If you make a trip to the World Show, try to spend enough time there to enjoy some of the area attractions. Oklahoma City has several sites worth visiting, including the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, The Bricktown Canal Area in the heart of downtown, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Another benefit of this location is the opportunity you have visit some of the premiere Quarter Horse Ranches in the country. Pilot Point and Aubrey, Texas, are within reasonable driving distance of Oklahoma City, as well as many fine ranches in Oklahoma. Most are open to the public and they are more than happy to show you their facility and their horses.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to Halvorson Ranch in nearby Guthrie, OK. It was on a visit like this a few years ago that our friends the Krich’s first met Wayne and Rebecca Halvorson. They took some time out from their hectic World Show schedule to show us their ranch and tell us about their business.

Located on 300 acres of rolling hills, covered with coastal bermuda grass and oak trees, Wayne described the ranch as a full service operation, that can take their clients full circle. For starters, they offer an excellent selection of Quarter Horses and Paint Horses for sale. Owners can take advantage of their full breeding operation, including artificial insemination, shipped semen, frozen semen, and embryo transfers. The stallions they stand will breed approximately 600 mares per year, both on the ranch and by shipping semen around the country.

Once a foal is on the ground, an owner can then choose to utilize Halvorson’s showing operation. They are known for fitting and conditioning top halter horses and are familiar faces around the World Show.

The show barn houses the main office and horses including the stallions and show horses. The wide aisles, natural light, and ventilation provide clean and pleasant living quarters for up to 14 horses. The mare motel has 58 stalls built for the comfort and safety of the mares and foals. There is also a 20-stall barn for mares with foals who require more privacy. The foaling barn has 18 stalls, is heated and monitored around the clock when necessary. Finally, there is a large “open air” indoor arena, with individual box stalls and room for training/conditioning.

Although it was relatively quiet there when we visited in November, February through April is their busy season. During that time it’s common for them to have 40-50 mares to check on a daily basis, and they are breeding and inseminating 20-25 horses per day. Foaling on the ranch is another of the services they offer and foal watch and foal supervision goes on 24 hours a day. They also find that a lot of time is devoted to lining up shipments of semen throughout the country (and even worldwide).

Wayne Halvorson and his wife Rebecca both bring years of experience to the business. They both come from ranching backgrounds and (what I found most interesting) was that they also both worked their way through the ranks, starting with 4-H and FFA. Rebecca’s specialities include an extensive competitive background in horse judging and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Animals Science, studying Equine Nutrition in graduate school.

Wayne started breaking and training horses for the public at age ten and he was involved in showing and rodeoing. He earned a degree in Business Administration and accepted a position at the Tommy Manion Ranch, training and showing. Most of the trainers he apprenticed under specialized in halter and since that was the passion of his former partner in the ranch, Cal Loree of Canada, the business evolved in that direction.

On an average, Halvorson Ranch stands 8-10 stallions per year. In the past they stood Ima Cool Skip, and today, they continue to stand several of his sons. Right now their top stallions are Coosa, their first stallion, and Perpetualism who they purchased in 2002. Of their decision to purchase Perpetualism Wayne says, “We were looking for a stallion that would cross well with the Ima Cool Skip and Coosa daughters that we’ve kept in broodmare bands, and they needed a popular horse. He has won three world championships and had four world champions at the show last year. The way it looked like his type would cross on those mares, he seemed like the perfect match for the operation.”

They also added the Reserve World Champion Senior Pleasure Horse, Invested Dimension and Zan Par Jett Smooth, one of the all time leading performance point earners as a stallion. Although they’ve traditionally been noted as a halter horse producing ranch, Wayne explains, “As we evolved into the breeding, we’ve added some performance stallions to the battery and as we’re doing that, we’re finding that we’re getting more and more involved with performance horses all the time.”

I asked what type of fitting routine he follows with his horses and Wayne explained his theory behind creating a World Champion. “As time goes on and as I’ve been in the business more, I’ve learned that it is easier to start out with the best quality horse that has all the conformation ideals already there. It used to be that you could say, I think I can do this and that with a certain horse and make it better. Now we try to raise and produce more horses of ideal quality and do all the same things. You’re enhancing something that’s already good, instead of trying to make something that’s fair good. Now we’re trying to make something that’s good, great. The key is to get the best quality that you can afford to begin with and try to keep your numbers at a point where it’s manageable.”

Wayne believes that successful conditioning comes from daily “hands on” attention and he relies on his own experience and expertise in that area. His trained eye can foresee problems before they happen and can also pick a great horse in the rough.

“Ideally in the halter business,” Wayne explained, “you have mares that produce babies that do well in futurities in their weanling year and progressively get better and stay consistent throughout. It’s easier to market these horses early, and less money is invested.” An extensive knowledge of pedigrees and how certain horses mature and develop is the key to being able to predict which horses will excel as halter prospects.

Finally, we talked about the “bottom line” - how much would it cost to have a horse that could potentially be competitive at the World Show Level. According to Wayne, the top horses in the mare division sell anywhere from $100,000 to $300,000. A top breeding stallion could cost anywhere from $300,000 up to 2 million (if they’re proven sires or have proved themselves in the show ring.)

He suggested the gelding market is an opportunity for those who like to show but don’t want to have quite as much money invested. The average range for a competitive gelding is $20,000-$30,000, but he added that for $10,000 you can still buy a horse and do well in this range. Wayne said, “You often hear, ‘I can’t breed this gelding when I’m done.’ The answer is yes, but you don’t have $200,000 invested either. Even if you bought one for $15,000 and showed it for 2 years and sold it for $12,500, you’re still better off.” Weanling prospects average around $10-12,000 but in time these horses may be worth $100,000 to $150,000. “Ideally, what we want is to keep the market selling weanling prospects. The owners do well and make money with them and then they come back and buy another one.”