CSU’s Legends of Ranching program breeds enthusiasm, promotes horse industry
Barrels
Through partnerships with ranches around the country, Colorado State University’s Legend of Ranching program offers students real-world equine experiences in both starting and training horses and producing equine events.
This fall marks the start of the 19th year of this program, where students are paired with young horses from ranches including Phipps Land & Livestock, owned and operated by Glenda and Gary Phipps of Whitman, Neb., in north central Cherry County.
The goal is to prepare CSU students to enter the equine industry.
“One of the most impactful parts of this program is the applied, hands-on learning opportunities it affords students. They take the lessons they learn from their foundation courses of nutrition, genetics, exercise physiology and apply it to these colts. For example, they learn about adjusting feed programs and analyzing pedigrees,” said Devan Catalano, PhD., assistant professor and equine Extension specialist, and Legends of Ranching program coordinator with the Department of Animal Sciences at CSU in Fort Collins.
GETTING INVOLVED
This is the first year for the Phipps to participate in the CSU program.
“It prepares more students to get into the horse industry while they are under supervision and learn safe handling. For us, it also gives us more exposure for our horse program. We appreciate expanding our exposure to potential buyers,” said Glenda Phipps, co-owner of the Phipps ranch.
These horses are consigned to CSU, and the owner pays a board and training fee to the CSU program. When the horse sells during an annual mid-April sale event, the university’s program retains a small commission from that sale, then the rest of the sale price goes back to the owner, Catalano said.
But it’s not just a sale. Several events are held in conjunction with the April sale, including a student competition, a consignor networking dinner and the sale itself. All these events are produced by the students in CSU’s Sales Production class. As part of that sales class, students are learning invaluable business skills, including marketing, advertising, how to secure sponsorships, social media, event logistics, which all help with the April sale, Catalano said.
They also learn responsibility. The students work directly with consignors, sponsors and professionals who support the sale including an auctioneer and bid spotters. So, when they graduate, they have quite a few career options.
“Our buyers range from amateur owners to working ranches, and we are fortunate to be able to track and stay in contact with many of the horses through their owners, as they begin their careers,” Catalano said.
The Phipps learned about CSU’s Legends of Ranching program from Alex Parsaye the instructor for the CSU horse training classes. She also brings in guest clinicians to diversify the students’ experiences. The program originally launched in 2006, then after a year off in 2022 due to staffing challenges, the program was recently revamped; geared to fewer groups of students to acquire more one-on-one time to learn horsemanship skills.
“Alex asked us to get involved in this program. She liked what she saw, and wanted to include our horses,” said Gary Phipps, co-owner of the Phipps ranch with his wife Glenda. The student trains the horse under Parsaye’s supervision.
During the fall semester, Parsaye emphasizes groundwork and handling skills before preparing horses for first rides. The spring semester is spent largely under saddle, honing the young horse’s skills and exposing them to aspects of ranch life such as working with cattle.
The Phipps provided three horses, and all three have different personalities.
“That’s what they want because if the horses didn’t, they’d just be ‘stick horses’,” said Gary Phipps, who has ridden horses all his life.
PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
The Legends of Ranching program propels kids to have somewhere to go where they can learn horsemanship and colt starting, under the tutelage of someone who’s really knowledgeable and looks out for the horses safety and students safety, Glenda Phipps said. The hope is to give the colts a good start and develop horse trainers because horse trainers will be needed in the future.
In addition to raising Quarter horses, and running 2,000 head of yearling cattle and 450 head of cows, the Phipps are American Quarter Horse Association legacy breeders, after earning that award for breeding these horses for 50 consecutive years, in 2011. They have now reached 63 years of raising Quarter horses. Their horses are eligible for the Ranching Heritage program, which launched to promote the robust qualities that ranch horses possess and provides a market for ranch horses.
Gary’s dad actually bought their first registered Quarter horse in 1961, but previous Phipps generations have been raising horses in those hills since the early 1900s. Their son Brett has won several ranch rodeo competitions with his team, including winning the 2024 Black Hills Stock Show, and earning first and second place at the Cherry County Fair Ranch Rodeo in Valentine, Neb., in early August. The Phipps’ grandchildren also ride horses at the ranch, and participate in rodeos.
Within the CSU horse partnership, students are required to take a proficiency riding test to be in the program, which serves to test their skills, Gary Phipps said.
“I don’t think hardly any of the students have started with a colt, from the beginning, and if the colt is green and the student is green, that would be a recipe for disaster,” Phipps said.
The Phipps are enjoying being part of it all. As Glenda put it, “We’re just along for the ride.”
For more information, go to phippsranch.com.
