Four Sixes Ranch Approved as AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder
Guthrie, Texas, November 13, 2011 — In an effort to highlight American Quarter Horse ranch breeders and their heritage, the AQHA Ranching Council created the Ranching Heritage Breeders Program. The historic Four Sixes Ranch in Guthrie, Texas, is an approved breeder in the new program.
Ranches that are members of AQHA and whose ranch remudas consist of American Quarter Horses used primarily to work ranch cattle are eligible for this new program. A special Ranching Heritage Breeders logo will appear on approved ranches’ AQHA registration certificates, and they will also be able to enter horses in exclusive competitions and sales. The first exclusive opportunity for Ranching Heritage Breeders is the AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge. The Ranching Heritage Challenge is projected to grow to approximately seven regional competitions with the goal of having a $100,000 to $150,000 purse at each event. The competitions will consist of three classes: an open ranch horse class for 4-year-old horses only; a non-pro ranch horse class for 5-year-old and older horses, and a trail trials class for 5-year-old and older horses. The open and non-pro will be a ranch horse class that tests the horse and rider in handling, roping and working cow ability. The trail trials will be a ranch-type course that exemplifies the kind of obstacles you would encounter on the ranch.
The Four Sixes’ remuda is known for producing horses that possess athleticism and style to excel in the show ring while also being able to contribute to the livelihood of the ranch by being a valued partner of ranch cowboys.
To be eligible to compete, horses must have been foaled at a Ranching Heritage Breeder’s ranch and nominated by that ranch. Purses will be generated from a nomination payment of $25 per weanling, along with sustaining payments made by the new owner of the horse. In addition, it’s anticipated that several of AQHA’s corporate partners will provide additional money for these purses. Complete contest rules and payment schedules are posted at www.aqha.com.
The Ranching Heritage Breeders Program ranches must have received, at minimum, an AQHA 10-year Breeder award. The Four Sixes’ history dates back more than a hundred years to when Captain Samuel “Burk” Burnett founded the ranch in 1868. For 50 consecutive years of breeding American Quarter Horses, AQHA also bestowed the inaugural Legacy Award on the ranch in 1997. In 1994, the Four Sixes outfit of the Burnett Ranches was honored with the American Quarter Horse Association’s Best Remuda Award in recognition of its outstanding band of working cow horses that tend thousands of the ranch’s cattle.
It’s no wonder why the Four Sixes is known for “Horses with a History; Brands with a Background.”
