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Singleton Ranches win Best Remuda award
New Mexico
For there to be good cowboys and cowgirls in New Mexico and everywhere else, there has got to be good horse flesh for them to ride, says New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association (NMCGA) president, Don L. "Bebo" Lee, Alamogordo.
"The New Mexico Quarter Horse Association and the NMCGA have made it their business to recognize ranchers in New Mexico that excel in the production of those good horses with the Best Remuda Award for the past several years," according to Lee.
New Mexico's 2004 Best Remuda belongs to Singleton Ranches, an outfit with seven ranch divisions in New Mexico. Singleton Ranches is one of the top five operations in the United States in total acreage and cattle numbers.
To produce cow horses for its 40 or so cowboys, Singleton Ranches owns 50 registered American Quarter Horse Association mares, breeding them to Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred Stallions. The ideal Singleton horse stands about 15 hands and weighs approximately 1,250 pounds. In addition to size, Singleton horses must have the stamina and cow sense to carry cowboys on long days over New Mexico's rough terrain.
Singleton Ranches started in 1985 when Dr. Henry Singleton purchased the famous San Cristobal Ranch near Santa Fe. In addition to breeding and raising good cows, Singleton wanted country that preserved the ranching heritage brought to New Mexico over 400 years ago. Purchases of land grants in New Mexico and California over the years have resulted in assembling more than 1,300,000 acres of ranch country. Dr. Singleton passed away in 1998, but today his wife, Caroline and their five children continue to operate the ranches as he wished.
Chief Operating Officer Dr. Bob Patterson says that families are the heart of Singleton Ranches. Those families are totally immersed in ranch activities year-round. The spring and fall works involved not only all the wives and children of the ranch cowboys, but the neighbors as well. Whether it is gathering cattle, working in the branding pen or fixin' dinner, everyone helps. The children on Singleton Ranches are steeped in the traditional values of chores, hard work and close families. These families are proud of the way they live, treasuring the simple things most.
But the Singleton Ranches family doesn't limit their support of ranching, agriculture and family values to their ranches. Singleton is a strong supporter of 4-H and FFA livestock programs, sponsors a rodeo scholarship at New Mexico State University and supplies horses for the Horse Management Program at Lamar Community College in Colorado.
Some 23 Singleton cowboys mounted on Singleton horses accepted the award during the 2004 New Mexico State Fair.
Date: 9/23/04
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