October 2005

Hello A.T.L.A. members and friends, it’s time once again to write a brief message. With a successful summer of shows and the first annual pedigree picnic completed for this year, I would like to thank everyone who attended the pedigree picnic in June and say thanks to Larry Barker and Pam Dobson for attending the show at olds in August bringing with them the T.L.B.A.A.’s support of our affiliate.

With the calves being weaned and preparations for winter, it is time to gather Association ideas for the coming year. I would welcome and encourage the membership’s thoughts, ideas and participation regarding what the association should be doing for Shows, Gala, Sales, etc.

If someone is interested in hosting the pedigree picnic next year or has other ideas or suggestions, please let Chris (780)387-4874 or myself (403)548-6684 or any other board member know as we need your help.

In closing I would like to wish Robert and Katherine Phillips and Family best of luck at their dispersal sale and encourage membership support for it as the Phillips have been longtime members of the A.T.L.A. and breeders of this great breed of cattle.

The annual meeting will be scheduled for sometime in March 2006 and we would appreciate as many members as possible to attend. The location will be announced early in the New Year.

Best Regards, Ron Walker

This year the Pedigree Picnic was held at Ron Walker’s Ranch in Redcliff. Our host greeted us Saturday with refreshments and snacks. After reminiscing with friends and fellow breeders, Ron treated us to a wonderful barbeque supper. When supper was all wrapped up, the highlight of the evening was the branding of the homemade log bench. This bench was auctioned off with regular auction items donated by other members. Del Hepfner was our auctioneer for the evening (what an even). Congratulations to Ron Walker who was the high bidder on the beautiful bench. The Association raised $385.00.

Jerry & Rebecca MacKay
MacKay Ranching Ltd.
Edson, Alberta

Jerry and Rebecca MacKay are new members of our longhorn association. They have quickly become involved with executive positions with the A.T.L.A. Both are excited to show cattle and pass the great news on how efficient Texas Longhorn cattle really are.

MacKay Ranching first purchased their cattle approximately three years ago. They purchased their first registered animals from Roth Ranch and KC Longhorns. Before that time, Jerry and Rebecca had unregistered longhorns. Their herd has grown quickly from 8 head to 24 this year. A herd of approximately 100 head is their future goal.

The MacKay family consists of Jerry, Rebecca and two little boys, Cable and James. They all enjoy the longhorns, especially the little calves. Sons Cable and James are very helpful with the chores and are becoming longhorn breeders in the making.

Outside of the cattle business, Jerry enjoys backcountry hunting and visiting with the cattle. Rebecca enjoys dancing at local events and riding her favorite horse, Joe. They both have an entrepreneurial spirit and Rebecca has become a Mary Kay consultant this past year and has a real knack for the job.

The MacKay family’s favorite cow is Sweet Heart. She is a petite 3-year-old cow but raises the biggest calf. True to her name, she really is sweet. Jerry’s favorite color in a longhorn is dark red and black while Rebecca likes any color of pinto.

This was the first year for Jerry and Rebecca to show cattle. They made the long trip to Red Deer where they did very well for their first time showing. It was great to have them in attendance and hope they make the trip again next year.

Jerry, Rebecca, Cable and James have been a welcome addition to the A.T.L.A. Their enthusiasm and zeal are a real asset to the Association.

Our Cows are Worth More Than You Think

A farmer has been swindled several times by the local car dealer. One day the car dealer informed the farmer that he was coming over to purchase a cow. The farmer priced his unit as follows:

June 2005

Hello and welcome once again ATLA members and friends. I would like to extend a big welcome to the new members that have joined our association this year.
Hope everyone had a successful calving season as well as enough moisture to get the pastures growing.
The Annual General Meeting held in Airdrie on March 13th was a big success with many good Association topics and ideas being discussed.
The ATLA now has its own website operation. Please have a look at the association through WWW.AlbertaTexasLonghorn.com and forward any comments you may have. Thank you to all the members who have helped to create this site to promote this great breed of cattle and our Association.
Further in the newsletter are the results from the five steers that were donated to Olds College (steer-a-year report listed on the Crossbreeding page.) The information will be used by the Association to inform people about the benefits of raising longhorn or crossbreds for meat.
The summer is shaping up to be another fun year starting with a new event called the Pedigree Picnic scheduled for June. The Red Deer Show is in July and the show in Olds will be held in August in conjunction with our Annual Field Day. A Gala is also being planned for either the late fall or next spring with a possible longhorn sale.

Until next time, Ron Walker

"A is Alberta"
Author: Ken Tingley and Artist: R.F.M. McInnis

This book contains 26 alphabetically titled works representing provincial locations by artist Robert McInnis. For example: D for Drumheller, M for Medicine Hat. If you look carefully, you will see Bill Dunn in three of the pictures. Each place name has a fascinating text that gives a glimpse at many of the forces that have made Alberta. Many towns have been known by several names in their history. For example, Nanton began as the railway stop Mosquito Creek, but was then renamed to honour Sir Augustus nanton who planned many of the Townsites along the railway. This interesting book is available in bookstores, or you can get it from Bill Dunn for $25.00 plus shipping.

Bon's Texas Longhorns
Stringer Ranches Ltd.
Lee & Bonnie Stringer

Lee and Bonnie Stringer have been in the cattle business using longhorn bulls on the commercial herd of heifers for 25 years. It was in 1991 that they purchased their first longhorn cows from Brett Holt. Stringer Ranches runs a 40 longhorn and a 250 Angus, Hereford commercial herd.
Lee and Bonnie have been long time supporters of the ATLA and have been regulars to the show ring and other planned events. They were gracious hosts for a Field Day a few years ago. Although it was a cool weekend, everyone enjoyed the cattle show and great food and friendships. They enjoy all the time that is spent with their longhorns and prefer black/white coloring in their herd.
Outside of their busy schedule, they enjoy time spent with their son, Neil, and his family: Wife Kathy and granddaughters Faith and Lily. They also have a daughter Crista. They enjoy woodworking, making labor saving projects for the farm, curling, and volunteering.
The Stringer's favorite Longhorn is the 2002 Canadian Circuit Champion Trophy Steer: Bon's Monk. he hangs out on their sun room as a full head mount to be enjoyed and admired every day.
They feel that the current BSE crisis will make some breeders downsize their herds or possibly sell out; the possible exceptions being the farms raising recreational animals.
Next time you're in the Sunnynook area, giver them a call. Maybe you'll get the chance to see Bon's Monk and the rest of their fine herd!

Leslie and Loretta Dahl

Leslie was born in Vegreville, Alberta on August 23, 1935. He was born to be a country boy and registered as Leslie Ernest Dahl. He is a purebred "Albertan" and has been branded many times with words one can not put into print.
My kinfolks were American immigrants from Kansas and North Dakota, and were descendants of law makers, preachers, cowboys, and best of all, owners of Texas Longhorn Cattle. One of my uncles was a deputy to Wild Bill Hickock. Uncle Sam never packed a gun and ended up making a home for one popular man named Geronimo. A trusted friendship occured when Geronimo left his ring, watch, and Texas Longhorn coat to my great uncle. The and watch are on display in a museum but my Uncle Sammy put the coat over Geronimo as he was laid to rest. Long story, but just think about this: Longhorn Cattle have endured the test of time in North America. They have pulled the plow, walked a long mile, fed us, covered us, endured us, entertained us, clothed us, amazed us, and emotionally lifted our spirits so high that we would even tell a lie in their response. Do you agree that they are also the prettiest of all breeds?
My kinfolk arrived in Canada in 1900. They came by rail in boxcars rented in Kansas, loaded with all of their possessions, including their longhorns and horses. Upon arriving in Strathcona (now Edmonton) they surrendered two of their sons to authorities (three and five years old) who died en-route from diptheria. Grandpa and Grandma filed on homesteads in the Vegreville area and continued their life journey.
So you may ask why I have Longhorn Cattle. The ansewr is in the last paragraph and is rather hard to find. Presently my wife and I have a country home ten miles south of Grande Praire, Alberta. We are parents of 7 children and the grandparents of 22 of the soundest kids possible. We have lived in this area for 51 years and celebrated out 50th anniversary this past year.
We operate on 800 acres of hay and pasture land where we keep some feeder cattle and our new herd of 35 Texas Longhorns that I purchased from Hudson Hope, B.C. We also support a fine bunch of horses (17) as well as breed and sell trumpeter swans.
Our hobbies are photography and bird watching.
We named our ranch "High Hopes Ranch" hoping the ranch continues to do well and that our aches and pains decrease.
We will be showing off our Longhorns and improving their genetics. The colors we liked are sprayed tri-color with dollar signs on the forehead. I hope to break a steer to drive pulling my Red River cart this summer.
In closing we look forward to meeting all the members of the ATLA and will accept responsibility for and adhere with association standards of excellence, ethics, creed, colors (so long as they're red, white, and black) and allow me to get my rest.

Happy New Year ATLA Members and Friends!

The year 2004 was a rebuilding and restructuring year for the association, as well as being successful with respect to attending and displaying at two cattle shows and our annual Field Day. A lot of friendships and acquaintances were renewed.

The Board of directors met in Red Deer on December 4, 2004, to discuss and decide on plans for the Annual Meeting as well as other issues for 2005. We would like to see as many members as possible attend the Annual Meeting in March 2005 as everyone's input regarding activities and direction is very important to the success of the Association.

A request was made to all the ATLA members to submit an article describing their own "Texas Longhorn Experience." I guess we are a shy and humble lot as there have been no submissions. This is a great chance to "Toot our own Horns!" The object of this request was to allow each breeder invloved with the Association to get their name out to as many people as possible. We thought that instead of a report, maybe if one answered a few questions about themselves it would make the submission process easier. This is purely optional, of course, and is meant to be a fun and interesting way for everyone to get to know each other.

I hope you have fun filling out this questionaire. Please mail or fax to the ATLA office. Look for your breeder profile in upcoming issues of our great newsletter!

Bill and Pat Dunn

Bill and Pat Dunn own the Mosquito Creek Ranch located in Cayley, Alberta. They have been raising Longhorn Cattle for 15 years, and purchased their first Longhorn from the Innisfail Parkland Neighbors Fall Sale. Their herd consists of 50 bred cows.
Their 12 year old steer, Mosquito Creek Tony, holds a special place in their hearts. He is a full blood Longhorn steer. Their favorite coloring in Longhorn hide would be tri-colored - black and parker brown. Another trait they look for in the cattle is "Jet-Jockey" bloodlines.
Bill and Pat have been willing participants in many ATLA functions. At the 20th anniversary of the ATLA Field Day, Bill was our fabulous announcer. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable and informative people on the topics of Longhorn cattle and their history. Bill is also a wonderful storyteller, and enjoys leather craft and photography. Bill and Pat also sell the horns and cherish any time they spend with their cattle.
Bill enjoys the cowboy way of life, and his zest and passion for the Texas Longhorn is something to be admired. The committment he has to the Longhorn breed of cattle with regards to its' history is to be commended.
We thank Bill and Pat Dunn for their continued support of the Alberta Texas Longhorn Association.

Robert Owen

Robert Owen, owner of Bob's Registered Texas Longhorns, hails from Hanna, Alberta. He has been an active registered Longhorn breeder for the past 12 years, but has had cattle for 14 years. Along with his Longhorns, Robert has a commercial Angus cow herd and bred Limousin. He also has stock bred to Brahma. In all, he has 80 head of cattle.
Robert purchased his first unregistered Longhorns - Yeast bloodline - from Cody Morris out of Patricia, Alberta. He then purchased registered stock from Lawrence Shadlock (Lone Butte Longhorns) of Hanna. Robert's family of choice for a Longhorn would be an animal with Butler traits and WR bloodline. He has a preference for tan or blue roan coloring.
One of Robert's favorite cows will be 17 this year. She's always first out of the corral when he lets his herd out.
Although Robert has not shown cattle, he is a regular attender of Field Days, Bull Congresses, and other cattle related functions. He enjoys visting other breeders, as well as forging friendships with everyone he meets. He has been a generous donor of unique and wonderful objects to many ATLA fundraising functions and always has an interesting story to tell about his cattle. Along with all of the wonderful reasons to raise Longhorns, Robert would also like to find a market for Longhorn skulls and horns.
Robert has hobbies outside of raising cattle. These include fishing and golfing. He has two people in his immediate family: his Mom and Dad.
An interesting fact: Robert purchased a Yak bull calf to train and halter. He may use it to breed his heifers. Robert Owen is an exceptional person and is always a joy to be around. Next time you see him at a function, ask him how his Yak is!

In November, three breeders (Del & Chris Hepfner, Steve & Lara Roth, Ken & Charlotte Beler) set up a booth at Farm Fair International at Northlands in Edmonton to display and market their Texas Longhorns. Having Beler's five year old steer "Rusty" at the booth drew the interest of people who wanted to take pictures and ask questions. From the various cattle breeders, we were asked a lot of questions regarding the use of Longhorn bulls for first calf heifers and using Longhorn cows in cross breeding herds. We also distributed the Alberta Texas Longhorn Breeders Map to help ATLA Longhorn breeders in other parts of the province market their cattle. With the interest that was shown, we believe there may be a good market this year for bulls.

We plan to hold a Pedigree Picnic Weekend this summer. The weekend will involve members/ longhorn breeders to come together without cattle to enjoy new and past friendships. If anyone has any suggestions of when or where as well as ideas regarding this exciting weekend, please contact the ATLA office.