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Jessica Morris and Region 4 Director Carl Brantley greet visitors at the Breeders Spotlight pens.
Photos by Tina L. LaVallee
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The Old West was alive and well in North Carolina as the 2nd Annual Mid-Atlantic Texas Longhorn Field Day kicked off at the NCSU Upper Piedmont Research Facility in Reidsville. Participants from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia assembled for a day of demonstrations and fellowship at the beautifully restored cattle barn, once part of the nearby Chinquapenn Plantation.
“Texas Longhorns are beginning to have a presence in the southeast,” said breeder showcase exhibitor Jessica Morris, “but most of the activity is still west of the Mississippi.” Jessica and her husband Ken travel to Texas as many as eight times a year attending sales and shows. “This area still has a way to go,” she says, “but we are starting to produce the kind of cattle that earn respect out west.”
The Texan Longhorn is the first cattle breed developed in the New World, but breeders are quick to acknowledge Mother Nature's hand in its creation. Descended from cattle released or strayed from Spanish explorers nearly 500 years ago, Longhorns are a shining example of survival of the fittest. Natural selection in the harsh American Southwest forged a hardy animal that thrived under conditions that starved its more domestic counterparts. These unique qualities made the breed the driving force of the historic U.S. cattle industry in the 1850's and '60's.
Much of the romantic history of the Old West is connected with Longhorns and the legendary cattle drives of the era, but the heyday of the breed was short lived. Fenced ranges and demand for quick maturing cattle meant an influx of European breeds to “improve” the Longhorn. By 1920, the true-type Texas Longhorn was closer to extinction than the bison that they had replaced on the American plains.
In 1927, the U.S. Government began Longhorn preservation efforts on wildlife refuges in Oklahoma and Nebraska. A few die-hard cattlemen continued to hold on to herds of original stock, but numbers remained dangerously small. When The Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America was formed in 1964, there were only about 500 purebreds left.
Thanks to the devotion of many small breeders, Longhorns now number well over 250,000 and are again earning respect from an industry that declared them obsolete.
Longhorn beef, proven to have 10 percent less saturated fat than that of other breeds, is gaining the attention of health-conscious consumers and the Longhorn itself is recognized as an important link in the genetic diversity of modern beef cattle.
Longhorn breeders are as unique and diverse as their cattle and TLBA Region Four Director Carl Brantley is a case in point. The former World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion retired after a fifteen year career to his Wilksboro, NC farm and became a champion of the Texas Longhorn. “Longhorn people have a different appreciation for their animals compared to other cattle breeders,” Brantley explains. “We understand the importance of good beef characteristics, but a Longhorn is more than that. For most of the folks here, the cattle are part of their family.”
There are a number of things that endear the Longhorn to these people, not the least of which is its namesake horns. Breeders carefully combine the genes from the seven founding families to get the longest horns possible. “People always ask us how we deal with such dangerous-looking horns, “says Mark Stutt of Virginia. Stutt is quick to point out that the Texas Longhorn is not the flighty, aggressive animal that its reputation often suggests. “Many people have had experiences with Longhorns found at their local livestock auction. Those cattle are there because Longhorn breeders pay close attention to temperament and cull those that are unsuitable. Unfortunately, those culls may be the only Longhorns that many people ever meet.”
The Texas Longhorn is a favorite of small farmers who want an eye-catching group in the front pasture, but they are also gaining popularity in an unusual area - pleasure riding steers. Cattle have been ridden for thousands of years, but most Americans associate riding with rodeo bucking bulls. The new pleasure riding trend began in Texas and Oklahoma and is quickly spreading. The idea of riding a steer may seem abstract, but cattle are far less likely to spook or run away as a horse, making them surprisingly reliable on trails. The Longhorn's medium size and ability to walk long distances make them ideal for this new use. While no one at the Fun Day had a steer under saddle to demonstrate, several confessed to having a “work in progress” at home.
Anyone interested in learning more about the Texas Longhorn and its many roles should contact the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America at www.tlbaa.org.
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