Rocking Ranches Producing The Cutting Edge of Cutting Horses
Most Rocking Ranches are situated in states where western riding is common, such as Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Wyoming, and Arkansas. Rocking Ranches generally operate as country resorts featuring outdoor activities such as horseback riding, roping, riding lessons, cowboy games, swimming, hiking, fishing, and just about any countryside activity. Some Rocking Ranches primarily breed, raise, train, and sell cutting, team penning, and barrel racing horses for competitions. These ranches also have studs and mares available for breeding.
Cutting as a Sport
Cutting is the sport of separating individual cows from a herd using specially trained saddle horses. In a cutting competition, the rider and the horse are allotted 2½ minutes to cut an individual cow off and prevent it from returning to its herd. As a rider employs quick turns and stops, the judges score the rider’s style and technique on a scale from 60 to 80.
Cutting has been a horse sport among cowboys and ranchers in the Southwest since the 1800s, when cowboys developed a variety of ways to use their horses to herd cattle. Cutting competitions started in the mid 19th century, with the first event held at the Cowboy Reunion in Texas.
Today, the sport of cutting is rapidly growing, gaining popularity across the United States and around the world. Not only is cutting a challenging sport for horse lovers, it is also a fun activity for the entire family.
Due to the rising popularity of cutting, Rocking Ranches are becoming increasingly popular as these ranches play a crucial role in producing highly competitive cutting horses. Several of the most notable Rocking Ranches include Keli Hendricks’ Rockin’ H Ranch, Alice Walton’s Rocking W Ranch, and Punk Carter’s Ranch.
Rockin H Ranch lies on a 350-acre lot on Hwy 29 situated south of Cleveland, Georgia in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains.
The Rocking JP Ranch is contained within 1,500 acres of land and four lease pastures, roughly 100 miles south of Fort Worth, Texas.
Located in Roseburg, Oregon, the ranch breeds, trains, raises, and sells quality cutting horses
Slate River Ranch was originally one ranch located in Richmond, Virginia. In 1997, another Slate River Ranch was established in Weatherford, Texas. Both ranches feature breeding and training facilities for quality cutting horses.
Situated in Bridgeport, Texas, The Waggoner Ranch specializes in the breeding of performance cutting horses.
Situated in the heart of Depew, Oklahoma, this ranch provides a wide range of services, from cutting horse breeding to training and sale fitting of cutting horses.
Located in Hallsville, Texas, this animal ranch raises, shows, and sells cutting American Quarter Horses as well as American Red Brahman cattle.
Rockin’ H Ranch rests on a 135-acre wide riverfront located in the City of Petaluma in Sonoma County, California. Owned by the Hendricks family since 1996, Rockin’ H Ranch proudly features mountain views, an airstrip, wild bird wetlands, and vast productive vineyards that complete your horse training experience.
Alice Walton's Rocking W Ranch is one of the few Rocking Ranches that concentrate on breeding, raising, training, competing, and selling cutting horses. Rocking W Ranch features horses for sale, broodmares, and world-class cutting horses that have brought major victories in cutting competitions, including championships in the Western States Open and the NCHA Summer Spectacular.
The Punk Carter Ranch is owned by Hall of Fame Cutting Horse Legend Punk Carter, a world-renowned cutting trainer and past president of the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA). Punk Carter provides cutting horse training, cutting clinics, lessons and instruction to cutting enthusiasts as well as cutter of all levels including Amateur, Non-Pro, and Open.