The Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale promises to be a springtime highlight at Colorado State University in late April, when 81 American Quarter Horses – both promising young horses and proven older horses – will be offered for sale.

Springtime highlight for equine students

The Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale promises to be a springtime highlight at Colorado State University in late April, when 81 American Quarter Horses both promising young horses and proven older horses will be offered for sale.

The horses come from 24 consignors, including some of the nation’s best-known Western horse ranches.

The sale will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the B.W. Pickett Equine Center on the CSU Foothills Campus in Fort Collins, Colo.

The Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale is unique: The 2- and 3-year-olds in the sale – a total of 40 horses – have been started by students in the CSU Equine Sciences Program with faculty guidance. The sale caps a trademark educational program that gives students in CSU’s renowned Equine Sciences Program the opportunity to train well-bred young horses, taking the animals from barely halter-broken to working calmly under saddle.

Forty-one older, experienced horses also will be offered for sale.

Last spring, the Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale generated more than $330,000 in proceeds, according to records. The average sale price for all horses in 2012 was $5,376. The average for young horses trained by CSU students was just over $4,000, according to sale records. And the average price for aged horses was $7,424.

During the 2012 Legends of Ranching sale, two horses tied as high-sellers, bringing $18,500 each: a 3-year-old black mare consigned by Wagonhound Land and Livestock, sired by Wimpys Little Step, and out of Shiney Miss Hickory; and a 4-year-old buckskin gelding consigned by Wood Ranch, sired by BP Smart Little Pep and out of Cal Beauty.

“We’re proud of the marketplace position that the Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale occupies. Through eight years of hard work, planning and careful execution, this sale continues to build on a reputation of respect, where good horses bring solid prices,” said Dr. Jerry Black, D.V.M., director of both the CSU Equine Sciences Program and the CSU Equine Reproduction Laboratory, who also holds the Wagonhound Land and Livestock Chair in Equine Sciences.

“However,” Black said, “what really matters with this sale is not what the horses bring, but what the students learn. While everyone may talk about averages and high-sellers, the real value is in the hands-on education.”

Students work for nearly a full academic year in horse training laboratories that lead up to sale. They invariably say that they learn as much as their equine charges – and that the experience gives them a newfound respect for horses and the training process.

Equine students not only train about half of the horses auctioned, but also plan and manage most aspects of the sale.

Legends of Ranching reflects the experiential learning provided in the CSU Equine Sciences Program, an approach meant to help prepare students for success in the diverse horse industry. The industry has an economic impact of about $102 billion each year in the U.S. economy, according to the American Horse Council.

“Our consignors are supportive of the educational aspect of this sale. In fact, they are adamant that it be a part of the process,” said Gary Carpenter, industry outreach and liaison director. “Those who have stayed with us understand that, although we will do everything we can to sell their horses for top prices, student education comes first.”

Auctioneers Jeff Tebow and Justin Holmberg, along with announcer Kevin Meyer, will staff the sale. Proceeds are split among sale costs, consignors and the CSU Equine Sciences Program.

The 2013 Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale will be part of a special weekend at Colorado State University.

Starting at 4 p.m. Friday, April 26, the CSU Equine Reproduction Laboratory will celebrate the grand re-opening of its research, teaching and clinical service flagship facility. The facility was destroyed by fire in 2011. The re-opening will include brief remarks, guided tours and refreshments.

“These two events represent the strong continuum of equine programs at CSU,” Black said. “We offer the very best undergraduate equine training, the education of graduate students and veterinarians who are critical to the horse industry, research that drives the industry, and, of course, the care of horses through our Veterinary Teaching Hospital and Equine Reproduction Lab. CSU does it all, and we’re proud to showcase this work on April 26 and 27.”

Consignors to the 2013 Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale:

• Abraham Equine
• Atwood Quarter Horses
• Bar Rock-n-Bean
• Bartlett Ranches
• Pete Becker Ranch
• Burnett Ranches, LLC (6666)
• Cowan Select Horses, LLC
• Crofoot Ranches, LLP
• Diamond-McNabb Ranch Horses
• Gould Ranch Cattle Company
• Hanging H Ranch
• Haythorn Ranch Co.
• KeSa Quarter Horses
• Kurtz Ranch
• Mantz Creek Horses
• Purina Mills
• Rocking G Ranch
• Saunders Ranch
• Silver Spur Ranches
• Singleton Ranches
• T-Cross Ranches
• Valley Oak Ranch
• Wagonhound Land & Livestock, LLC
• Wood Ranch

Schedule of events CSU Legends of Ranching Performance Horse Sale
B.W. Pickett Equine Center, 735 S. Overland Trail, Fort Collins, Colo.

• Friday, April 26: Consigned horses available for viewing
• Friday, April 26, 2-3:30 p.m.: Roping horse practice
• Friday, April 26, 4 p.m.: Grand re-opening of the CSU Equine Reproduction Center, just north of the B.W. Pickett Equine Center
• Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m. to noon: Sale horse preview
• Noon Saturday, April 27: Special showing of “Horse Sense,” a documentary film featuring CSU equine programs
• Saturday, April 27, 1:30 p.m.: Legends of Ranching sale begins
• Lunch will be available and catered by the CSU Meat Judging Team

For sale information, visit the CSU Equine Sciences