America’s Horse, November 12, 2009 – During the Working Ranch Cowboys Association World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo, Texas, in the company of top ranch cowboys from across the country, AQHA will recognize this year’s AQHA-Bayer Best Remuda Award recipient, the Haythorn Ranch Co. of Maxwell, Nebraska.
The Best Remuda Award is presented each year to honor the contributions that ranch horses have made to the heritage of the American Quarter Horse. The term “remuda” means a group of working horses bred by the ranch specifically to work and pen cattle.
The 2009 Best Remuda bronze will be presented in the arena before the November 14 performance of the World Championship Ranch Rodeo, which is sanctioned by the Working Ranch Cowboys Association (www.wrca.org). Also on November 14, a reception honoring the Haythorns will be held at the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum (www.aqhhalloffame.com).
Howard Haythorn came to Maxwell on horseback at age 13, helping his father trail in a herd of cattle and horses to their new home. He stayed in the Nebraska Sandhills to raise his own family and continue the legacy started by his grandfather: raising cattle and well-conformed, cowy American Quarter Horses with which to work them. Today, Howard and his son, Harry Byron Haythorn, run a 1,500-head cow-calf operation on 20,000 acres.
“The only way to handle cattle is on horseback,” Howard said, “and if you have horses, you may as well own good ones. We breed 20 to 30 mares a year. We don’t follow the whims of the market. We raise horses to suit our needs, which translates into horses that can be used by a wide variety of people for a wide variety of activities.”
The ranch stallions are Rusty Gun 876, by AQHA World Show Superhorse Real Gun; Peppy San Kai, by a son of Senor George; Snickelfritz Mickey by Snickelfritz Chex; and Mickey 612, a 3-year-old by Snickelfritz Mickey. Most of the mares are homebred, and many of them trace back to horses owned by Howard’s father, Harry Jr., and his uncle, Walter.
Walter’s grandson Craig and his sons run Haythorn Land and Cattle Co., in Arthur, Nebraska, which received the first Best Remuda Award in 1992.
Both ranches share a common heritage. Howard’s grandfather was born Harry Haythornwaite in England in 1861, and he stowed away on a ship bound for America when he was 16. When he was discovered on board, he was put to work caring for a shipment of Hereford bulls. When the ship docked in Galveston, Texas, Harry went to work for the Texas rancher who owned them. He later shortened his name to Haythorn and became a hand on the boss’ ranch. He went to Nebraska on cattle drives and on his second trip there, he stayed and began building his holdings.
From that foundation, Howard has built his own legacy, breeding American Quarter Horses for half a century.
Check out the November issue of America’s Horse, where Jim Jennings has a cover story and beautiful photos from the award-winning Haythorn Ranch Co.
To learn more about past winners, Jennings’ book “Best Remudas,” available at Quarter Horse Outfitters (www.aqhastore.com), offers up amazing photos and great stories about the first 15 Best Remuda award winners.
Any ranch that has five or more American Quarter Horse mares used to produce horses for ranch work and is a member of AQHA is eligible for this award.
For more information about the Best Remuda award or to request an application, visit AQHA’s Web site at www.aqha.com/association/benefits/awards.html. AQHA will be accepting applications for the 2010 AQHA-Bayer Best Remuda Award until December 1, 2009.
AQHA/Bayer Best Remuda Award Winners
2009 Haythorn Ranch Co. – Maxwell, Nebraska
2008 Moorhouse Ranch Co. – Benjamin, Texas
2007 S Ranch – Billings, Montana
2006 Tule Ranch – Tulia, Texas
2005 Babbitt Ranches – Flagstaff, Arizona
2004 Douglas Lake Cattle Co. – Douglas Lake, British Columbia
2003 Lacey Livestock Co. – Paso Robles, California
2002 W.H. Green Cattle Co. – Albany, Texas
2001 Van Norman Ranches Inc. – Tuscarora, Nevada
2000 CS Cattle Co. – Cimarron, New Mexico
1999 Bogle LTD – Dexter, New Mexico
1998 Pitchfork Land & Cattle Co. – Guthrie, Texas
1997 R.A. Brown Ranch – Throckmorton, Texas
1996 Bar B Ranch – Beaver, Oklahoma
1995 Stuart Ranch – Caddo, Oklahoma
1994 Waggoner Ranch – Vernon, Texas
1993 6666 Ranch – Guthrie, Texas
1992 Haythorn Land & Cattle Co. – Arthur, Nebraska
AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information on The American Quarter Horse Journal, The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal or America’s Horse, visit www.aqha.com/magazines.
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