93
Let’s hear the story of Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry Agriculture, and the people who make it happen. Sponsored by Nebraska's Law Firm® - Rembolt Ludtke.
93
Craig & Jody Haythorn: Stewards of a Western Legacy
This episode features a conversation with Craig and Jody Haythorn of the historic Haythorn Land & Cattle Co., a now sixth-generation family operation rooted in Nebraska’s Sandhills since 1884. Craig and Jody share the story of how the ranch began, the traditions passed down through generations, and what it takes to steward a working ranch today. From their influential role in the American Quarter Horse world to balancing modern operations with deep family values, the Haythorns offer an authentic look at ranch life, resilience, and legacy—why stories like theirs continue to resonate with audiences drawn to the enduring spirit of the American West.
Nebraska, it's not just a place, but a way of life. It's 93 counties that are home to innovative individuals, caring community, and a spirit that runs deeper than its fertile soil. It's a story that should be told. Welcome to 93, the podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Welcome to 93. This is a podcast about Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry agriculture, and the folks who make it happen. I'm Mark Folson, your host for today's episode, brought to you by Nebraska's law firm, Rembolt Latte. I'm also joined by my colleague here at Rembolt, Tim Clare. For more than 140 years, one family has worked the same stretch of the Nebraska sand hills, raising cattle, breeding horses, and passing down a way of life that helped shape the American West. What started as a homestead has become one of the most respected ranching operations in the country, known for its quarter horses, its cattle, and its commitment to family and tradition. It's a story about family, resilience, and what it means to carry something forward without losing what made it special in the first place. This is the story of Haythorne Land and Cattle Company. Craig and Jody Haythorne, welcome to 93 the podcast. Craig, can you give folks a little background on yourself?
SPEAKER_04:How far back do you want to go?
SPEAKER_00:To till birth.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, to birth. Well, I was born in 47 in Sutherland, Nebraska, but I'm the fourth generation, and of course, three generations were ahead of me. The original Harry Haythorne came from England, and then he had two sons, and Walt and Harry. And Walt was my granddad, and he had a son, Waldo, who was my dad.
SPEAKER_00:So Harry, I read a story. Did he stow away in a ship coming from England? They didn't know he was on there, and he kind of got in a little trouble.
SPEAKER_04:Well, he and a young lady wanted to get married, but everybody thought they were too young, so he got mad with a stowaway on a ship with a load of Hereford Bulls coming to, they think, in the Galveston, Texas area, and that's how he got over here. And then he came up the trail four times. But they all thought he in England that he had been killed or mugged or something, but it was ten years before he ever contacted them and tell them that he was fine. He was in America.
SPEAKER_00:You'd think they'd maybe worry about him a little bit, wouldn't you?
SPEAKER_04:Well, after 10 years, they maybe didn't care.
SPEAKER_00:Jody, introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_02:Well, this is Jody Haythorne. Um, I was born in Torrington, Wyoming, and raised at Lusk, Wyoming. And my dad had sale barns and had ranch lease there. And so I was raised in the ag world and auctioneering business all of my life. Craig and I uh met through rodeo. I guess our family shared box seats at Denver Stock Show for years. My dad rodeoed, judged rodeos, and that's how he knew the Haythorn family. So that's rodeo was how we got together, I guess.
SPEAKER_00:There you go.
SPEAKER_04:Common denominator.
SPEAKER_00:Uh do the two of you have children?
SPEAKER_04:We have two sons, and then Jody had a daughter when we got married, so we have a daughter and two sons.
SPEAKER_00:And what are the children's what's their names?
SPEAKER_04:Sage and Cord. Sage is 40, Cord is 38, and Shaley is 54.
SPEAKER_00:And grandchildren, do you have any? We have four.
SPEAKER_02:Here at the ranch, Sage and Cord each have two, and Shaley has uh two boys, and then she has three grandchildren with the oldest.
SPEAKER_00:I think you can usually tell when someone comes from a ranch by what your first name is. I mean, in addition to your son's names, you got some pretty cool names for those grandkids.
SPEAKER_04:Well, when we named them, a lot of people thought we'd lost our mind. But my dad just told him uh, he said, you know, they belong to them. I guess they can name them whatever they want to, but cord is an old name out of Western, you know, paperback books.
SPEAKER_05:Yep.
SPEAKER_04:And and Sage, you know, a lot of people think that's uh a girl's name, but now there are several sages, but there are also sage girls, also.
SPEAKER_00:And did I see you have a grandchild by the name of Stoley? Yes, sir. That that's a that's a good ranch name right there. I like that.
SPEAKER_04:And Steele is Sage's little boy.
SPEAKER_05:So six six generations then.
SPEAKER_02:Yes, right. Steele will be ten on Christmas Day. Stoley just turned four in November. And um my brother, when we named Sage and Cord, when they were born, he called me to congratulate us. But he said, Do you guys just lay awake at night and think of those weird names?
SPEAKER_00:They're great. I love the names.
SPEAKER_02:Well, and then when Stoley was born, my mom was 92 years old, and she called me on the phone. She said, What is it that they named that little girl? And I said, Stoley. And she said, Well, I'm in Bible study with this lady that used to be a terrible alcoholic, and she told us in Bible study that that's the name of a vodka, and she was just horrified. Anyway, but we it there's also a race horse that's named Stoly, so that's that's how that really came about.
SPEAKER_00:Correct. We're going with the racehorse. No, I just got back from my first National Files rodeo, and they also I noticed the names, first names of many of the rodeo participants. So you you folks have a knack of naming people.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. So not naming them.
SPEAKER_00:So your ranch, if I understand it, has been what year was it homesteaded?
SPEAKER_04:1884.
SPEAKER_00:And can you describe for folks where it's located?
SPEAKER_04:We would be the South Ranch is 17 miles north of Ogallala, and the North Ranch, where the original homestead was, is a little town of Arthur, which is 37 miles north of Ogallala.
SPEAKER_00:Now, is Arthur where there's that historic church? That's Keystone's. Okay. Okay.
SPEAKER_04:Well, they're both they both have historic churches, but Arthur's is a bailed hay church, and Keystone at one time was Catholic and Protestant, I guess. Yep.
SPEAKER_00:So you may not be willing to share this, but would you be willing to share how many square miles your ranch is?
SPEAKER_04:Well, I've never figured it up, I guess, but if it was together, it'd probably be eight or nine miles square.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Probably. What what license plate for prefix do you have on your truck?
SPEAKER_04:Uh 91 is Arthur County, 68 is Keith County.
SPEAKER_00:So you got some in both, right?
SPEAKER_05:Right. Talk a little bit about uh your grandfather homesteading the ranch and and just some of the things. Well how how did he end up settling in Arthur, Nebraska?
SPEAKER_04:Well, he the fourth time he came up the trail, he s he resided in Ogallala and bought a livery barn. That's what he had first, and he had a livery barn for a couple years, then he sold the livery barn, moved to Arthur, and in that period he got married and homesteaded northwest of Arthur about four miles. But years ago, this country was ran by a family named Yeast. It was all open country back then. And my grand great-granddad was one of the wagon bosses for Mr. Yeast, and that's how he kind of got started.
SPEAKER_00:I read that you uh were the first Nebraska ranch to register American quarter horses, is that correct?
SPEAKER_04:Yes, sir. It was my granddad. He went to Oklahoma and bought a horse called Sport. At that time, his brother, before the other side of the family, moved to Maxwell, and the reason they moved to Maxwell was because when they put Kingsley Dam in, uh it kind of divided the family, and they split everything 50-50, and they went to Maxwell, Nebraska, and bought a ranch there. That's how the family got uh divided. It was just a business decision.
SPEAKER_00:What is a quarter horse?
SPEAKER_04:Well, the original name for the quarter horse was uh because they ran a quarter of a mile, which a lot of quarter horses today still have some influence of thoroughbred, not as much as they did 50 years ago, but uh that's where the name came from was they were supposed to be speedsters for a quarter of a mile, and that's where the Maritime Quarter Horse Association came up.
SPEAKER_00:What makes a good quarter horse?
SPEAKER_04:Well, there's so many facets to a quarter horse. I mean, there's rope horses, reining horses, uh, you know, just branch horses, cutting horses, uh working cow horse. So, I mean, a lot of things make up the American quarter horse, and they also are runners. They still have quarter horse racing, too.
SPEAKER_00:Do you have a quarter horse sale on occasion?
SPEAKER_04:Well, we had we started in 79, had them every five years, and then went to every four years, and then we had some Colt sales in there. So I guess since 79 we've probably had 14 or 15 sales.
SPEAKER_00:When's your next sale?
SPEAKER_04:The two sons and my wife said there never will be another sale. And there probably won't because we've cut our numbers down. But uh the internet is huge, social media, right? We don't we put horses in two or three different sales and then uh private treaty anymore, or the internet. That's how we market our horses anymore.
SPEAKER_02:Literally, this year Kelly did videos of some of the colts uh that we our horses that we had to sell, and we had some weanlings there that would have been common yearlings, and one of them sold in 10 minutes on Facebook.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_02:So why would you go to the expense and the work and the everything for a horse sale?
SPEAKER_00:So if I'm not mistaken, the Yellowstone series has been very popular. Did I hear your ranch and mention on an episode or two?
SPEAKER_04:Yes, here it was. Um where they came up with that, I don't know, because I don't personally know Kevin or Teton Ridge, Mr. Well, I'm the blank, can't think of his name.
SPEAKER_05:Taylor Sheridan.
SPEAKER_04:Uh yeah, Taylor Sheridan. But uh I don't know where they came up with it, but uh it was on there, yes.
SPEAKER_00:You're not complaining, are you?
SPEAKER_04:Well, it hadn't made any money, no.
SPEAKER_02:He texted me and said, Oh my gosh, we're watching Yellowstone, and they just mentioned your name. I said, Yeah, and you need to get on it because they didn't have our permission.
SPEAKER_05:Right. I've I've I've dropped the ball on that one. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Another ranch featured in there's the four sixes. Do you have an old or do you have a relationship with that ranch dating back?
SPEAKER_04:Well, that even went back to my dad. Uh they traded horses back in the 50s, and I've known the managers for 50 years. Uh yes, we've had a connection with them for a long time.
SPEAKER_00:In addition to quarter horses, you also have draft horses. Can you explain what a draft horse is?
SPEAKER_04:We used to have draft horses. We don't have any more, but a draft horse is like a heavy workhorse. Uh, you know, to work in harness. I mean, we fed with horses for years. Raised perchins, Belgians, crosses. At one time we probably owned 150 draft horses.
SPEAKER_00:But you actually worked them, right? Oh, yes, sir. Yes.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, we when we were in full production, we were probably working 50 every day.
SPEAKER_00:Do you have cattle?
SPEAKER_04:Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00:And in addition to the traditional Angus and other breeds, do you uh keep any rodeo stock around?
SPEAKER_04:Yes, we have uh cori-inny cows that we uh lease the the cattle out in summer programs, or then we keep the heifers and put them back in the herd. So uh we have two sets of coriani cows. Some of we have the straight black ones, we keep the straight cori, and some have some color or browns or something, and we breed them to Angus.
SPEAKER_00:Jody, I want to shift to you for a second. Tell us about your event center.
SPEAKER_02:For years, we would for the horse sales that we would have or events that we would have, we would have to rent a big tent, like a circus tent. Then you always had the issue in October of it being cold, rainy, or snowing, you never knew. So at one point we decided we were gonna um stop renting the tents because they were getting very high in liability and everything on them. So we built a building to have the horse sale actually in with the horses, and then we built an event center. And um we made it, you know, so that it was commercial and the restrooms, everything just kind of kept snowballing bigger than what we had anticipated. But um, when you weren't having sales, you had to have some sort of an event in there to um pay the expenses on the building and so forth. So I started doing weddings and receptions, class reunions, family reunions. Um, we uh hosted the Cattle Barons Ball for Cancer uh three different occasions and catered it at Ainsworth one year, and it all happened out of that event center.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's called Figure Figure Four Traditions. Where's the name come from?
SPEAKER_02:Well, the Figure Four is our brand, and then we wanted to at the time just have traditions in there because we'd always kept it, you know, more into the western flair.
SPEAKER_00:Jody, let me start with you. Uh where where is your house located, where you guys actually live?
SPEAKER_02:We live um at the Ackley Valley or at the South Headquarters. And um we just we live here um right over the hill from the barn. And um Craig built this house the year before we got married, just a small um house and for he and Shaley and I. And um then, let me see, Sage would have been in '87, we had a chance to buy a barn that Craig's grandfather had built in Ogallala, and it's where he had the Colts in the uh winter and that were weaned colts, and Craig would rode or you know, rope there after school and so forth. And we had it moved out here and added it onto the original part of the house. So we actually live in a barn.
SPEAKER_00:For someone who's never been to that part of Nebraska, maybe they're not even from Nebraska, describe what it looks like looking out from your house. What's the view?
SPEAKER_02:Oh gosh. Um sand hills in our rolling hills. There's not a lot of trees. If there's any trees, there's have to be ones that we've planted. And um it's just a beautiful open country with rolling hills.
SPEAKER_05:With a with uh just an unbelievable um color scheme in the sunrise and an amazing color scene on the sunset. Yeah, amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Craig, what's your favorite season in in the sand hills?
SPEAKER_04:All four of them. I love it. I love every season. Um, you know, springs, cabin, going to grass, summers, uh hayon, falls, uh branding in Jall is, you know, about three, three and a half months of your horseback about every day. Preconditioning, shipping, sex and weighing. Um in the winter, you try and get some extra things done when you don't have time to do it any other time, and you'll be feeding some, but I love all four of them.
SPEAKER_00:Describe what happens at a branding at Haythorne Landing Cattle.
SPEAKER_04:We have probably four neighbors that help us. Uh gather a pasture, cut a few cows off. Uh, we still brand with a wood fire. I don't like to listen to those propane burners. Uh we usually brand one bunch in the morning, one bunch in the afternoon. Uh used to take as well, we used to have four ranches, and now we have two, so we've kind of concised it some, but uh used to take us about three weeks when we pulled a wagon everywhere, but it it took longer because you know you went everywhere horseback, uh pulled a wagon with teams. Uh it just took longer. But now we brand in a everything in about a week.
SPEAKER_00:Craig, how old were you when you first rode a horse?
SPEAKER_04:Uh well I wanted to go with them uh they were shipping one fall and I wanted to go with them and we had it. My dad built a uh it was kind of a portable you put it on the bed of a two-ton truck. It had three double beds in it, uh propane stove uh cupboards but it had you had to walk up about seven steps because it was on the the bed of a two-ton truck well I wanted to go with them when I was four years old. Well my dad wanted me to go but my mom kept saying no he's too young he's too young. So anyway I went to open the door one day and the wind was blowing it jerked me out on the steps cut my lip knocked the tooth out well dad dad take me home needless to say I didn't get to go back for a while.
SPEAKER_02:Jody how old were you when you got on a horse oh gosh I think about I mean there's pictures of me riding with my dad or with my mom when I was like two years old so very young.
SPEAKER_04:Beyond uh Yellowstone wasn't tell me about your affiliation with Lonesome Dove weren't you uh the movie Lonesome Dove weren't you all involved a little bit with that well are you thinking of uh Bobby Duvall in the movie when they moved the horses from Oregon well I wasn't calling him Bobby I was calling first name basis good for you what'd you say well he and my dad were great friends fact is he we used to have a New Year's Eve party here and he came to one of our New Year's Eve parties once because he was in the area but yeah even my dad were great friends they he he called me on the phone and when he says Robert this is Robert Duvall you're going yeah right you know what neighbors pulling a prank but anyway Waldo had had a stroke and was in a wheelchair and he said I want to come see Waldo and he had his girlfriend at the time which is now his wife and I said well we're having a New Year's Eve party tonight and he said well don't tell anybody you know who I am or whatever.
SPEAKER_02:So Waldo and Belle were here we had a live band and did a you know prime rib dinner and the whole bit and and everybody just you know kept treating it because we told all the employees now do not let on that that's Robert Duvall or anything. Well pretty soon people especially when he got up and danced with his girlfriend because they're great dancers but anyway he um they started figuring it out and then pretty soon everybody was over there wanting an autograph. A little pictured and but it was a fun evening.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah didn't you guys teach him uh about uh or uh how to ride a horse and that type of thing no not at all oh really he knew it ahead of time yes now uh James Conn James Conn came here and my dad taught him how to rope that's what I was thinking he was make he was making a movie in the area and we became friends with him and my dad taught him how to rope at its peak how many cowboys did you have working for the ranch?
SPEAKER_04:Well we used to operate four ranches and in the summertime I suppose we worked uh 18 to 20 men pretty conservative and did you have some that worked for you for a long time well there were two brothers that worked for the family for like 52 and 54 years uh we just lost a boy a year ago that worked for me for 48 years we have a guy working for us now that has been here 38 or 39 years another guy that's been here over 20 years uh we've been blessed all our life with great people that worked there.
SPEAKER_00:Out of curiosity are most of your water sources have you convert converted to solar or are you still using traditional windmills?
SPEAKER_04:We still have a lot of windmills but we have several solar anymore and if we put in a new well we usually just put it in solar but we still have a lot of windmills.
SPEAKER_00:Jody let me ask you a question what's what's the best part of being out there on the ranch?
SPEAKER_02:Me okay aside from Craig what's the best what's the best part you know um this is it it is hard work but it is the best way of life and the best way to raise our kids and we're so blessed that they came back here after college and are raising their families here but um you know it there's certain freedoms and there's also certain things that tie you down but they we've all been very blessed with with our life here.
SPEAKER_00:So with the next generation next two generations there on the ranch what type of legacy do you hope to leave both for your family but also those who appreciate the ranching tradition?
SPEAKER_04:I mean you would like for to remain in the family forever uh but as I mean I've seen a lot of changes just in my life uh things have you know thirty years ago we didn't have skid stairs you know you did everything unloaded salt unloaded sack cake by hand uh there's so many things that have changed the ranching industry uh everybody used to stack hay in the sand hills well it took you know six to eight men at least now everybody bails and it takes two or three so there's been tremendous changes as far as uh labor wise on ranches and automation how you do things it's it's extremely changed just in my lifetime so jody let me ask you a question I understand Craig recently received an award what was that award oh he was um awarded the um Golden Spur Award in Lubbock Texas and the Ranching Heritage Center there gives that award each year and it involves seven different organizations uh six six excuse me uh the the National like Cattlemen's association AQHA American Quarterhorse Association several of the ag the main ag uh associations vote on the top rancher of their choice you know that's done the most for like ranching in the ag world and so Craig received that award congratulations Craig well thank you I told him they must have run out of recipients if they went to Nebraska that's not true Craig you're a legend did you give a speech what what if so what'd you talk about in your speech they flew Christy gnome from South Dakota down there to interview me and give me the award jody did that make you jealous no we were all very surprised though because they hadn't told us anything about that and she and her husband flew there and um so you can watch it it's on YouTube but it was very interesting um and Craig had sweat bullets for a month or so every day trying to work on what he would say in a speech and then I think he about fainted when he first walked out there and she was gonna interview him.
SPEAKER_02:So but it it was really good.
SPEAKER_00:Craig what what what did you say? Well I talked about the boys uh Jody family history uh mainly just you know my life and everything but when I first got out there I couldn't hear because they didn't have your mic on the mic wasn't hooked upright and I couldn't hear and I told her I said you're gonna have to give me that microphone she said boy you just kind of speak right up don't you so but anyway it was it was a great interview I think uh everybody enjoyed it and they everybody enjoyed her she was very professional and I mean I didn't I didn't know her from Adam until that night and when I got back there behind they said this is Christy Nome I go from South Dakota and they go yes because I knew that South Dakota thought the world of her as a governor so it was a big shock when she was going to be the interviewer yes so I'm going to ask each of you a question you both get the answer individually Craig I'll start with you and we ask all of our guests this question and you get one word what is your one word that best describes Nebraska where Haythorne Landing Cattle was founded in 1884 and still exists and thrives today what's your one word for Nebraska blessed I mean my dad and my mom traveled a lot I don't fly but they were in several foreign countries and everything and my dad always said year in and year year out the sand hills in Nebraska is the best cow country in the world not just in the United States but in the world so I've been blessed where I live I have a blessed family uh my life has been blessed uh rodeo ranching I've just had a very blessed life jody what is your one word for Nebraska that that's a hard one to follow you can you can steal his too that's okay because I I feel the same.
SPEAKER_02:Well again it's just the way of life um that we live here I I just think the sand hills in Nebraska is such a special place and um and and we've you know been privileged or blessed and all of those things that uh to raise our family here and now our grandchildren here and it's just hard to beat.
SPEAKER_00:Well Craig and Jody I want to thank you for your time it's been great catching up uh you're wonderful people so thank you so much. Well thank you well thank you for thinking of us and uh appreciate you doing this thank you if you enjoyed this episode consider subscribing on Spotify Apple or your favorite podcast app. Share it with someone who might find it of interest as well. And please keep on listening as we release additional episodes on Nebraska that's great communities Nebraska's number one industry agriculture and the folks like the Haythorns who make it happen.
SPEAKER_03:Thanks. This has been 93 the podcast sponsored by Nebraska's law firm Rembolt Ludke
