Tim Washington (Photo used with permission of The American Quarter Horse Assn.)

With a 429 from the judges, Washington and his gelding Seven earned second place to the Four Sixes Chance O'Neal on Royalty Return's 430.5.

Called Seven by Washington, MCC Double Heaven is Matador Ranch born and bred. The 2006 gray gelding is by Seven from Heaven and out of Claire's Double by Josephs Gold. He is one of the ranch's Russellville camp string of work horses, and Washington shows the gelding in Ranch Horse Association of America competition.

"We are very fortunate to have a high quality horse program at the Matador Ranch," said Washington. "It'll just be a matter of time before we have a whole herd of horses with Seven's qualities. I appreciate the ranch's determination to have to make the Matador horse program one of the best."

After completing the ranch pattern 3 dry work (http://www.battleinthesaddle.com/pdf/VRH-ranchhorse3.pdf---dry), Tim and Seven were ready for the cow. Their cow work drew applause from the crowd and a great score from the judges.

"This is my passion," said Tim. "There is a lot of talent bred into this horse. He has the right mind set--a willingness and determination to perform. I show him something, and it sticks with him."

Washington is also working with the ranch's next prodigy, Wrigly, a 3-year-old stallion. Wrigly is by Boonlight Dancer out of a daughter of Grays Starlight. If he continues to perform as well as he is bred, he will definitely be a boost to the ranch breeding program.

Managed by the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) and owned by the Oklahoma State Fair, Battle in the Saddle is an annual cutting, match roping, working cow horse, cowboy mounted shooting, ranch horse, and barrel racing competition.  

We sure could use a good rain.

Like most of Texas, Matador Ranch has not escaped the hot, dry weather. It's hard to not be envious as we watch the flooding in the Midwest...but we trust that every day is one day closer to a good rain.

Despite losing about 20,000 acres of grass to a February wildfire and another 5,000 acres in June, our cattle are in relatively good condition. Calves are growing.

We are replacing more than 58 miles of fence as a result of the fires.  

Even though we manage our grazing land closely, and have spent much time and energy in developing pipelines and cleaning out earthen tanks, we are making adjustments to our stocking as a result of the drought.

Specific groups of calves are being weaned a bit earlier than typical because of the drought conditions. Customers' yearlings are being shipped.

We have worked the purebred Akaushi calves, and JoJo and Kaci Caralles of Heartbrand were with us for that. We have also tended to the purebred Angus and have been AI-ing and flushing the Akaushi cows.

 Please, folks. Pray for rain. Pray hard!

The Matador Ranch stallions High Mark and Wrigley haven't noticed the dry conditions. They are still out with the mares, but we will be picking them up soon, and their social life will take a turn.

The foals that were born this spring look good. We have three Eagle Eye foals on the ground, and we have heard that Eagle Eye's current owner is taking him to Cheyenne where he's been doing well in the roping arena, and we sure want to keep up with him.

We've added new items from Texas-produced food to gift items and various caps. You'll also find camo gear. 

 

Becky Ruzicka, a wildlife research associate with the Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service (TAES), is gathering data on the Matador Ranch as part of Operation Phoenix, a three-year study on wildfire's effects on West Texas quail habitat utilization. Ruzicka is assisting Dr. Dale Rollins, professor and TAES wildlife specialist.

"To date the Matador Ranch has lost about 26,000 acres plus to wildfires," said Bob Kilmer, ranch manager.  "The fires happened to burn some of our more premier quail habitat.  We have concerns about how this will affect our quail population.  Fortunately, we are able to join Dr. Rollins's study that will analyze the effects on quail affected by these wildfires, and hopefully this will give us answers to our questions and concerns."

Assessing quail population dynamics following fire events, the study will evaluate areas consisting of both burned and unburned habitat, with the primary focus being the area at the edge of the fire.  This edge is located in the center of the study area to facilitate evaluating quail populations both outside the burn area and within it.

Three call counts are planned at 10 sites with about half in burned land and half in unburned land of similar habitat type. Researchers conduct call counts by stopping each mile in the route and counting each quail call heard in a five-minute span.  Counts are taken in the early morning when male quail are known to call.  Using a statistical model, the counts are integrated with historical Matador data to result in a reliable count of the quail per acre.  The study area runs from Matador to San Angelo and from Andrews to Breckenridge; Matador Ranch has eight locations where call counts are conducted. 

 The recently gathered Matador Ranch information is the first data set for Operation Phoenix. The Matador Ranch route was set up with the help of Bobby Buntyn, consulting wildlife biologist, and Ryan Martin, Motley County Extension Agent.   

"With the recent fires in Texas and the Southwest, we as researchers are offered a unique opportunity to better understand the effects of wildfires on bob white quail populations," said Buntyn. "This project looks to measure the recovery time associated with habitat and quail dispersal."    

 Matador Ranch also estimates quail populations during annual aerial deer surveys.  During the aerial survey an average of six coveys flushed per hour. That appears to correlate well with the 4.5 score measured through the summer call counts.

Of course, above-average rain also means tougher hunting when the bird counts are low. We're facing additional feed sources competing with the grain used to concentrate birds on roads.

 On a bright note Matador's quail release site has been revamped with numerous improvements and additions.  This season there will be a total of 43 release sites and numerous trails to allow for additional hunting acres.  
 

Native Bob White Quail

by Bobby Buntyn

Matador Ranch Wildlife Biologist Consultant

After wildfires I am often asked whether all the animals died. The short answer is no.

For example, deer, turkey and quail often suffer the least impact from a fire. For the most part, game animals remove themselves from harm's way during a fire. Deer and coyotes have the ability to flee danger with little effort. Quail and turkey also can quickly flee an area and avoid fire exposure. However, certain wildlife populations are critically impacted by a fire, particularly wild hogs. Hogs are not part of the natural environment and thus have not acquired all the needed survival skills.

While hogs sense danger, they often lack the stamina to flee and ultimately succumb to fire and smoke. Small mammals and reptiles such as rabbits, raccoons, opossums, skunks, snakes, lizards and many others also are often devastated by fire. These animals seek shelter in their typical homes (brush pile, hollowed-out tree, tall grass, etc.), and these provide no safe harbor. Fire losses of these smaller species are high, but they rebound easily and quickly through reproduction.

 While immediate losses of key game animals may be small, a range fire's most critical component is its effect on wildlife reproduction. The destruction of fawning and nesting cover has a tremendous impact on the wildlife population.

Although an immediate concern, wildfires will have little or no long-term negative effect on the overall wildlife landscape. Matador Ranch may see a small decline in fawn percentages in some areas and likely will not experience the largest quail and turkey hatch. Yet given the long-term positive effects of fire on range conditions, Mother Nature will help these wildlife populations rebound and flourish.

We sure do need a good, long rain.