AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeders of the Year
AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeders of the Year
AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeders are working cattle ranches that produce five or more registered American Quarter Horses each year for ranch work. Nominees for the AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder of the Year award are chosen by their peers, with the winner chosen by vote of the AQHA Ranching Committee.
View AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder of the Year awards presentation information.
Download the RHB of the Year Nomination Form.
AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder of the Year Award Winners
2024– K4 Ranch, Prescott, Arizona
The K4 Brand documents the Kieckhefer's [Key-keffers] dedication to the Southwest origin of superior beef and the superior horses they bring to the marketplace. The Kieckhefer’s are committed to the responsible stewardship of all the natural resources in their care: land, water, and livestock. Their horses have been proven to be competitive at the highest level of competition. Horses they have produced have competed in the NFR, earned world championships in team penning and ranch sorting and make world class ranch horses.
2023– KT Cattle, Amado, Arizona
Owned and operated for over 25 years by Kyle and Amy Best, their family represents six generations of ranching experience and history. Their motto is “Raising Diamonds In the Rocks” and the family believes in raising horses as their forefathers did, using them primarily for ranch work over the terrain of Arizona. KT Cattle Inc. also understands that a solid foundation is essential for the success of the horses they sell. Starting at birth, their mares help train the foals to navigate the mountainous trails making the horses they raise exceptionally nimble and sure-footed.
2022 – KT Ranch, Connell, Washington
The Connell, Washington-based KT Ranch is operated by Donald and Pamela Pierson and their family – daughter Toni Meacham and her husband, Kicker Meacham, and daughter Kellie Pierson-Geddes and her husband, Ben Geddes. KT Ranch was founded in 1995 by the Pierson family after going out on their own. They had previously partnered on a registered Hereford and Angus cattle operation but decided to branch out and add an equine outfit to their business. The transition to adding horses to their operation was an easy one, which allowed them to set their operation apart from neighboring ranches in the area at the time. Their focus was on breeding good using ranch horses that would be applicable to all aspects of ranch life.
2021 – Weaver Quarter Horses, Big Sandy, Montana
Weaver Quarter Horse is operated by AQHA Past President Stan Weaver and his wife, Nancy. The ranch has produced quality American Quarter Horses for more than 30 years, and they have registered more than 1,700 foals during that time. They began an American Quarter Horse production sale in 1996 and have sold to all 50 states, seven Canadian provinces and four other countries. Weaver has shown his own horses in cutting, reined cow horse and working cow horse. He is involved with the Montana Quarter Horse Association (past president), Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, Montana Land & Mineral Owners Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, Montana Stockgrowers and the Chouteau County Livestock Protection Association.
2019 – Open Box Rafter Ranch, Faith, South Dakota
Open Box Rafter Ranch is operated by Jim and Joni Hunt, who established their ranch in 1990, but four generations of their families before them also ranched, raising cattle and horses in South Dakota. The Hunts raise alfalfa, run around 600 cow-calf pairs and 100 yearlings, and have a large herd of about 100 broodmares. An inaugural member of the Ranching Heritage Breeders program, which began in 2011, the Hunts have bred open show champions, AQHA world show and Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifiers. They assisted in establishing the AQHA Ranching Heritage Young Horse Development Program and, to date, have donated 55 registered foals to the program.
2018 – Miller Land & Livestock, Big Piney, Wyoming
The ranch is managed by Mike Miller, along with his wife, Tara, and their sons, Will and Wes. The Millers, who were approved as a Ranching Heritage Breeder in 2015, run approximately 2,000 cow-calf pairs and 1,800 yearlings on land that has been in their family for 124 years. The working ranch horses also include notable show, rodeo and Ranching Heritage Challenge competitors.
2017 – Crago Cattle Co., Bell Fourche, South Dakota
Crago Cattle Co. is operated by the Crago family, which is headed by Margaret Crago and her sons, Bruce and Ralph, and their families. The Cragos oversee a 1,200-head cow-calf operation, another 700 head of feedlot cattle and 1,200 head of stockers. They also keep 400 head of sheep and raise about 2,000 acres of hay. Ranching Heritage Breeders since 2012, the Cragos have bred American Quarter Horses for more than 60 years with successes in the show pen, rodeo arena and AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenges.
2016 – Box O Quarter Horses, Gordon, Nebraska
The inaugural winner of the Ranching Heritage Breeder Award, Box O Quarter Horses is owned and operated by Jecca and Cash Ostrander. The Ostranders care for 800 head of Angus-Limousin-cross cattle and have a remuda of 45 registered American Quarter Horses they breed and use for daily ranch work. The Ostranders were accepted into the AQHA Ranch Heritage Breeders program in 2011 and began competing in AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenges. They are also donors to the AQHA Ranching Heritage Young Horse Development Program.