on his
families ranch. He started taking in
outside horses in Junior High. After
college Clint worked for two different
ranches untill June of 2012. He is now
back helping on his parents ranch while
breaking colts, day working, and runs
the center ally at Miles City Livestock
Commission.
Bar 7 U Quarter Horses
Tiffany, Cort, Colie, & Rob Burdick
Choteau, MT
Rob and Tiffany along with their kids
Colie and Cort operate a small horse
program outside Choteau, MT. They
work hard to turn out some of the best
working geldings they can. The kids
work along side them through the
spring and summer while also attending
Junior Rodeos. They run about 15
foundation bred mares and 3 studs, all
own sons of Wilywood, Wayward Ike and
Hancock Thirteen. Riding their studs just
like the geldings they get used and in
turn are good to be around. The kids
use one of the studs Wayward Luke in
the Junior Rodeos, and all of the studs
get used in the mountains, gathering
and moving cattle.
Horses get used hard for everything.
From calving, branding, doctoring and
packing salt in the mountains they accumulate some miles. In the spring the
family helps a lot of friends and neighbors in the branding pens, then in the
summer moving to the mountains,
where they run a grazing association
covering 18 square miles of steep and
rough country. The horses getting used
range from their studs to younger geldings and by the time summer is over
they are pretty well used up and on
their way to being broke. They see
everything from elk, bears, wolves,
sheep, brush, creeks, and lots of steep
hills. Riding them until they are dependable enough for the kids and then
they take over. Haltering them, swinging aboard and chasing each other
around the yard.
The geldings offered for sale have many
hours of riding and we stand behind
them. Working hard to make good
horses and not offering them for sale
until they are well broke. Offering just
a few geldings every year allows time to
put the most quality time on each one.
Everyone wants that “horse of a lifetime” and these are the horses they
wish to offer for sale.
www.bar7uqh.com
Josh Bilbrey
Bozeman, MT
Josh grew up on ranches in eastern
Montana. He began working colts and
young horses from an early age. Started
riding horses for the public while in
high school and taking on problem
horses. He received a bachelors degree
in Ag Business from the University of
Wyoming. After graduation he started
training horses full time. Josh attended
numerous clinics taught by some of the
top horsemen in the country. He and
his wife Jana and kids Jace, Jaret and
J’ann reside in Bozeman where he is
the horse trainer for Copper Spring
Ranch. He is a founding member of the
Montana Ranch Horse Association
LLC and on the sale committee.
Beau & Tami Blake
Hysham, MT
Beau and Tami Blake live with their
children, Asher and Emilyn on the XV
camp of the PV Ranch northeast of Ingomar, Montana. Tami was raised on
the ranch and Beau has worked there
for many years. With over 3,000
mother cows, the PV offers a lot of opportunity for putting miles on horses,
including plenty of branding and shipping days. In the fall Beau's horses find
daily work doctoring weanling calves in
the ranch's background feedlot. Known
for his kind and gentle mannerisms,
Beau especially enjoys roping and turning green horses into seasoned ranch
horses.
Jack Blankenship
Bridger, MT
Jack was raised on his grandparent’s
ranches, located on the Crow Reservation. He drew his first riding wages at
the age of 8, helping the neighbor
gather bulls and dries in the fall. After
college, with a two year Ag Management Degree in hand, he went back to
punchin’ cows. For the next twenty five
or so years he cowboyed on outfits that
ran anywhere from 500-9000 cows and
covered a 5 state area. He eventually
became a ranch manager for an out-ofstate owner. During the mid 80s he
started building silver mounted bits and
later spurs. He did it out of necessity,
he was too cheap to buy them. He has
been told that his horses are fairly nice,
but he just figures that he gave them a
job to do every day and they got better
out of self defense.
Jack is a founding member of the Montana Ranch Horse Association LLC,
and on the sale committee. His other interests include helping promote our
ranching and cowboy lifestyle, including high school rodeo, ranch rodeos
and ranch horse competitions. He also
enjoys raising, selling and bucking his
rodeo bulls.
Jay & Nicole Blankenship
Rosebud, MT
veygulch.com/branger.
Bob Burford
Mitchell, NE
Jay and Nicole live on their ranch
south of Rosebud. Jay has been there
since graduation from the University of
Wyoming in 2006. He and Nicole married in 2009 and with their daughter
Tyree and son Brig run their ranch.
They also have a small construction
businesses in which they build corrals
and fences.
Ivan & Amber Burch
Dillon, MT
Ivan and Amber were married in 2004.
They have one son, Asher and will welEric & Annie Branger
come a new baby girl in December.
Boulder, MT
Family, hard work, good horses, and
Eric and Annie Branger live and work good dogs are important values Ivan
on the Mulvey Gulch Ranch near Boul- and Amber strive to teach their children. Ivan was born and raised in
der, MT. Along with working on the
Western Kansas and worked in several
ranch, they specialize in starting and
large feedlots before he moved to Diltraining reined cow horses, cutting
lon in 1996, taking a 6 month position
horses, and top quality ranch horse.
for calving and branding. At the end of
For more info on the
the 6 months, he was offered a full time
Mulvey Gulch Ranch and Branger
position and now jokes that it has been
Horse Training visit us: www.mul-
the longest 6 months of his life. Ivan
works as a herd manager for a large
ranch in SW Montana, where he uses
his horses daily for all aspects of ranch
work. Summering in the Centennial
Valley, his horses are exposed to steep
country, water, and wildlife. Ivan regularly attends clinics with internationally
known clinician and bridle horseman of
the traditional California Vaquero
Style, Mike Bridges. Over the past few
years Ivan has been showing in local
working cow horse shows and 2 hand
cutting classes; winning snaffle, hackamore, and bridle classes on several different horses. When Ivan starts a new
horse his main goal and measure of success is to make each horse better than
the last.
by day working and riding colts. Following graduation he hired on at a
feedyard where he was fortunate
enough to work alongside and gather
the knowledge of some very respectable
cowboys and horse trainers. During
time spent in the feedyard he was able
to ride a variety of horses and drastically improve his horsemanship skills.
Ty is currently employed with the Padlock Ranch out of Dayton, WY where
Ihe has spent the past two years in the
Wolf Mountains. Not only does he
enjoy the many hours he feels fortunate
to spend horseback, he delights in the
reward of making a good ranch horse.
Will & Keshia Croft
Hardin, MT
Ty Clawson
Ranchester, WY
Ty grew up in Northern Colorado. His
interest in horses started at a young
age, as his father was a farrier and he
often took him along. He continued to
pursue his interest through high school
Will lives with his wife Keshia and new
son Henry born in early February of
2013, in Hardin, MT working for Pine
Coulee Angus. He enjoys his work and
tries to get away to any kind of exposure event (ropings, ranch rodeos, team
doctorings, etc.) with his horses whenever possible.
Amy Dellera
Bighorn, MT
Jim Dellera
Bighorn, MT
Jim has worked on numerous cattle
ranches in and throughout Northern
Amy grew up on her family’s ranch in
California, Nevada, and Oregon. For
eastern Oregon. She has been riding
17 years he owned and operated a 200
and showing horses her whole life.
Amy has shown reining cowhorses and cow-calf operation outside of Burns,
OR.
shown cutting horses. Growing up in
Since then he has worked on several of
Oregon she has worked for several of
the states largest ranches buckarooing the largest ranches in Oregon, including the Roaring Springs Ranch, The
and doing ranch work. After High
Alvored Ranch and The Juniper
school she went on to college at the
University of Montana Western where Ranch. All located in south east Oreshe received an ASS and BS in equine gon.
science. Amy is currently working for a In March of 2009 he moved to Moncutting horse trainer, but tries to get out tana to work.
to the Sunlight Ranch in Hardin and
cowboy as much as possible.
Zane Dempewolf
Glendive, MT
Growing up on a ranch and farm by
Lindsay, MT Zane has been around
Dean Delp
horses his whole life. As a kid he was in
Hardin, MT
4-H and rodeo. He started his first
horse in the 7th grade and has been
Dean Delp lives on the ranch he was
breaking them ever since.
born on. Along with his wife Jane and Zane also attended college in Glendive,
sons Jordan and Tanner they run a
MT and Dickinson, SD where he was
small bunch of beef and corriente cows. part of the rodeo team competing in
His oldest son Travis and wife Ruby
bull riding, saddle bronc riding, and
live in Billings. Daughter Amy and hus- team roping.
band Cole live in Hardin. Dean runs
In 2005 he married Autumn McDonhis cows, day works and rides colts for ald, who is a cosmotologist in Glendive,
a living. He has some of the last Tomichi and lives 7 miles north of Glendive on a
Bars mares left around. When younger little acreage where Zane breaks
he was a PRCA saddle bronc rider.
horses, runs a few cows, and day
Now days he is very involved with the works. The Dempewolf family enjoys
Northern Range Ranch Roping Series. rodeos, ranch rodeos, and team ropHe is also very involved with his sons
ings. In 2010 they were blessed with
with their school activities and their 4- their son, Dace James, who now runs
H horse projects.
the show!
Diamond X Ranch
Shoshoni, WY
DeSaye Quarter Horses
Jordan & Tacee DeSaye
Weston, WY
Jordan grew up on a ranch at Rygate,
MT. His parents are Grant and Silver
DeSaye and sister Shona. His dad has
been shoeing, training and raising
horses for 30 plus years. Jordan graduated from high school in 2003 and went
on to college at Dawson Community
College in Glendive, MT, and participated in the team roping for the college
rodeo team. He graduated with a two
year Agri- Business Degree, two year
Equine Degree, and a one year Welding Degree. He partners with my dad
on their horses. Jordan and wife Tacee
are now raising a few of their own, with
their children Ryan and Jace. Presently
he is working for Faddis Kennedy Cattle Co. in Weston WY. They do everything horseback and also rides colts for
the ranch.
Diamond X Ranch is a family owned
horse and cattle operation which has
been in existence for twenty years. Located in Central Wyoming, the horses
are born and raised in a hard setting
running on 40,000+ acres of mountain
range. They have the advantage of
learning how to drink from a creek,
cover steep territory and handle tricky
footing from the day they are born. All
horses are used as saddle horses before
they are ever bred. In addition to being
good minded and handsome, they are
tough enough to do a ranch days work.
These horses have gone on to various
states to be used for cutting, roping,
barrel racing, kid and ranch horses.
Horses being started on the Diamond
X Ranch are ridden on cattle and are
used for ranch roping and it is all done
in a way that is accommodating to the
horse. In addition to using the horse as
a work partner for generations, they’ve
been very fortunate to spend time with
some of today’s most respected teachers
and continue to do so.
Dryhead Ranch
Lovell, WY
Brian & Marcey Eskew
Musselshell, MT
Brian Eskew, his wife Marcey and son
Kreed live south of Musselshell, MT
The Dryhead is located at the base of
where he works for Green Mountain
the Pryors on the Crow Reservation in
Angus Ranch. Along with normal
southern Montana. They run about 30
ranching duties, he enjoys making good
head of mares and 3 studs all while
ranch horses, raising and training good
striving to create exceptional horses
working border collie dogs. He has
with good cowsense.
high hopes for all his horses and dogs
These horses hit the ground in the wide
and works very hard to help them
open and crossing creeks and climbing
achieve their full potential. His hope is
hills are a part of them like their mane
that his horses and dogs are versatile
and tail. They don’t know any different
enough to go from his place to yours
so there is never a problem.
and you enjoy them as much as he has.
Along with their horse program the
Dryhead runs a bunch of cows. Their
horses get plenty of cow work and are
used extensively in big country.
Boedie Evans
Blackfoot, ID
trainer. After over 30 years horse back,
Boedie Evans is from Blackfoot, Idaho. he spends much of his time passing on
the traditions to his daughters, and
He has been involved with horses his
entire life. For over 10 years he has had making good horses of many different
a distinct interest in Ranch Horses and uses as rope horses, cow horses, or
always made it a priority to work with good ranch horses. He continues to
compete in reined cow horse, ranch
horsemen who are well respected and
horse, and roping competitions. To convery knowledgeable.
tact Wade, look him up on Facebook or
Having worked on many ranches,
Bodie has the insight of what is needed call (406)596-0876.
in a good horse. He has started colts
and strives to make really fine bridle
horses.
Bodie believes in his horses and whoever buys them will be more than impressed, with their training and
character for Bodie’s word is his life.
He is honored to be a part of such a
prestigious sale and hopes to come back
with equivalent or superior horses in
the future.
Froelich Ranch
Lance & Sunshine Froelich
Selfridge, ND
Wade Fisher
Twin Bridges, MT
Wade is a working cowboy, and horse
trainer in southwestern Montana. He
resides just outside of Twin Bridges,
where he day works for many ranches,
as well as being a full time horse
Froelich Ranch has been producing
quality ranch and arena horses for over
50 years. Last year they received the
AQHA Legacy Award. Located 55
miles South of Bismarck, ND on rough
but scenic grasslands. They take pride
in their horses and relationships with
their customers. Please visit for more
info at www.froelichranch.com.
Braden Garwood
Spencer, NE
Braden Garwood is the son of Byron
and Teresa Garwood of north central
Nebraska. He has grown up in his
dad’s shadow and has become a hand at
starting colts. He keeps busy helping
the neighbors with their cattle work
too. Branding day and the chance to
rope is always a bonus. A recent highlight was the month he spent working
on the S Ranch. If he’s not horseback
or doing schoolwork, you can find him
in his leather shop making a fine pair of
custom chinks. Braden is a young cowboy with a big heart. He enjoys young
horses and invests a lot of time with
them. He hopes you appreciate the one
he’s bringing to Montana.
Byron Garwood
Spencer, NE
Byron Garwood has been training colts
full-time for almost 11 years. He and
his wife live in north central Nebraska
where they homeschool their 4 children. They enjoy being involved in all
aspects of ranch life. Byron also keeps
busy dayworking which provides him
with the situations to truly make dependable ranch horses. Byron believes
a good horse starts with a solid foundation then the horse, progresses by exposing them to as much as possible.
This not only makes them solid ranch
horses, but they will be equally prepared for any other direction they are
asked to go. He has had some unique
opportunities to ride with some great
hands on some great ranches. He’s ridden in TX, SD, MT, NV & CA. He has
enjoyed the opportunity to learn from
these experiences and improve his
horsemanship. We are excited to be a
part of this association.
Jared Gill
Wyola, MT
Dakota Gaustad
Scobey, MT
Shane & Cindy Gill
Wyola, MT
Dakota Gaustad grew up on a ranch
that’s been in the family for a hundred
years. Was in 4-H for eleven years,
showing cattle and riding young horses.
He helped on the ranch all through
High School. Then went to college at
Miles City Community College in the
Equine Studies under Josh Bilbrey. He
participated in the Top of The West
Colt Sale and Competition for two
years while in College. Has been riding
young horses for eight years now. He
has shown his colts both at the NILE
and in the Ranch Horse Competition.
Jacob Goddard
He is now working back home on the
Broadus, MT
family Ranch and runs his own cattle
and horses (Diamond D Quarter
Jake Goddard grew up riding with his
Horses).
family in southern Montana on ranches
his dad runs. He’s been involved in
projects as diverse as pasturing 1,000
horses, 4,000 stockers, heat detecting
1,200 heifers and calving 600 heifers.
He rides a few outside colts for local
people while staying busy day working
and riding his own in the summer. In
the winter he runs a trap line for bob-
cats and coyotes, checking a good deal
of his traps horseback. He makes it to
as many ranch rodeos and ropings as he
can and loves to compete.
Shawn Goodman
Edgemont, SD
Shawn grew up near Kyle, SD just
south of the Badlands running about
300 pairs. He started roping and riding
colts around age 13. Shawn went to
work for a cow horse trainer in Missouri when he was 24 and spent 2 years
learning all he could. He then moved
back to Kyle and spent a year and a
half training on his own. After training
on his own he then went to Texas for a
winter working for a rope horse trainer.
Since then he has started working for
the J/P Ranch and has been there for
the past 4 years.
Jake & Jess Hahn
Lovell, WY
Raised mainly in Cody, WY, Jake
spent most of his teen years helping
with his family’s haying and farming
business. There he learned the importance of determination.
Jake left home at eighteen and went to
work on large ranches throughout
Montana, Wyoming, and Arizona.
Working on these outfits gave him the
foundations that would later spur his
desire to become more in tune and
aware of his horses.
As a “kid” on most crews, Jake was
willing to disguise himself as fearless.
Whether an idea was his own or overheard in conversation, he would attempt it if it had to do with cowboying.
The suggestion of a fellow crew mem-
ber or an aged cowboy (40 and up...),
an article by Bryan Neubert or book by
Bill Dorrance, be it print, video or
word of mouth, Jake was eager to soak
up as much information as he could.
He learned to braid and to shoe, becoming familiar with the complexities
of bloodlines, and always seeking to improve his horsemanship.
Through trial, tribulation, and help
from many people, Jake continues to
gather thoughts that pertain to how a
horse thinks and reacts. He believes in
the importance of allowing his horses to
think their way through things.
Now, Jake lives near Lovell, WY,
where he and his wife Jess make an impressive team, whether they are riding
colts or raising their children, Madlyn,
Cassidy, Howdy and James (not pictured).
Jake is also a founding member of the
Montana Ranch Horse Association,
LLC and on the sale committee.
ranches in his youth from horseback to
the hay field.
He competed in steer wrestling through
high school and college and the PRCA.
He is ranch manager for Pine Coulee
Angus who have ranches at Absarokee,
Red Lodge and Hardin Montana.
CJ has his own herd of both registered
and commercial cows and always has a
pen full of nice geldings along with a
yard full of dogs. Wife Danielle works
as a nurse and also at the local Vet
Clinic.
Chris Hatch
Lovell, WY
Charles & Danielle Hall
Red Lodge, MT
Charles and Danielle live on Willow
Creek north of Red Lodge, MT, about
4 miles from where Charles grew up.
He worked for all of the neighboring
Chris lives in Lovell, WY with his wife
Laurel and their two boys Jasper and
Chance.
Chris started when he was in high
school on the family ranch. After high
school graduation he attended Lamar
Community College in Lamar, CO
where he completed their 2 year horse
training & Management program.
While he was attending college classes
he also worked with a local cutting
horse trainer. After college he returned
to the family ranch to continue to hone
his skills at training horses. He also has
done day work for numerous local
ranches in the Lovell area and worked
for several large ranches in Wyoming
and Montana.
Kelly & Jolee Holmquist
Flagstaff, AZ
Jeanie has been riding horses since she
was a baby and was given her first
horse at 5. Later she became interested
in rodeo after her parents bought their
ranch in Broadus, MT.
Not having much money growing up,
there was no extra to buy finished
horses for Jeanie to use on the High
School Rodeo Circuit. So Jeanie went
to clinics to gain the knowlege needed
to train her own and knowing that her
success was not only her dedication but
her hard work.
Loving to train young horses she went
on to go to college in Miles City, MT
and enrolled in the equine program
with Josh Bilbrey being the instrctor
who has influenced her training skills
greatly.
Now you can find Jeanie putting her
knowledge to work riding her own as
well as outside customers horses on her
ranch in Broadus.
Kelly, Jolee and Kincaid live and work
on the Babbit Ranch in southern Arizona.
Ty Hotchkiss
Reva, SD
Jeanie Hovermale
Broadus, MT
Ty grew up on his family’s ranch in
Reva, South Dakota where he raises
angus cattle and some Quarter Horses.
His interests are ranching, horses,
music, and serving the Lord. He con-
siders himself so blessed for being able
to make a living at something he enjoys.
Ty’s horses usually see a fair amount of
country and uses them on the ranch as
well as helping neighbors dayworking.
Ty also team ropes so anything he uses
in the pasture finds it’s way to the arena
at some point. They get used for about
everything.
James Irish
Lewistown, MT
Blaine Humble
Faith, SD
Blaine was raised in a ranch and rodeo
family near Faith, South Dakota. He
started riding colts at a young age. He
rodeoed in high school, winning the
state team roping title twice. In college
he rodeoed for Dawson Community
College of Glendive, Montana. Now
days you will find him cowboying,
starting colts, rodeoing and picking up
at rodeos.
James Irish began riding at a very
young age of three or four years. He
and his younger brother trained some
driving ponies to ride with an open bridle at eight and eleven.
James was in the 4-H horse program
for 10 years, and worked with some of
the best trainers in the State of Montana, - Ed Lamb, Joan Kissock, Janet
Newman, as well as Dr. Doug Householder from Texas A&M and his older
brother John Irish. James is familiar
with many riding disciplines from riding English to riding saddle broncs.
James has participated in calf roping
and on both sides of steer wrestling.
He also attended college in Texas and
Western Montana University on Rodeo
Scholarships. He earned an associates
degree in Welding and an associate and
bachelors degree in Business.
He has trained working dogs and
horses. Possessing a real sensitivity and
intuition with animals.
This past year James has trained
horses while riding for Fred Hirschy
and the Snowline Grazing Association.
J Bar 9 Ranch
Jere & Patti Wittkopp
Circle, MT
Jere and Patti own and operate the J
Bar 9 Ranch Inc. near Circle, Montana.
This is a zoo plus cow/calf ranch which
uses horses as an important part of its
operation. Jere works solo many hours
of the day and saddles up early during
calving, breeding and shipping season.
He keeps a horse standing ready to
work in corrals, alleys, to pull calves in
on the sled and to open and shut gates
especially when wet and sloppy. Riding
extra miles in helping out neighbors
can also be part of an average day.
Breeding and training horses has also
been part of operation since its beginning. A well rounded ranch horse needs
good cow instincts, speed, agility with a
steady, calm disposition to get the job
done. Raising and training horses that
have these qualities continues to be an
active function in this ranching endeavor.
Ryan Kelley
Deer Lodge, MT
Ryan Kelley was raised on a ranch in
the Deer Lodge valley. He has ridden
horses from the age of five and started
his first pony at age eleven. Enjoying
starting colts sent him to Oklahoma
after college to hone his skills training
reined cow horses. After three years
down south he moved home to help his
dad on the ranch. He doesn’t ride outside horses because his dad keeps his
string plenty full of good ones. Ryan
strives to get his horses very broke in
all disciplines.
Gene Kukowski
Miles City, MT
whole lives, that have allowed them to
make good horses. They enjoy showing
horses as well. They strive to have
horses that can do it all; rope, cowup,
turn around and stop. Their goals are
to have horses for everyone, whether it
is in the performance world, ranch
horse or pleasure horse.
Guy and Rachel Larsen
Lodge Grass, MT
Guy and Rachel Larsen live and work
on the Sunlight Ranches’ Flat Iron
unit. Raised in Wyoming and Montana,
they have been involved in ranching
and riding colts most of their lives.
They are grateful to be able to raise
their children on a ranch, because
horses are important to them.
Lazy J3 Quarter Horses
Greg Severe
Roundup, MT
Greg Severe along with his wife Jean
and children Macabe, Gillian and Garrett comprise Lazy J3 Quarter Horses.
They have worked on ranches their
Brendon & Veronica Lemmon
Moccasin, MT
Brendon and Veronica Lemmon reside
in Moccasin mt, working for a Bos
Terra LLC. Our first son, Wess
Grafton was born October 1st 2014.
We both grew up around ranch work
and Veronica around vet teching, as her
moms a large and small animal veterinarian. We both have a love for horses
and met in Miles city at college where
we took up equine studies, tought
under Josh Bilbrey at the time. We
couldn't imagine our lives without
horses. It's very rewarding, and we
love being able to do our job horseback.
Marvin Ley
Glendive, MT
Marvin began training horses with his
dad when he was 9 and has continued
throughout the rest of his life. Working
with a horses mind is important and to
help the horse understand what he is
being asked is a big priority for Marvin. He has made ranch horses, rodeo
horses, cutting horses, team roping
horses and worked for horse trainers
tuning their horses up. Showing horses
in many events is also a pastime for
Marvin, his strongest event is reining.
Has been a pickup man at the Miles
City Bucking Horse Sale for 6 years
and also in PRCA rodeos. For over 20
years Marvin has also taught horsemanship classes at Dawsom Community College in Glendive, MT.
Linger Ranch
Quarter Horses
Ty & Pat Linger
Miles City, MT
Ranching east of Miles City, Montana
the Lingers run in gumbo badlands and
pine hills. This builds good feet and
legs on their horses and an easy way of
getting around in rough country. They
run about 350 head of cows and have
about a dozen broodmares. Ty starts all
the colts and always tries to use a real
soft touch, building a lasting trust into
them. This allows Pat (a 50 something
older guy) to get on and ride them after
just a few rides. They hold their cattle
up and sort out in the open and at pregging time the only man afoot is running
the head catch. Lingers do a lot of outside roping as well as in the corrals.
They can’t guarantee how their horses
are around 4-wheelers because they
don’t own one.
Lyle Mitchell
Arvada, WY
Lyle along with his wife Sheila reside
on a large ranch at Arvada, Wyoming.
Lyle is horseback a lot and is known to
make top notch ranch and arena
horses. Both he and his wife were
Clayton and Danielle live in Deaver,
ranch raised and proud that they were
Wyoming where they work for Craig
able to raise their children the same
Sorenson. Clayton manages a feedlot in way. Lyle is also on the sale committee.
Deaver and a ranch in the Pryor Gap.
He started riding colts at the age of
Lee Monk
twelve under the guidance of his father.
Volberg, MT
His wife Danielle, who is also a pretty
fair horse hand, is a school teacher in
Lee is 25 years old and currently living
Lovell, Wyoming. They are pleased to
in Volberg, MT with his wife Shelby
have brought horses to the “REAL”
and son Cooper. He grew up in Lodge
Ranch Horse Invitational Sale for sev- Grass, MT and has been around the
eral years.
ranching atmosphere his entire life. He
enjoys team roping, working with
horses for his son, Cooper to ride when
he is old enough.
Clayton Malson
Clayton & Danielle
Laramie, WY
James Morgan
Bennett, CO
As a full time professional horse trainer,
James specializes in starting colts for
both Western and English disciplines.
He pursues every opportunity to day
work also preparing his horses for a career on the ranch. In his approach to
start and train horses, he utilizes his
ranching background gained by growing up in Burlington, WY. He continues his education by riding with top
horsemen across the country. He has
ridden and started colts in CA, NV, TX,
CO, WY, MT, and New South Wales,
AUS. James lives in Colorado and is
looking forward to spending more time
in the future. www.JamesMorganHorsemanship.com
Logan Naylor
Wyola, MT
Vic & Carey Nelson
Harlowton, MT
Vic and Carey Nelson have one child
Logan is from Miles City. Works for
Cody. They work for the C-J Ranch.
Sunlight Ranch at the Little Horn Unit, Carey was raised on a yearling operaWyola, MT.
tion and Vic on a cow calf. Over the
years they have worked several ranches
in Nebraska as well as Wyoming.
Don & Sheila Nelson
Glasgow, MT
Don was born and raised on the family
ranch at Glasgow, Montana. They have
a commercial cow/calf operation, in
which they A.I. They run about twenty
broodmares and stand a son of Colonel
Freckles.
Pete Olsen
Molt, MT
Pete Olsen has been horseback most of
his life and has over forty years of horse
experience. In his early years, he
worked on various ranches, was a professional farrier and trained horses full
time. For the past thirty-seven years,
Pete has worked for the Department of
Livestock as an inspector, with the last
twenty-five years as the District Livestock Inspector. He spends most of his
time horseback and has continued to
train his quality prospects. His horse
training program incorporates quality
bred horses, sound training techniques
combined with work, miles and experience for his horses. Pete is also a founding member of the Montana Ranch
Horse Association, LLC and is on the
sale committee.
He attended Northwest College for 3
years focusing on Farrier Science and
Ranch Business. During that time, he
also worked for various ranch outfits (
N Bar, Sunlight Ranches, Bartlett
Ranch) Sam’s focus and time are spent
with his family – Lacey, Rylee Marie,
and Teegan Jo, his horses and his dogs.
Sam’s training belief’s don’t consist of
any certain set of methods, but what
works for the horse as an individual.
Sam Olsen
Claremont, WY
Pierson Quarter Horses
Three generations Bo, Cash & Mike
Pierson
Brusett, MT
Sam Olsen started his horse career at a
young age and has been horseback ever
since. Growing up he helped his dad
and brothers start lots of horses, which
sparked his desire and interest. Sam
continues to develop his horsemanship
skills any way he can. Sam loves to
show horses, and he loves to rope anything; in competition and on the ranch.
Mike Pierson is a native Montanan
who has been around ranch horses his
entire life. He received his first brood
mare when he was about 5 years old
and has been breeding and raising
Quarter Horses since. Mike became an
AQHA Lifetime Member in 1968. He
currently owns 3 registered quarter
horse stallions - Snippy Wood, Banjos
Dueling, and MAP Flaming Tomcat.
Mike and his son, Bo, run a cattle operation in Brusett, MT. He also has his
mare bunch and sells most of the colts
and young horses by private treaty.
Mike prides himself on raising durable
quarter horses that can excel in the
rough terrain of the Missouri River
Breaks and will make cowy ranch
horses.
formance and is a member of the Working Ranch Cowboy Association. In his
spare time he trains horses for others as
well as his own.
Chad Rainsdon
Deer Lodge, MT
Chad was raised in Idaho, and has
worked on many ranches in Montana
and Idaho. He enjoys making nice rope
and ranch horses.
Blake Rainsdon
Deer Lodge, MT
Blake was born and raised in Idaho.
Before coming to the Sunlight Little
Horn Ranch, where he has been for the
past 11 years, Blake worked for different ranches throughout Idaho. He is
married and has three daughters. Blake
enjoys Bronc riding and rodeo per-
Rawhide Quarter Horses
Nate, TJ & Jake Wald
Lodge Grass, MT
Nate, TJ and Jackson operate
Rawhide Quarter Horses on the family
ranch at Lodge Grass, Montana. All of
their work is done horseback and they
use the horses they raise everyday.
They treasure traditional values in life
and traditional methods of horsemanship. Nate and Jackson also braid
rawhide horse gear and TJ takes care
of the whole outfit. Nate is also a
founding member of the Montana
Ranch Horse Association, LLC and is
on the sale committee.
Nolan Reil
Broadus, MT
Nolan is from Pleasant Dale, NE. In
the last several years he has worked for
several top trainers or ranches in Texas,
Nebraska, Nevada, Montana, and
South Dakota. Their help has been sincerely appreciated and has contributed
greatly to his education in horsemanship and ranch horse work.
Bailey Remmich
Hinsdale, MT
Justine Reynolds-Munns
Melrose, MT
Justine grew up on the family ranch in
Melrose, Montana. Summers were
Bailey Remmich lives on her family’s spent in the Big Hole Valley on a sumcow/calf operation Northeast of Hins- mer grazing permit. She has helped
dale, MT. Aside from cows; Bailey’s
with all phases of ranch work, working
family also raises horse out of Driftcattle, and breaking colts all from a
wood blood lines that are sound
young age. 4-H horsemanship, market
minded, good boned, and easy going. animals, and youth rodeos were an imHer family uses horses for everything portant part of growing up. These dethey can throughout the year. They
veloped into High School Rodeos,
head and heal 200+ heifers for bangs where she won the 2007 State Pole
vaccinating, drag calves to the fire at Bending championship on a horse she
branding, and trail their cattle over 100 finished breaking and training herself.
miles every year. She has been around Currently, Justine is attending the Unihorses for as long as she can remember, versity of Montana-Western on a rodeo
and started riding young horses at the scholarship in Equine studies and a
age of 11. Bailey is currently attending Business option. She also breaks and
Miles City Community College to pur- trains colts and day works for various
sue a Degree in Equine Studies.
ranches in the area around her college
studies.
move on to the roping arena. He believes a well-rounded ranch horse
makes a better kind of rope horse.
Cody enjoys roping, going to ranch
rodeos, and teaching his kids how to
rope and ride.
Cody & Andrea Rieger
Ismay, MT
Cody, his wife Andrea, and kids Tylee
and Turk live on his family’s ranch
about 60 miles east of Miles City. Cody
graduated from Dickinson State University with a bachelors degree and was
on the rodeo team. He then moved to
Bridger, MT to manage a ranch for 5
years and then relocated to a ranch
south of Miles City for 2 years. Then
about 5 years ago he moved back home
to the ranch south of Ismay, MT where
he is now a third generation rancher to
operate a cow/calf outfit on O’Fallon
creek. He has been working with
horses his whole life and enjoys the traditional ways of using his horses on the
ranch. From calving and branding to
preconditioning and shipping, his
horses get the experiences they need to
Scott & Josie Rieger
Ismay, MT
Scott and Josie live on a family ranch
65 miles east of Miles City, MT. Scott is
third generation of his family to operate
on the ranch. Scott and Josie both ride
their horses outside during calving,
branding etc. either on their own place
or helping neighbors. Their horses
spend a few years doing ranch chores
until their solid in the hills before doing
anything in the arena. All their horses
spend a lot of time in the spring dragging calves to the fire at branding. Both
Scott and Josie spend a lot of time
keeping their horses quiet. Away from
ranch life, Scott enjoys roping at jackpots and attending ranch rodeos while
Josie spends time working with her
barrel horse and taking them to jackpots as well.
different ranches over the years it became evident that more people wanted
him to train their horses. He uses his
own horses as well as the horses he is
training to help local ranches with
whatever needs to be done. It has always been Rhetts goal to make finished
horses. He takes a lot of time and a lot
of pride in turning out his personal finished horses. On occasion he is able to
offer one of these horses for sale.
Rhett Rigby
Drummond, MT
Rhett was raised on a ranch in Dubois,
Idaho. Horses have been a part of his
everyday life as long as he can remember. He started training horses as a
child with the help of his grandfather
and a few friends. By the time he was a
teenager, he was riding horses for other
people. He worked for different
ranches who used horses to get the job
done. Rhett could be seen roping cattle
or whatever was near by any chance he
got. Anything Rhett has rode has had a
rope swung off him. After working for
Roen Ranch
Musselshell, MT
Mitch Roen started riding colts and
outside horses in grade school. He enjoys watching how fast young horses
progress while being used out side in
working situations. He also enjoys
horses that have a lot of heart and guts
while maintaining a level head,and is
versatile enough to do any job asked of
him. Mitch Roen along with his Wife
Jennifer and kids Will, Jack and Jocie,
have been running a couple of leased
ranches for the last eleven years. Our
family have always used horses extensively outside and in the working pen
taking care of our 500 mother cows and
1450 grass cattle.
Morgan Russell
Big Horn, MT
Morgan Russell is a sophomore at
Trevor Rowley
Miles Community College studying
Hobson, MT
Equine Studies and on the rodeo team.
She grew up in Custer, Montana as the
Trevor grew up on a ranch in south
oldest of five children. As a kid she had
west Nebraska. He attended Miles City the privilege of going through the 4-H
Community College where he received program with leaders Martin Anseth
a and was enrolled in the Equine Proand Nate Wald and in high school
gram under Josh Bilbrey. He was also worked for a couple of different
a member of the Miles Community Col- ranches, rode colts in summers, and
lege Rodeo Team. He is currently
rodeoed on the weekends. Morgan then
working for Bos Terra out of Hobson,
furthered her education as a college
MT.
student under Josh Bilbrey and will
graduate this May. She loves taking a
young horse from the ground on up. It’s
the most rewarding feeling in the world
to see the progress from groundwork,
to a functional young horse. There is a
lesson to be learned from every person
and every horse, and you should never
be above taking the time to experience
ways to not only make you a better
horseman, but a better person as well!
Rex Russell
Laramie, WY
Rex , wife Sarah, and four kids, live in
Laramie, Wy. Rex works on a yearling
outfit, where they buy calves in the fall,
wean them, straighten them out
through the winter, and run them on
grass during the summer. He does a lot
of his work alone, so his horses get
used quite a bit, for things like doctoring, sorting, moving, or loading steers.
The cattle are on meadows all winter
and some real rough country come
summer. So at times Rex has to push
his horses pretty hard, but he figures
that does two things. One the horse
progresses in his abilities, and two he
gets to know how that horse is going to
handle a tight spot, cause life doesn't always deal us the perfect setup. Rex
uses his horse as an extension of himself, so horses have to be willing and
supple, to move any part of himself any
time asked. Rex knows he isn’t perfect
and neither are his horses, so there's always room for improvement on both
sides of the saddle. He really enjoys
working with horses and learning new
ways to teach them.
Sargent Ranch Inc.
Sargent Family
Shawmut, MT
The Sargent Ranch was established
over ninety years ago and has used
horses extensively since its beginning.
Dale and his father, Bill Sargent, share
the work load from Dales family
Martha, Wes and Kayla. Dale and Wes
do all the breaking and training on the
horses that are bred, born and raised on
the ranch.
Don Selle
Baker, MT
Roy Shannon
Dillon, MT
Roy Shannon and wife Connel have
two daughters Nadine and Cora. They
have lived there together in Dillon,
Montana for the last seventeen years.
Roy is a professional farrier and also a
day hand cowboy for some of the local
ranchers in Beaverhead county. He
starts his own colts and raises a few
cattle on the home place.
He has cowboyed and started colts on
several large outfits in Northern California, Nevada, and Oregon all during
the late 70’s and early 90’s. While he
was working for the MC Ranch in
Southern Oregon he met his wife.
Shane Sorden
Shane, Brandy & Madison
Melrose, MT
Shane grew up on a ranch in Nebraska.
He moved to Montana as a young man
to work with his uncle Shorty and learn
how to be a cowboy. Shane, wife
Brandy, daughter Madison and a pack
of dogs reside in Melrose, Montana. He
currently works near Dillon for the
commercial division of the Riverbend
Ranch. When not working at the feedlot, Shane can be found starting colts,
day working for other ranchers in the
area, participating in ranch rodeos and
team roping. Shane is also on the sale
committee.
Cody Spencer
Hamer, ID
Cody Spencer of Hamer, Idaho grew
up on cow calf operation. Started riding young horses at an early age. Enjoys ranch roping and attended Miles
community college for equine studies
and participated on the rodeo team.
Currenlty he resides in Hamer, ID and
works for the Jacobs Ranch.
horses, starting colts, and day working.
He studies traditional horsemanship
and incorporates these techniques in
his training. Kyl just spent this winter
in Wisconsin studying the finer points
of horsemanship while riding finished
reining horses and starting colts for
Idlewild Farms. Trying to help horses
learn, the satisfaction making every
horse better then the last, and using his
horses packing, roping, and for everyday ranch work is his passion.
Kyl Sperry
Cody, WY
Kyl was raised on ranches in Oregon
and California. He’s been riding his
whole life. Having spent time riding
cutting horses in Texas, working for
Roaring Springs Ranch, Oregon and
most recently at the Flag Ranch in Nebraska, Kyl now spends most of his
time in Cody, Wyoming riding outside
Annika Stampfel
Red Lodge, MT
Annika Stampfel lives and works on
the family ranch outside Red Lodge,
Montana. She excelled in 4-H and
youth rodeo, and began starting and
riding young horses her freshman year
of high school.
Tyrel Tucker
Cody, WY
John Stampfel
Red Lodge, MT
John lives on the same ranch he was
born on located on Willow Creek north
of Red Lodge, Montana. As a youth his
dad mounted them on about any ol’
horse that came around, but now days
for the sake of him and his kids they try
to ride a better quality of horse. He actively pursues opportunities for his kids
in 4-H and youth rodeo. John is also a
founding member of the Montana
Ranch Horse Association, LLC.
Tyrel was raised on the family ranch located at Clark, Wyoming. He is a fifth
generation cowboy, and has punched
cows in Wyoming, Montana, Arizona
and Nevada. He prefers to day work
and ride colts. Enjoys a good ranch
rodeo and stock saddle bronc riding.
When time and money allows, he likes
to attend colt starting clinics.
Toby and Amy Vineyard
Arvada, WY
Toby and Amy have two children,
Bronc, and Brindle. Amy is a stay at
home mom and wife. She helps out on
the ranch whenever possible and enjoys
riding horses and being with the kids.
Bronc has just begun to ride horses and
has really taken a liking to it. Brindle
will start riding soon, she loves animals
and to play outside with Bronc. Toby
runs the ranch, shoes horses, is a brand
inspector and starts colts. He enjoys
being with his family as much as possible and enjoys riding with his family.
Bob Walden
Fort Peck, MT
I was born in 1968 in Bozeman, Montana with bridle reins in one hand and a
rope in the other. I’ve been attempting
to be a cowboy ever since.
Bob Walden grew up following his dad
around working on ranches in
Wyoming and Southwestern Montana.
Bob struck out on his own at sixteen
and dayworked for room and board for
him and his mare, Bunny. Bunny was
two at the time, and the first horse that
was truly Bob’s. He graduated from
High School in Phillipsburg, Montana
and after a short stint in the military,
loaded up his saddle and headed out to
Nevada. While in Nevada, Bob worked
for the Tabor Creek Cattle Company,
Bell Brand Ranches, 25 Ranch, Geyser
Ranch, Ranch O’Grandy, and the T
Lazy S Ranch. After seven years he
headed back north to Montana and
landed in the Missouri Breaks working
for Page-Whitham. There he met and
married his wife, Sylvan. After six
years working for Page-Whitham, he
moved north of the Milk River and
worked for the Cornwell Ranch for
four years. He is now ranching on the
rough western side of McCone County.
He has one daughter, Reata Rose, born
in 2010. Horses and ranching have
been the common thread throughout
his life. He has competed in ropings,
ranch rodeos, working cow horse competitions, local AQHA shows, horse
ropings, and Craig Cameron’s extreme
cowboy races. Bob has attended clinics
by Ray Hunt, Craig Cameron, Les
Vogt, and Josh Bilbrey. He has never
stopped learning and trying to improve
his horsemanship.
roping on occasion.
Katie grew up in Guthrie, Texas on the
Pitchfork ranch and has ridden horses
most of her life. She also attended
LCCC to obtain a degree in horse
training and management and has her
animal science degree from OSU. She
worked for a couple of reined cowhorse
and cutting trainers after college and
currently starts most of their personal
colts. She splits
her time between riding horses and caring for their 2 kids, Sammi and Boyd.
Matt & Katie Walker
Encampent, WY
Matt and Katie Walker live on the Bar
M Division of the Silver Spur Ranches,
outside of Encampment, WY. The
ranch currently runs 800 head of mama
cows and 150 head of heifers. Horses
see lots of outside miles, most of which
is by themselves. All the calves are drug
to the fire and doctored horseback, so
all the horses see lots of roping time.
The Walkers also participate in reined
cowhorse and versatility ranch horse
shows, both of which they feel make a
better all-around horse. They also
strive to make horses that you can take
to a show on the weekend, but still use
to get the job done during the week.
Matt grew up in Lyman, Wyoming and
started working on the Crowfoot ranch
when he was just 8. He started breaking colts shortly after that and decided
to pursue a degree in horse training and
management from LCCC. He has cowboyed and ridden horses all his life and
currently enjoys showing reined
cowhorses, versatility ranch horses, and
Jason Ward
Dillon, MT
Jason works in the Big Hole for the
Hairpin Ranch during the summer
months. He team ropes and ranch
rodeos. Jason grew up in Idaho, but
makes Dillon his permanent home.
Steve & Lindsay Williams
Columbus, MT
Steve and Lindsay feel fortunate to
have been involved in agriculture their
whole lives with being raised on
ranches and working alongside their
Troy is a 6th generation cowboy who
parents growing up and that is also a
lives and works on the family place
goal with their 3 kids now. They are
near the Stillwater River. He was
brought up right with a horse between now running Midland Bull Test where
his knees and a cow in front of him. His they performance test bulls from all
over the country. It is in that feedlot
knowledge of cows and horses comes
where their horses learn what work is
not only from working on the home
about and they have plenty of experiplace and his mother’s outfitting business but also dayworking on neighbor- ence opening gates, working cattle and
being exposed to a lot of different ciring ranches.
He loves spending time with his family, cumstances. Steve and Lindsay also
wife Brooke and two sons J.T and Tris- currently have a small cow herd on
lease up by Fishtail and help out there
ten, who are very eager to follow in
when they can. The kids are also getdads footprints. He plans to raise his
ting involved in the TRC rodeos during
boys on the ranch and pack them as
the summer.
well as his colts up the mountains as
often as possible.
John Wollenburg
Red Lodge, MT
Troy Wilcox
Abarokee, MT
Jaime Wood
Twin Bridges, MT
Wolter Ranch
Joe & Jimmie Wolter
Aspermont, TX
Joe and Jimmie Wolter make their
home in Aspermont, Texas on their
ranch where Joe trains horses for the
public and conducts Ranch Roping and
Horsemanship clinics throughout the
United States. They also run a yearling
cattle operation “Mas O Menos Livestock,” leasing ranches in Colorado and
Texas, where their horses get alot of
ranch use.
Jaime grew up on a ranch in Sheridan
Montana running pairs and yearlings.
After graduating from college he
worked on a couple of different places
before settling in Twin Bridges. Jaime,
now manages the Hamilton Ranch with
wife Lacey and daughter Maysa.