Isn’t it just awesome that foaling coincides with the New Year! God truly does love horses; gestation is 11 months and breeding season starts the first week of February. Coincidence? Nope, God is a horseman, for sure!

In America, we ring in the New Year with grand parties filled with an abundance of food, family and friends. I’ve celebrated the New Year twice outside of the U.S. thus far in my life, both times while I lived in Taiwan. The Chinese follow the lunar calendar and when they ring in the New Year, celebrations and festivities can last up to two weeks! Of course, there are many cultural traditions associated with the New Year. From my understanding, most focus on reflection, celebration and hope for prosperity.

What does the New Year mean to you? It is good to reflect on the past, but we must live in the now and constantly strive for a better future. I’m not a much of one for reflection. I don’t really think about what happened yesterday. To me, the past is the past. It’s kind of like reading a book, with each page I read I don’t see the need to go back and reread the last page over again. But of course, there are times when reflection is necessary for improvement so that our tomorrows can be better, right? My brother Spencer is good for me in this. I’ve spent a lot of time with him lately and it has been really great. I’m blessed to have four awesome older siblings; each has taught me different things. Spencer, for whatever reason, gets me to have some inner reflection. Because of this recent time with him and the New Year, I’ve reflected on where we have come as a program and where we want to go.

2017 has started with a bang for us! We have added seven new stallions to our roster and I’m pumped!! The stallions I have managed over the past few years have really made me proud, and their owners are like family to us. Nothing is more important for our team than to represent the owners and horses we manage to the very best of our abilities. First class, all the way.

These new additions bring a lot of energy, and a special buzz is happening here at the ranch. We have diversified not only the bloodlines, but also the disciplines! It is no secret that my discipline of choice to compete in is cutting. I also personally prefer to watch football more than baseball and basketball. But, that doesn’t mean I still don’t love to watch baseball and basketball. Adding two reining stallions, Pretty Peppy Chec and This Guns For Nic, is something we have wanted to do for years! A new barrel stallion that I am very impressed with and that is just beautiful, too, is Ragged Charm. He is uniquely bred for barrel and any ranch versatility work. It’s not every day a true life legend walks through your door, but we feel fortunate that Third Cutting is here! He’s a special stallion and sire. We have added a little color to the stud barn with a gorgeous blue roan stud, Lil Spoon. He has been well received by mare owners, and we are excited to see his future as a sire. A little black stallion with heart the size of Texas, Once You Go Black has won nearly $200,000 and will continue to be shown through 2017. Fantastic Cat also joins us. He is already a proven sire with limited foal crops, and I’m hearing great reports on his 3-year-old crop from some leading trainers.

So now I come back to my comment on reflection. I have deep pride in my heritage and family history. Growing up in the horse business, I have seen it all. The past eight years, living in Texas and working every day doing what I love, have been great. It’s not all sunshine and roses, in fact it is a lot of blood, sweat and tears more than anything else. The roller coaster of life has many ups and downs. A perspective in life of staying positive is what keeps me focused on the future and striving always for a better tomorrow.

I feel truly blessed to do what I love and with the liberty for the pursuit of happiness. I am so optimistic when it comes to the future. As we have diversified and expanded our stallion roster, I am just pumped to roll up my sleeves and get to work! Mares are foaling, newness of life is happening daily. Breeding starts in less than a month, and the cycle begins again. What a ride this is. Best wishes to all in 2017 and as always, if we can do anything for you, just ask. We are here to serve!

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