06/24/05 Rancher`s horse sale

Rancher's Horse Sale The ranchers in Harney County, Oregon came up with a new way to sell their horses. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll tell you about it right after this. Eleven years ago, Mike and Jim Bentz along with Dick and Hoot Raney organized the first Harney County Horse Sale. A few years ago the name was changed to the Rancher's Horse Sale since every horse in the sale was from a ranch. This year a major change was made that made this a very unique sale. The sale site was changed from the rodeo arena at the Harney County Fairgrounds to a rangeland hillside about 10 miles out of Burns, Oregon. What a great idea! Ranch horses selling at a ranch setting. The sagebrush site had some older corrals, a loading chute, and a larger fenced area made out of field fencing and steel posts, just like a temporary branding corral. Fifteen Eastern Oregon sellers sold 32 ranch-trained horses and three mares with colts. The top price was $10,100 paid for a five-year-old gelding, while the average price was just over $4,522. All these horses were shown working and sorting cattle, roping calves for a simulated branding, and were available for a closer inspection while being held right out in the open rangeland. Sellers are finding buyers are really getting along well with these horses that have been trained while doing all the jobs a ranch horse does. Jobs like fence work, cow work, and checking pastures; which means lots of miles, experiences, and long days. Horse sales right out on the rangewhat a good idea the Harney County guys found to uphold tradition and have some fun. I'm Jeff Keane. Capital Press 6/10/05