Posts Tagged With: #Ranching

The man. The myth. The legend.
Around here, Gunner has earned that title more than once.

Some stallions leave their mark with papers. Others leave it with the kind of foals people remember. Gunner does both.

Standing 15.2 hands tall, Gunner is the kind of stallion that catches your eye immediately — big hip, strong bone, excellent feet and legs, athletic build, and a willing attitude that makes him easy to like. But what we appreciate most about him is that he consistently passes those traits on to his foals.

Gunner is a dun roan son of Cue Bars Laddie, an AQHA point-earning and producing stallion known for versatility across ranch, rope, and performance events. The kind of horse that could go do a job and still look good doing it.

His dam, “Pistol,” is a mare we’ve always thought highly of. She’s been featured in both the NFQHA rule book and NFQHA magazine and is the definition of a dependable ranch horse. Quiet enough for kids, solid enough for ranch work, and the kind you can count on day after day. Pistol is by Gold Country Charro, a dunskin stallion successfully shown in halter during the late 90s.

Gunner himself was started under saddle through the Allison Trimble training program and ridden by Jordan Crabtree, giving him a strong foundation and good-minded start from the beginning.

What we love most is seeing how consistently Gunner stamps his foals:
✔ Size
✔ Bone
✔ Color
✔ Trainability
✔ Good minds
✔ Ranch versatility

Whether crossed on foundation mares, rope horse mares, or performance mares, his foals continue to prove themselves as practical, athletic horses with eye appeal and substance.

He’s the kind that fits our program perfectly — cattle people first, raising horses that can work, last, and still turn heads doing it.

Some horses become part of a breeding program.
The special ones become part of the story.

✨ KT Gunpowder N Lead ✨
87% NFQHA
Breeding Fee: $1,500 | LFG

This buckskin roan filly is the kind that catches your eye fast — color, shape, pedigree, and presence all wrapped into one sharp package.

KT Slidin In Sage is another standout by KT Gunners Sage Bug (“Sagebug”), and we continue to really like what this cross is producing. She’s balanced, athletic, pretty-headed, and built with the kind of structure that should hold up for the long haul.

Sagebug traces back to some of our favorite ranch and foundation lines. He’s by KT Gunpowder N Lead (“Gunner”), a roan dunskin son of Cue Bars Laddie, an AQHA point-earning and producing stallion known for versatility and athleticism. Gunner’s dam, “Pistol,” has been shown with the NFQHA and was even featured in the NFQHA rule book and magazine — the kind of dependable ranch mare the whole family can ride.

On the bottom side of Sagebug’s pedigree is Continental Lady Bug, a big-boned daughter of Continental Cad with Mr Blackburn blood adding size, bone, and true foundation strength.

This filly’s dam, Bailey, is a barn favorite around here. She’s the kind waiting by the gate for attention every day, and she consistently passes along that same personable attitude to her foals. Bailey is feminine but strong-made, with the perfect blend of muscle, bone, and athleticism. Before becoming a broodmare, she was ranch ridden and used in the roping pen — and that real-world usability shows in her offspring.

Bailey is by Slide On Bartender, an AQHA point-earning and championship-producing son of the legendary Shining Spark and out of a Two ID Bartender daughter. The maternal side of Bailey’s pedigree brings in names like Jimeny Jumpup, Maverick Coke, Grey Badger II, and Waggoner — proven ranch and rope horse bloodlines that have stood the test of time.

This filly combines:
✔ Cow sense
✔ Reining influence
✔ Rope horse durability
✔ Foundation strength
✔ Ranch versatility

And she does it all while wrapped up in an eye-catching buckskin roan package.

Built to work. Bred to last. Pretty enough to get noticed anywhere she goes.

Anna officially wrapped up college for the summer and started her internship on Wednesday, so now she gets weekends like the rest of us after a busy workweek. Somehow summer schedules always fill up fast around here.

This weekend already looks like a typical ranch summer weekend — we have people coming out to look at horses, and on Saturday we’ve got a junior high girl coming out to work for the day for her SAE project. We always enjoy seeing young kids interested in agriculture and livestock.

Anna is also starting to get calls on show calves, which means it’s time to decide which calves she wants to halter break and get ready to sell. Sale season sneaks up quick.(None of the pictures below are recent)

Kade has been spending a lot of time on the two-year-olds and putting rides on Gucci… who may be turning into his next roping horse if things keep going the right direction.

We’re also gearing up for a big week ahead with Kaine graduating high school next Friday and the joint graduation party with his girlfriend, JayCee. We’re really excited, and honestly very thankful, that Jeana offered to host the graduation party. Her and Scott have already done most of the work too — which we definitely appreciate more than they know.

Dad is finishing up hauling out the last of the sold bulls after we pulled bulls last weekend. Hard to believe breeding season is already moving along that quickly.

Between internships, horses, cattle, graduation plans, and summer chaos… we’re rolling right into June around here.

It’s been one of those full-speed-ahead ranch weeks where everyone was headed a different direction, but somehow it all came together.

Friday, Chad was out and we got a big group of the yearlings trimmed. Jake was here too and got all of the riding horses done, plus Rip and Der — the mini stud. Meanwhile, Anna, the dogs, and I gathered and sorted cows before I had to leave, so Anna called in reinforcements. Before long, Tesa, Anna, and Scarlett were working bull calves and their moms, and once Kaine and Kicker showed up, they jumped right in too. Jake ended up helping there as well while Ben was off fixing circles.

Saturday we finished working cows while Toni made a few trips out to horse shows in between ranch work — pretty standard around here this time of year.

Sunday we loaded up early and headed to Desert Storm in Hermiston with cattle. It was a good weekend for the crew:
🏆 Fall Angus heifer was Grand Champion Angus Heifer in Ring B and Third Overall in Ring A
🏆 The DLX heifer landed in the Top 5 in Ring A
👏 Anna and Kade both did well in showmanship
👏 Both steers placed 3rd in their classes and made the final drive

We also recruited Charley Casey to jump in and help show Angus heifers since all of the Angus heifers ended up in the same class at once — and we sure appreciated the extra help.

Monday gave us a chance to pause a little for Memorial Day and remember the people who sacrificed so we get to live this life we love. We’re thankful for the freedoms that allow us to raise our families, ranch, travel, compete, and gather together — freedoms that came at a cost for many families. We’re grateful to those who served and especially those who never made it home.

Of course, ranch life doesn’t stop. Toni was back showing horses again while Ben, Kaine, and Kade headed to Dan’s to pick up grass hay. If you need some grass hay, we have all of Dan’s but Davidsons that live up the hill texted they have some nice three tie grass hay bales.

We’ve also added a few mares in with the new stud, Classic Metal (“Cal”), and we’re pretty excited to see what the future holds there. We think he’s going to cross really well on several of our mares.

And yesterday brought one more exciting addition — Nutter Butter had our Judge Dat Cash foal… a cute filly! We were really hoping for a filly to keep, so we’re pretty excited about this one. Toni also had a visitor stop by yesterday, which always makes for a fun break in the middle of the chaos.

KT Shadie Can Shine
Filly
Sire: KT OneShadie Captain
Dam: KT Can Sage Shine “Can Can”
DOB: 3/27/26
Color: Chestnut
Price: $4,500

Here is a sharp-made chestnut filly with a stacked pedigree and the kind of mind and build to go any direction you choose. KT Shadie Can Shine combines proven reining bloodlines with solid ranch and cowhorse foundation — making her an exciting prospect for performance or a dependable ranch partner.

Her sire, KT OneShadie Captain (“Cappy”), brings together some of the industry’s most respected names. He is out of A Little Shadie Chic (“Shadie”), an NRHA money earner and point producer, including a 2006 NRHA Reserve Regional Experience Region One Championship, before becoming a standout broodmare. Shadie traces back to the legendary Comandalena ($143,000+ NRHA earnings) and A Little Shady Jac, with influential names like Hollywood Jac 86, Smart Little Lena, and Doc Tom Tucker throughout the pedigree.

On the top side, Captains Double Coy (“Double”) is known for stamping his foals with big hips, athleticism, cow sense, and trainability. His offspring have excelled in roping, barrels, ranch work, and performance events while keeping the easy-going dispositions everyone appreciates.

Her dam, KT Can Sage Shine (“Can Can”), is a beautiful palomino mare known for her exceptional disposition — the kind both kids and adults naturally gravitate toward. Though she sustained a non-riding injury as a foal, she brings an outstanding maternal line to the table. She is by KT Gunners Sage Bug, a dunskin roan son of KT Gunpowder N Lead, known for producing versatile, good-minded ranch and rope horses. The bottom side traces back to KT Major Sunshine and Sonny Dee Bar Too breeding, adding trainability, usability, and eye appeal.

💥 Why she stands out:
✔️ Proven NRHA and cowhorse bloodlines
✔️ Ranch and performance versatility
✔️ Trainable, good-minded pedigree
✔️ Balanced conformation and eye appeal
✔️ Bred for roping, barrels, reining, or ranch work

This filly has all the pieces to become a top-notch using horse or competitive performance prospect.

“Zink” was one of those special stallions that leaves a lasting mark on a program long after they’re gone. He was shown locally before coming to us, and he went on to become a producer of outstanding cow horses and performance horses whose influence is still seen today across many arenas.

What made Zink so memorable wasn’t just his pedigree or ability — it was his personality. He had the kind of award-winning disposition everyone hopes for in a horse, and he consistently passed that on to his foals. His offspring are willing, gritty, kind-minded, and always seem to have that extra try. The kind that want to please and become true partners.

Zink was a huge asset to our breeding program, and we’re fortunate to still have many daughters by him carrying on his legacy today.

He was sired by John Zink, a stallion with AQHA points along with 67 Palomino Halter Points and 119 Palomino Performance Points. On the bottom side, Zink was out of Sheza Major Star, a daughter of the legendary Major Bonanza — AQHA Champion, Superior Halter & Western Pleasure, ROM HUS, Reserve High Point Working Cow Horse, and multiple World Show placings in Working Cow Horse. Major Bonanza also sired 15 World Champions.

Foundation, performance, disposition, and versatility — Zink brought all of it together in one golden package, and we still see pieces of him every day in the horses carrying his blood forward