The E-Drover

International Texas Longhorn Association Newsletter

Larry Lonero, President of ITLA

Larry Lonero

President ITLA 

 Gary Don & Joanna Taylor   9314 220th St NE  Okarche, OK 73762    405-919-5210    

Longhorns lead National Western Stock Show Parade through Denver

The annual National Western Stock Show Kick-off Parade makes its way down 17th Street in downtown Denver, January, 09 2014. Cowboys and cowgirls on horseback lead Texas Longhorn cattle along the parade. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

As parade participants lined up in a parking lot near Coors Field, one of the 60 Longhorn critters decided to take an unscheduled detour, said Stan Searle, the Monument rancher who owns the stock.

"One of them was a little out of control. She didn't want to stay with the crowd, so we chased her and roped her and put her in a trailer," said Searle, 77.

The parade went on without a hitch - and without the rebel animal - as a midday crowd of thousands watched cowboys, cowgirls, cattle, and horse-drawn wagons and carriages make the annual stroll along 17th Street.

"It's such a cool tradition. This isn't Manhattan," said Sarah Hall, 35, who brought her 4-year-old daughter, Quinn, straight from preschool to watch the parade.

For the dozen cowhands who guided the 40,000-or-so pounds of beef past sidewalks lined with people, moving the cattle carries a bit more risk than running them across the prairie, Searle said. "There is always a little risk when you get loose animals in front of thousands of people."

The Longhorn is a very intelligent breed, and that makes them easy to handle, Searle said. "They may be a little wary at first, but when they're handled early, they get gentle."

A steer named Shoot-em-Up led the herd. (A steer is a bull that was castrated before reaching sexual maturity.)

"They will follow him and stick around him," Searle said. "The cows have female hormones, so they're always interested in doing something. The steer just wants to eat."

Cattle will tip off their handlers when they're about to bolt, said Travis Casey, 40, one of the cowhands guiding the herd along the street lined with looming office towers.

"They will look where they want to go before they get there," he said.

If he sees a cow that is looking to ramble, he moves into the animal's line of sight. His change in position can get them back on track.

Edna Faris Dust sits with her grand niece Grace Faris, 5, in her lap as the two watch the National Western Stock Show Parade as it makes it's way up 17th street in Denver, Co.  (Photo By Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post)

Not all horses are suitable for herding cattle, especially beasts with sharp horns that can span - tip to tip - more than 5 feet. "I've had horses that are afraid of cattle," Casey said.

But the fear can be trained out of most horses. Sometimes, he said, "I just pen them up with the cattle, and they get over it."

The horns can also intimidate people more accustomed to the cattle's short-horned cousins.

Watching a group of Longhorns jostling in a pen, it's easy to see why. Occasionally, two will bang heads, their horns scraping against each other as they wrestle.

Like Searle, Casey has been riding horses since he was a child.

Searle's ranch manager, Gary Lake, 59, didn't mount a horse until he was 21.

"I had a girlfriend that had a stinking horse, and she thought I should ride," he said. "I became addicted."

The first time Lake ran cattle through an urban setting was in the 1980s in Colorado Springs.

Before the start of Thursday's parade, Lake told officials he didn't expect any problems. Still, some people worried.

"They said, 'What if they go through a bank window?' I said, 'These cows don't have any interest in banks.' " 

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Alex Ruppert, 7, of Lewisberry, relaxes on Happy Bear, at his family's stable area at the PA Farm Show Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. The Texas Longhorn steer owned by Ruppert Longhorns won the top prize--All Age Champion Steer--during judging last Friday. BILL KALINA-bkalina@yorkdispatch.com

Seven-year-old Alex Ruppert caught a lot of attention Monday at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

Reclined on the back of a Texas Longhorn, Alex was in his element, resting comfortably on the massive back of Happy Bear, who is the Farm Show's All-Age Grand Champion Steer.

Nowadays, the cattle's horns can be as wide as 90 inches. But Alex wasn't intimidated.

Even the Lewisberry boy's shiny belt buckle, worn with a cowboy hat and camouflage, has the flavor of a true cowboy. It reads "2012 Grand Champion Female," which stands for his cow, DG Hunting Miss Empress.

Happy Bear belongs to Wellsville's Crazy Cattle Company, whose Longhorns also earned the title of Champion Junior Steer and first place for 2-year-old Junior Steer.

Family affair: 

The Rupperts brought seven of their Longhorns, which were on display Monday, prompting a lot of attention from Farm Show attendees.

Alex Ruppert, 7, of Lewisberry, poses with his mother Kris at his family's stable area at the PA Farm Show Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. Happy Bear, a Texas Longhorn steer owned by Ruppert Longhorns, won the top prize--All Age Champion Steer--during judging last Friday. BILL KALINA-bkalina@yorkdispatch.com

Kris Ruppert said she loves talking to tens of thousands of people about her cattle.

"Longhorns are popular because people are mesmerized by the horn and color," she said.

They're docile cattle, Ruppert said, and the ones her family shows are mostly born at their farm.

"He's a little rodeo dude," she said.

Favorite show: 

"This is strictly for our family," she said. "This is something our family can do."

And coming to the Farm Show is always a good time for the Rupperts, she said.

"It's like our favorite show of the year," she said.

Alex said his favorite part about the Farm Show is watching the high school rodeos.

"And milkshakes," he added.

Jim & Jodi Small  765-793-0266   longhorncattle.tripod.com   hdwe@hotmail.com 

ITLA Founding Member, Bernice Moore (1935-2013)

Bernice Moore

Bernice Moore, 78, the matriarch of Moore's Longhorn Ranch at Roff, OK, died December 28, 2013 at the Jan Frances Care Center of Ada, Oklahoma. The only child of the late Joe and Elizabeth Snider Grady, Ethel Bernice Moore, was born September 1, 1935 in Dacono, Colorado (just north of Denver), she grew up and attended school there graduating from high school in Denver, the Class of 1953.

She and her childhood sweetheart, Ray Moore, were married September 11, 1954 in Denver. The parents of two children, a son, Joe and daughter, Denise, they had celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary prior to Ray's death, November 26, 2005.

In 1963 the family moved from Denver to Hartsel, Colorado where she and her husband operated the General Store and Standard Station. It was in Hartsel that the family was first introduced to Texas Longhorn cattle and soon began their herd of registered cattle, securing their first bull, Joey-Ray, named for son and father. They established Moore's Longhorn Ranch, a name and brand that was to become well known in the Texas Longhorn cattle industry, with cattle operations in Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.

In addition to being a wife, mother and homemaker, Bernice followed the lead of her husband Ray in the many ranch activities that the family participated in. Included were steer roping, cattle drives, shows and sales, all of Texas Longhorn cattle. They were founding members of many Texas Longhorn Associations including the Indian Territory Longhorn Association of Oklahoma, an affiliate of the International Texas Longhorn Association (ITLA) where Bernice served as the Executive Director for several years. In the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America (TLBAA) she assisted with the establishment of the popular TLBAA "Horn Showcase" where cattle entered were measured and records established for horn length tip to tip and also total horn growth. This event has grown to become international in scope.

In an interview with Henry King of the Texas Longhorn Trails, Bernice intimated that the two cattle from their herd that had most impacted the breed were herd sire, Diego's Hot Shot and a daughter, Starlight (once the longest horned cow in the breed) "The genes from these two animals are still sought after by producers of the breed."

Bernice was a respected and thoughtful member of Texas Longhorn Society; she attended events with her husband and family across the United States from coast to coast and points in between. But her greatest love was for her family. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were all the 'apple of her eye' and she reveled in telling about them and their activities. One of her happiest of family outings was when she and Ray took the family on a Caribbean Cruise.

Survivors include her son, Joe Moore and his wife, Nancy, of Bucklin, Kansas; her daughter, Denise Raley, of Roff, Oklahoma; her five grandchildren, Shanna Collins and her husband, T. J.; Wyatt Raley, Trinity Moore, Cody Moore and wife Missy and Laramie Moore; great-granddaughters, Jaycee Collins and Miranda Moore; and a nephew, she raided as her own, Monty Dean Moore and wife, Kathy.

Memorial services have been set for 2:00 p.m. Saturday, January 11, 2014 in the Centennial Chapel of Harvey-Douglas Funeral Home and Crematory, Ardmore, Oklahoma. Memorials may be made to either the TLBAA Foundation or the ITLA Foundation for Educational Scholarship.

An online guestbook is available at www.hdouglasfuneralhome.com ; where you may express your condolences to the family.

photo: Kevin Trigueiro

Cattle Poised for Longest Rally in Five Decades on Lower Supply

This month, the number of cattle in American feedlots was the second-lowest on record, government data showed Dec. 20. Beef output in the U.S., the world's biggest producer, may slump 5.7 percent next year to the lowest since 1993, the Department of Agriculture has projected.

Futures are on pace for a fifth straight annual gain, the longest winning streak since Chicago trading began in 1964. Ranchers have struggled to recover from last year's drought, the worst since the 1930s and almost half of Texas, the biggest cattle-producing state, is still in drought. The U.S. herd as of Jan. 1 was the smallest since 1952. Higher prices will raise costs for retailers from Darden Restaurants Inc., the operator of LongHorn Steakhouse chains, to Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.

"Supplies will be dropping off" in 2014, Dennis Smith, a senior account executive at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. "There must be good solid demand for beef after the first of the year."

Cattle futures for February delivery climbed 0.1 percent to settle at $1.351 a pound at 1 p.m. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, after reaching $1.35425, the highest ever for a most- active contract. Prices gained 2.1 percent this year.

Wholesale-beef prices rose 1.2 percent as of midday, on pace for the biggest daily increase since Nov. 25, USDA data show. Consumers may pay as much as 3.5 percent more for beef in 2014, the government said last week. (cont'd)

continued:  http://www.agweb.com/article/cattle_poised_for_longest_rally_in_five_decades_on_lower_supply_BLMG/

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