Men of the HPR
In recent blog entries I have paid tribute to women of the HPR and Horse Prairie Valley. Now I want to pay tribute to some of the men who have worked at the HPR. I wouldn’t presume to speak for any former employees of the HPR but I think that our times at the HPR were so rich, fun, and rewarding that we would all like to just freeze time and spend forever at the HPR. This is one of the unique challenges of being an absentee rancher. Of all our family and employees of the HPR I have probably spent the least amount of time at the ranch. Yet, it has always and will always be my goal to get in a situation where I can spend more time at the ranch. Some absentee ranchers may be absentee by choice……I am an absentee rancher by circumstances. I have had to be disciplined to not lose my head and prematurely spend more time at the ranch. Our small technology company has too much potential for me to turn my back on it.
Some of the great guys we have worked with over the years include the following:
· Mackey Hedges --- Mac was our first manager of the HPR. Mac was hired from the huge Deseret Ranch in northeast Utah. Mac was of the old school. He was smart and a hard worker. He rose early and was good at keeping in contact via email. Mac was an accomplished author, having written and published the book “The Last Buckaroo”. Mac could really spin a yarn; tell a story or a joke. He had a great sense of humor too. Mac was given the responsibility to help us develop our guest operation and he had a good attitude about the challenge. Mac was up for almost anything. I remember when he took our team of draft horses pulling a chuck wagon to the top of the ridge above our LakeSide guest area. Marie was in the wagon and the view was great but Marie could imagine the horses spooking and running down the ridge (mountain). Marie’s imagination along with some sound judgment caused us to get the team and their cargo and wagon off the mountain ASAP. On another occasion I was driving around the ranch with Mac and saw some expensive, precious mineral in a pile on the ground. I asked Mac why it was not in a container and off the road a bit. He said that that’s the way all ranchers do it! At this moment I knew that we were due for an upgrade in our manager.
· Urs Schmidlin --- I will never forget riding off the U.S. Forest Service lands in the Beaverhead Mountains one summer evening with Urs Schmidlin. It was getting dark in the thick timber but we made it out onto the foothills before it got too dark to see. It was a beautiful evening. Urs had been recently hired by Mac (he had also worked at the Deseret ranch). As we emerged from the forest I popped the question to Urs as to whether or not he would like to be the manager of the HPR. Urs was stunned. I assured him that he had my complete confidence, that I knew that he could do the job. Mac eventually relocated to another ranch in Nevada and Urs dove into the manager’s job and has never looked back. I have worked with Urs and watched him learn to AI Heifers, raise Bred Heifers, adopt the raising of natural Beef, buy Bulls, host guests, become an outfitter and Big Game guide, learn about managing the nutrition of livestock, etc. etc. Urs can learn anything and will do the tasks well. I trust Urs with virtually anything to do with the ranch. He knows technology and manages the HPR with as much professionalism as any ranch manager in the western U.S. In addition to being a great ranch manager, Urs is a great father and a loving husband. Urs’s wife is Laurie and they have a daughter, Allison, and three sons: Jared, Brian, and David. We are pleased that the Schmidlins were able to recently move into the RanchView home at the HPR (above Headquarters).
· Elias Cervantes --- Elias, who is in charge of irrigating, fencing, feeding and many other duties at the ranch, had worked at the HPR for a few years when we arrived. Elias knows every foot of the HPR. He is a master irrigator, the envy of all ranchers in the Valley. Elias, which is nearly the rule with his culture, is always willing to do whatever is asked of him. He works hard……always, and is loyal to the HPR. Although he does not ride much now, I have seen Elias ride a horse and he is very good. I think that he prefers to work on the ground. Elias lives in a home at Headquarters with his wife, Maria, their two daughters Marianna and Annamaria, and their son Rudolpho.
· Jacob (Jake) Bingham --- Jake was a college student when he first came to work at the HPR. Jake was so good that we had him back for several summers and eventually hired him as an Assistant Manager of the HPR. Jake soon got an opportunity to ranch in Oregon with his family. Jake was one of the John Wayne’s of the HPR. He could do anything and do it with class. Jake was good looking and very photogenic. Guests, especially the women, loved to be photographed with Jake. Jake fell in love with Wendy Wooten, also a long-time wrangler at the HPR, and they now have two children and their own ranching operation.
· Devon Thompson --- Jake directed us to Devon, a fellow rancher and cowboy from Oregon. Devon not only worked as a wrangler for years at the HPR but also as a Big Game hunting guide. Devon was another modern John Wayne. So bold, so daring, and so competent at everything. Devon was an excellent athlete, on or off a horse. Devon married Kathy Carnahan, also one of our former summer wranglers (but they didn’t meet at the HPR). Devon was a great help to Urs. He was an amazing mechanic………..that’s when you’ve got a good hand, when they can both ride and fix equipment!
Other great guys who helped us build the HPR are our sons, Matt and Marc, and our sons-in-law, Nick Efstratis and Marriott Murdock. We also had a lot of help from our friends and extended family. Lucky are the men who have worked at the HPR!
I pay tribute to these wonderful guys who did so much for the HPR.
Some of the great guys we have worked with over the years include the following:
· Mackey Hedges --- Mac was our first manager of the HPR. Mac was hired from the huge Deseret Ranch in northeast Utah. Mac was of the old school. He was smart and a hard worker. He rose early and was good at keeping in contact via email. Mac was an accomplished author, having written and published the book “The Last Buckaroo”. Mac could really spin a yarn; tell a story or a joke. He had a great sense of humor too. Mac was given the responsibility to help us develop our guest operation and he had a good attitude about the challenge. Mac was up for almost anything. I remember when he took our team of draft horses pulling a chuck wagon to the top of the ridge above our LakeSide guest area. Marie was in the wagon and the view was great but Marie could imagine the horses spooking and running down the ridge (mountain). Marie’s imagination along with some sound judgment caused us to get the team and their cargo and wagon off the mountain ASAP. On another occasion I was driving around the ranch with Mac and saw some expensive, precious mineral in a pile on the ground. I asked Mac why it was not in a container and off the road a bit. He said that that’s the way all ranchers do it! At this moment I knew that we were due for an upgrade in our manager.
· Urs Schmidlin --- I will never forget riding off the U.S. Forest Service lands in the Beaverhead Mountains one summer evening with Urs Schmidlin. It was getting dark in the thick timber but we made it out onto the foothills before it got too dark to see. It was a beautiful evening. Urs had been recently hired by Mac (he had also worked at the Deseret ranch). As we emerged from the forest I popped the question to Urs as to whether or not he would like to be the manager of the HPR. Urs was stunned. I assured him that he had my complete confidence, that I knew that he could do the job. Mac eventually relocated to another ranch in Nevada and Urs dove into the manager’s job and has never looked back. I have worked with Urs and watched him learn to AI Heifers, raise Bred Heifers, adopt the raising of natural Beef, buy Bulls, host guests, become an outfitter and Big Game guide, learn about managing the nutrition of livestock, etc. etc. Urs can learn anything and will do the tasks well. I trust Urs with virtually anything to do with the ranch. He knows technology and manages the HPR with as much professionalism as any ranch manager in the western U.S. In addition to being a great ranch manager, Urs is a great father and a loving husband. Urs’s wife is Laurie and they have a daughter, Allison, and three sons: Jared, Brian, and David. We are pleased that the Schmidlins were able to recently move into the RanchView home at the HPR (above Headquarters).
· Elias Cervantes --- Elias, who is in charge of irrigating, fencing, feeding and many other duties at the ranch, had worked at the HPR for a few years when we arrived. Elias knows every foot of the HPR. He is a master irrigator, the envy of all ranchers in the Valley. Elias, which is nearly the rule with his culture, is always willing to do whatever is asked of him. He works hard……always, and is loyal to the HPR. Although he does not ride much now, I have seen Elias ride a horse and he is very good. I think that he prefers to work on the ground. Elias lives in a home at Headquarters with his wife, Maria, their two daughters Marianna and Annamaria, and their son Rudolpho.
· Jacob (Jake) Bingham --- Jake was a college student when he first came to work at the HPR. Jake was so good that we had him back for several summers and eventually hired him as an Assistant Manager of the HPR. Jake soon got an opportunity to ranch in Oregon with his family. Jake was one of the John Wayne’s of the HPR. He could do anything and do it with class. Jake was good looking and very photogenic. Guests, especially the women, loved to be photographed with Jake. Jake fell in love with Wendy Wooten, also a long-time wrangler at the HPR, and they now have two children and their own ranching operation.
· Devon Thompson --- Jake directed us to Devon, a fellow rancher and cowboy from Oregon. Devon not only worked as a wrangler for years at the HPR but also as a Big Game hunting guide. Devon was another modern John Wayne. So bold, so daring, and so competent at everything. Devon was an excellent athlete, on or off a horse. Devon married Kathy Carnahan, also one of our former summer wranglers (but they didn’t meet at the HPR). Devon was a great help to Urs. He was an amazing mechanic………..that’s when you’ve got a good hand, when they can both ride and fix equipment!
Other great guys who helped us build the HPR are our sons, Matt and Marc, and our sons-in-law, Nick Efstratis and Marriott Murdock. We also had a lot of help from our friends and extended family. Lucky are the men who have worked at the HPR!
I pay tribute to these wonderful guys who did so much for the HPR.
posted by Kenneth W. Duncan | 9:39 AM
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