2013 Team Bios
JOD Ranch/Rush Creek Cattle Company
The historic JOD Ranch was established in the 1890′s near Wild Horse, Colorado. Cash Chamberlian manages 700 cow/calf operation with his wife Candie and their daughter Amy. Their son Brock now works full time on the ranch. Rush Creek Cattle Company was started in 1997 near Wild Horse, Colorado. Levi Leonard manages the 2,000 head yearling operation. Justin Smith day works on the ranch. Justin and his wife Brenda have 3 children, daughters Kelcie and Kylie and a son, Keenan. Kenny Yoder is part owner of the operation. He and his wife Karla live near Karval, Colorado on their family’s ranch. They have a daughter, Kallie and a son, Kace.
Prothro-Britten Ranches
Perkins -Prothro Ranch was originally purchased by J.J. Perkins of Wichita Falls, Texas and then later Mr. Perkins partnered with his son-in-law, Charles Prothro, establishing the ranch name in 1940. He took great pride in the ranch and the commercial Hereford cow herd. In the year 2000, Angus bulls were introduced and the ranch now maintains Hereford and Black Baldy cattle. Perkins-Prothro Ranch is located in the Oklahoma panhandle in Cimarron County consisting of 60,000 acres, running a cow-calf operation. Lynn Britten Ranch was established in 1960 and is located in Carson and Armstrong Counties in the Texas Panhandle. Mr. Britten grew up in the Groom area where he began running cattle at the age of sixteen. The cow-calf herd consists of a 500 head Angus cross cows and a yearling operation of approximately 500-800 head of wheat pasture and grass cattle annually. Team Members: JD Roberts, Team Captain, Jerod Warner, Jodi Roberts, Garret Maness, Cody Britten and Cody Lawrence.
Crutch Ranch
What is known today as the Crutch Ranch was purchased by James Arvis Killough (aka Grub) in 1945. The first cattle purchased, arrived at the ranch in Borger, TX on May 5th and were branded with the “Crutch” brand, which originated as a horse brand on a family ranch in New Mexico. Today the ranch is owned by Grub’s grandchildren; Mark Mitchell, Kathy Lyons, and Becky Hanna. The ranch, which is approximately 13,000 acres and currently runs 450 head of cows and 40 head of horses, is managed by Mark and his wife LeAnn. The Crutch Ranch is represented by Jake Mitchell, Hegan Lamb, Chad Smith, and Cody Heck. Hegan(son-in-law of Mark Mitchell) and Jake(son of Mark Mitchell) both work on the ranch full time. Chad Smith and Cody Heck are both family friends and day work when needed.
Damnera Ranch and Hackamore Ranch
The Damnera Ranch is owned and operated by Terry Weimer, Josh Weimer and Waco Wollert and is centered in Southeastern Colorado. The cattle ranch is located 15 miles north of Wiley, Colorado bordering the Great Plains Reservoirs. The ranch is a 650 cow/calf operation and annually breeds 500 first-time calving heifers. The heifers are then calved out and sold as pairs in the spring. All of mama cows and heifers are run on buffalo grass during the summer months and brought home and turned out on corn stalks during the winter calving season. The ranch is currently in transition from being a traditional cow/calf operation into a heifer breeding and calving process. Due to the lack of moisture and grazing opportunities, the ranch chose to maximize what available grass they had and transformed into a heifer calving operation. This third and fourth generation set of ranchers knows what it takes to be successful. The countless hours are a small price to pay for the rewarding lifestyle of being a rancher. The lifestyle of our ranch proves that hard work and a loving family validates what being an American is all about. The Hackamore Ranch is owned and operated by R.J. & Lindy Nelson and is located south of La Junta, Colorado along the Purgatory River. R.J. is a native of the Arkansas Valley and after graduating from CSU in 1965 with a doctorate of veterinary medicine degree, he and his wife moved back to the valley and established Colorado Veterinary Clinic in 1968, also in La Junta. In 1971, Nelson became the market veterinarian at La Junta Livestock Auction. R.J. and Lindy Nelson purchased the Hackamore Ranch from R.J.’s mother in 1971. The Nelsons also purchased Ribeye Feeders, LTD, a 5000-head commercial feedlot in Rocky Ford, CO in 1995. The Hackamore Ranch is a 1200 head cow/calf operation along with running 600 head of yearlings. They currently raise their own replacement heifers. The ranch also straightens calves into grass cattle and prepares them to go to the sale. Dave Miller has been the ranch manager for 35 years and Clayton Miller has been employed by the ranch for 15 years.