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Meet Brent Stewart – Colt to Cow Connection Contestant

By | What's New?

Our 2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection contestants have been selected! Each trainer will step onto a 60-day colt and teach him to work a cow. Five head of cattle available per colt each day.  Competitors will be judged 25 minutes Day 1, 20 minutes Day 2, 15 minutes for Finalists on Day 3. Winner will receive a champion buckle and cash prizes will be awarded to the top competitors.

Click Here for Competition Schedule


2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestant


Name: Brent Stewart, 37

Location: Aldergrove BC, Canada

Currently Training At: Stewart Performance Horses

NCHA Lifetime Earnings:$33,947.82

# Years Training Horses to work cattle: 11 years

Background: Grew up in Kamloops, BC. He worked on Douglas Lake Ranch (the biggest ranch in Canada) and then worked at a couple ranches in Idaho. After 10+ years of cowboying, Brent went on to work in the performance pen. He worked for Russ Westfall and Tim Castilaw.

First lesson you learned about putting a horse on a cow? “Nothing sticks out in my mind. Ranching and working cows was always a part of my life. I learned about putting horses on cows from ranch work.”

Influences: Jerry Grass and my Grandpa, Bud Stewart.

Expectations for the Bonina Colt Cow Connection: “To win.”

Link to learn more: https://www.facebook.com/stewartperformancehorse/

Feel free to call Brent directly at: 604-306-7367

Photo: Brent Stewart “OKP Shanias Cat” 4yr old Owned by Brent and Leah Stewart.

 


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Meet the rest of the 2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestants…

Meet Lane Ternan – 2019 Colt to Cow Connection

By | What's New?

Our 2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection contestants have been selected! Each trainer will step onto a 60-day colt and teach him to work a cow. Five head of cattle available per colt each day.  Competitors will be judged 25 minutes Day 1, 20 minutes Day 2, 15 minutes for Finalists on Day 3. Winner will receive a champion buckle and cash prizes will be awarded to the top competitors. 

Click Here for Competition Schedule


2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestant


Name: Lane Ternan, 26

Location: Bridger, MT

Currently Training At: Lane Ternan Horse Training & Shoeing

NCHA Lifetime Earnings:$20,635.61

# Years Training Horses to work cattle: 6 years

Background: Grew up on a working ranch and cowboying. He came up through the ranks as youth in the cutting horse world and continued on with high school and college rodeo. He worked for a few trainers early on starting cutters and 2-year-olds. Currently specializes in starting 2-year-olds as well as shoeing horses.

First lesson you learned about putting a horse on a cow? “Get it to be a positive experience. You want to introduce a colt to a cow with a nice soft feel to make sure that they enjoy their job and have confidence. You don’t want to scare them, just go with what the horse is telling you and what that horse needs.

Influences: “Will Nuttall, John Dublin in the cutting arena and my 2-year-old influence has been Bill Smith. These three guys have really taught me a lot and helped shape how I approach training.”

Expectations for the 2019 Bonina Colt Cow Connection:“No big expectations. My goal is to get to know the horse and get a read on what they need from me to help them have a successful connection to the cow.”

To learn more about Lane’s program give him a call at:406-425-1795

Photo:Riding Badgers Danny Dry

 


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Meet the rest of the 2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestants…

Meet Teres Vining – Colt to Cow Connection Contestant

By | What's New?

Our 2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection contestants have been selected! Each trainer will step onto a 60-day colt and teach him to work a cow. Five head of cattle available per colt each day.  Competitors will be judged 25 minutes Day 1, 20 minutes Day 2, 15 minutes for Finalists on Day 3. Winner will receive a champion buckle and cash prizes will be awarded to the top competitors. 

Click Here for Competition Schedule


2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestant…

Name: Teres Vining, 57

Location: Chewelah, WA

Currently Training For Herself

NCHA Lifetime Earnings: $11,632.18

# Years Training Horses to work cattle: Lifetime

Background: Raised on ranch North British Columbia, Canada. First introduction to cutting was with Billy Collins. Around high school she moved to states and then started working for Harlan Radomske in Ellensburg, WA, starting colts by Doc Bar Gem. Next she went to Doc Bar ranch in California to work for Charlie Ward. Following that experience she moved on to Texas to work for trainers like Barbara Schulte and Tom Lyons. Heading back to the northwest she moved to Washington and managed Ron Knutson’s Ranch for 15 years. Following her time there she went out on her own to train her own horses and occasionally stops by Bonina to lend a hand.

First lesson you learned about putting a horse on a cow?“Let the cow teach the horse.”

Influences: “All of the trainers I worked for over the years have been great horsemen and I learned a lot from each one. At the end of the day the most important thing is a good pattern. They have it if they can stop, move their front end, and be cowy.”

Expectations for the 2019 Bonina Colt Cow Connection: “To help a colt get a good start.”

 


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Meet the rest of the 2019 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestants…

Saturday Night at the Fall Fun Show – Horse Sale & Cutting Contest!

By | Bonina In The News, What's New?

Saturday night at the Fall Fun Show is jam packed with all things cutting and fun! Find your next cutter or performance horse at the Private Treaty Horse Sale. Are you curious and interested in showing a cutting horse? Bonina’s Exclusive Climb Aboard a Cutter Contest is the perfect place for you to give it a go! If you’ve never shown a cutter before, you can enter this thrilling contest for a chance to win a buckle – and a lifetime’s worth of fun in the pen!

Bonina’s Colt To Cow Connection Event appears in QHN

By | What's New?


Thanks to @Darwin Crenshaw for this little note regarding Bonina’s Quarter Horse News article on the Colt-To-Cow Connection. We like to think that Chapter 1; Verse 1 of the Bonina Bible says, “Thou shalt have fun cutting.”

Darwin writes: “It seems Bonina is creating an awesome habit – regularly appearing in the Quarter Horse News. Love it. Sounds like you have created a fun event once again. You understand that you are in the “fun” business – this separates you from other trainers. Everyone wants to win, operate in the black, etc. and not everyone can, BUT, that does not mean that they can not enjoy why they came to your venue in the first place: to have FUN. Bottom line they/we want to get enjoyment from this sport. Great, great job. Please continue to be you and the cutting horse world will continue to do well.”

To read the article, click or tap on the link below:

Rempel Wins 2-Year-Old Training Competition


Bonina’s Bob Lundgren featured in Agri-Times NW

By | Bonina In The News, What's New?

Faces of Agriculture: Bob Lundgren

AGRI-TIMES NW is honored to feature Bob Lundgren in our Faces of Agriculture series. Lundgren is a renowned cattleman and feedlot operator that has made a significant impact in livestock agriculture in the PNW. He has had an interesting life journey.

Lundgren was raised in LaMar, Colorado on a ranch. During WW ll the government purchased the ranch to establish a Japanese relocation center. It was the home to 7800 Japanese during the war. His father, a WW l veteran, re-enlisted in the service and was the farm manager. Lundgren grew up playing with Japanese kids who became good friends. He remembers the kids giving him his first bike, a 20” bicycle. He also had Japanese baby sitters.

After the war, the Lundgren family purchased a 10,000 acre cattle ranch in Ridgeway, Colorado. Lundgren was an entrepreneur at a young age and the stage was set for his eventual career. Every Wednesday, he would skip high school to attend the local livestock sale. He would buy hogs and cattle to trade. He needed an excuse to get back into school, so the principal (who liked Bob) would write the excuse and ask, “Bob, did you make any money yesterday at the sale?” Lundgren later attended Colorado State University majoring in veterinary medicine. He was also on the CSU wrestling team in the 130 pound bracket.

“I had strong hands that gave me an advantage in wrestling matches. The strength had come from milking cows and pruning orchards.”

His first job after graduation was at a small animal clinic near Denver where he worked for a short period. His first ranch consulting job was for movie star Greer Garson’s Forked Lightning Ranch in Pegos, NM. She was having problems breeding her Santa Gertrudis cattle and he spent a couple months helping her solve the problem.

The next career stop was at the Twin Falls Veterinary Hospital. Lundgren was part of their four person staff for three years. A classmate of his worked at the clinic also. The hours were long, and they only got every other night off. They had a radio dispatcher who send the vet’s across the region every day. When they returned to the clinic in late afternoon or evening, they began work on the small animals. He was the consulting vet and trimmed dogs for the prostitutes from Burley Falls. When they picked up their dogs they remarked, “Bob, when are we going to get some of our money back?”

Simplot Livestock offered Lundgren a job in Caldwell, Idaho in 1963, as they operated four feedlots–Caldwell, Grandview, Burley and Blackfoot. “They hired me in-part to vaccinate their 1250 head sow herd. The sows had to be vaccinated for cholera, and a vet had to vaccinate them,” remarked Lundgren. Jack Simplot had a horse stable also. Simplot was running 25,000 ewes in Nevada and sent Lundgren there to research their breeding problems. After setting up a lab on sight, Lundgren determined the problem was Ram Epididymitis, which is costly to a sheep producer’s reproductive program. The state veterinarians did not agree with his diagnosis, so Lundgren castrated a couple of diseased rams to provide the tissue samples needed to prove his point. After three years of working at Simplot, Lunsdgren operated an independent veterinary clinic in Caldwell. He was preg testing over 25,000 cows annually.

“I am in love with cattle ranching,”

remarked Lundgren. Garvey Ranch Management recognized this and hired Lundgren to manage the Nevada Garvey Ranch near Paradise Valley, NV. The two million acre ranch grazed 15,000 cows. The outlaw, Claude Dallas, worked on the ranch for a short time. While in Nevada, Lundgren was at the chute culling cows in Nevada with Tom McKay, cattle buyer for McGregor. McKay kept commenting negatively on the quality of the cows, and Lundgren, who had heard enough, jumped over the fence and confronted McKay. John McGregor happened to be on sight and watched the confrontation. McGregor later asked Bob and his wife out to dinner, in Winnemucca, and offered him a job at Pasco, to operate his feedlot. Lundgren and wife took a trip to Pasco, but she did not want to live there. A year later in 1972, they moved to Walla Walla where he took the position of General Manager at McGregor Feedlot.

When asked about his acquaintance with Baxter Black, Lundgren recalled that Black was a veterinarian for Simplot and would often stop by his home in Caldwell to party. Lundgren later was President of the Washington Cattle Feeders Association and asked Black if he would provide the evening entertainment. When Lundgren offered to settle up for his services, Black said. “I don’t know what to charge for my services. I haven’t done this before.” Lundgren gave him $100 and the rest of his success story is history.

Several years later, the McGregor family made a business decision to sell the entire inventory of cattle in the lot, 45,000 head, to Mike Sorey, a Colorado cattleman. At that time, it is was reported to be the largest cattle transaction in history. Lundgren then leased the feedlot in partnership with Bill Nichols, operating as L & N Feeders. John McGregor helped by guaranteeing the $8 million Sea First line of credit for a fee.

In 1980, McGregor decided to sell the feedlot to Lundgren, with the stipulation that within three years he could buy back half interest in the lot. Later, McGregor took the option to purchase the half interest, which they then named L & M Feeders. Eventually, Lundgren again purchased back John McGregor’s interest in the feedlot remaining it Lundgren, Inc.

In 1990, Lundgren met with Jack Simplot in Boise, over dinner, to discuss selling the feedlot to Simplot. The staff at the Simplot headquarters did not want to buy another feedlot, but Jack was very interested. A price was agreed upon, but contingent upon an environmental impact study. Simplot later backed out of the sale because of the report. Two years later in 1992, Simplot came back to Lundgren wanting to purchase the feedlot. Lundgren and his sons, Mike and Doug, sold the feedlot, lock, stock and barrel to Simplot.

Lundgren and his wife Nina have a beautiful home overlooking their irrigated farm and indoor horse arena near Eltopia. Bob and Nina’s hobby and passion is cutting horse competition. He first purchased his first cutting horse in 1997. They also operate a 2300 head cattle growing operation at their home place. The Washington Cattlemen’s Bull Sale is held annually at their facility.

Lundgren has had a long, successful career in a wide variety of agricultural pursuits. AGRITIMES NW sincerely enjoyed the privilege of sitting down with Lundgren and learning of his many accomplishments. AGRITIMES NW would like to thank him for his time and allowing us to share his journey with our readers.

http://www.agritimesnw.com/index.php

A fabulous Andrew Coates clinic!

By | What's New?

The Andrew Coates clinics, March 30, 31, April 1 were fabulous! Andrew is a true clinician and adjusted his instruction to each individual horse and rider. His kind and positive comments as well as gentle but firm hands with the horses were a huge hit. Riding in front of him during the Show Clinic were Anna Anderson, Anne Coote, Barb Eccott, Barb Westbrook, Blaine Davies, Holly Jones, Jackie Botello, Merrick Veit, Michelle Beaunaux, Paige Scholin and Suzy Epler. The Training Clinic was enjoyed by Dick Levy, Dusty Whitford, Jody Cada and Nina Lundgren.

Spring Show & Colt 2 Cow Connection Event a Success!

By | What's New?

It’s been a whirlwind of activity before, during and after the big spring kickoff NCHA show held at Bonina on March 9-11. Here’s a little event wrap up from Nina, who was so grateful for all of the trainers who came to compete in the Colt To Cow Connection, cutters and the donors and bidders in the Cindy Severe Benefit Auction.

General Comments:

Very fun show, great runs – wonderful folks! Judged by Les Timmons of Canada.

Weekend Highlighted by the Colt To Cow Connection and prime rib dinner at the finals!

The C2C simply fascinated anyone interested in watching how different trainers accomplished things with their colts. Since they were young, the unpredictableness kept us glooed! The colts all had a start by the same trainer, Blaine Davies, so it equalized the opportunity for contestants.

Halahs Hero leaped and bucked with glee when he started after a cow. The trainer, Jeff Bailey, Kennewick, WA did not get after him, just quietly kept working, not punishing him for liking his new job.

BNL Xerxes started pretty quiet and by the finals was tracking a cow around, turning, circling, stopping without Shane Carlon, Whitt, Texas, even picking up his reins.

It was fascinating to watch Diehl Hiner, Walla Walla, WA, put a handle on Little Magic Cat sold in the Benefit Auction for Cindy Severe. Very pretty, this filly willingly learned to bend and move her front end and was eager to work a cow.

PRF Talent In Metal started with the prettiest, most natural stop in the arena. Dusty Whitford, Ferndale, WA, was pleased with his progress picking up and moving his front end.

BNL Tap A Blu Toon was fast, reactive and not always receptive at the beginning. Johnny Hammock, Chiloquin, OR, totally comfortable on her, talked her into going along with his program. She finished strong marking a 75 and earning Johnny the Reserve Championship!

BNL Uranium was rejected by the trainers present at the draw, but taken by Travis Rempel from Abbotsford, BC Canada who arrived late and didn’t see her rough preview. She started out wild, frightened and resistant. Travis used every minute of the 25 minutes allotted for that Go-Round, marking a 75 on Round 1! Next day, that filly started where they left off, continued to progress and marked a 77! In the finals, Travis turned up the showmanship and marked another 77 and took home the Championship buckle!

Very exciting to see the enormous progress made on these colts in 3 days!

The Cindy Severe Benefit auction was a tremendous success.

The beauty of this offering was that the items were in demand by cutters and horsemen! Sold was a cutting practice in Ukiah, OR, a breeding to Highbrow Tuesday, Equine AI service, Noble saddle rack, one month training by Diehl Hiner and Dusty Whitford, carved horse pendant, two colts and more. Josh Dykes, Nine Mile Ranch called the sale.

Big Bonina Weekend!

By | What's New?

Check out the full schedule of weekend events here: Bonina Events March 9-11 We’ve got two NCHA cutting shows, the Colt to Cow Connection trainer event as well as the Cindy Severe Benefit Auction. Thank you to event sponsors and for all those folks who have come to compete, watch, and be a part of the spring kickoff to what promises to be a great 2018 in the show pen and beyond. ~BNL

Download the pocket schedule here:

Bonina Events March 9-11

2018 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection Contestants Announced!

By | What's New?

Our 2018 Bonina Colt to Cow Connection contestants have been selected! Each trainer will step onto a 60-day colt and teach him to work a cow. Five head of cattle available per colt each day.  Competitors will be judged 25 minutes Day 1, 20 minutes Day 2, 15 minutes for Finalists on Day 3. Winner will receive a champion buckle and cash prizes will be awarded to the top competitors. Select colts will be offered for sale after contest completion during the Cindy Severe Benefit Auction.


Meet the 2018 Colt to Cow Connection Contestants…


Click on the names below to learn more about these talented trainers!
 
Diehl Hiner of Hiner Performance Horses – Walla Walla, WA

Pictured riding “Miss Stylish Rey” owned by Don & Pat Noble at the Idaho Cutting Horse Association Spring Aged Event.

Dusty Whitford of Whitford Colt Company – Ferndale, WA

Pictured working the flag on a nice 2 year old prospect.

Jeff Bailey of Bailey Cow Horses, Home of Starlights Smartchic – Kennewick, WA

Pictured with “Starlights Smartchic”

Johnny Hammack of Bourdet Ranch, Home of Meradas Cookin Now – Chiloquin, OR

Pictured riding a “Metalic Cat” gelding; first loop at first branding.

  Shane Carlon of Carlon Performance Horses – Whitt, TX

Pictured riding “WRJ Time After Time” at Bluebonnet Stakes Derby Finals in Brenham, TX.

Travis Rempel of TR Performance Horses – Fort Langley, BC Canada

Pictured riding “This Cats Max” owned by Doug and Angie Weins at Silver Slate in AB.