AQHA Honors Wyoming Ranch with 2021 Best Remuda
April 23, 2021
Honoring a long legacy of ranching, Miller Land & Livestock is the 2021 AQHA Best Remuda winner. Since 1992, the American Quarter Horse Association has honored the contributions ranch horses have made to the heritage of the American Quarter Horse by presenting each year the AQHA Best Remuda Award to a ranch that raises outstanding ranch horses.
Based in Big Piney, Wyoming, the ranch is managed by Mike Miller, along with his wife, Tara, and their sons, Will and Wes.
The Millers manage an operation of about 2,400 cow-calf pairs and 1,800 yearlings on land some of which was first ranched in the late 1870s and that has been in their family for more than 125 years. The Millers brand their cattle – Irish Black, Hereford and Angus crosses – with the historic “67” brand. Their operation is spread out and requires many miles of riding. Cattle are moved around, worked and doctored regularly all year long.
“It is a horseback outfit,” said Mike.
Their American Quarter Horse breeding program has existed since AQHA was founded in 1940. Most of the Millers’ horses have spent their lives as working ranch horses, but they include notable show, rodeo and other competitors. Mike is a very accomplished non-pro in National Reined Cow Horse Association competition, with earnings of more than $600,000 – most earned aboard homebred horses and all self-trained.
Among the horses bred on the ranch is the late Playboys Buck Fever, a son of Freckles Playboy that the family bred, competed on and owned. Playboys Buck Fever earned around $60,000 in competition and has sired the earners of more than $356,000 in reined cow horse competition, including two NRCHA superior reined cow horses.
The ranch currently breeds 15-25 mares per year.
Miller Land & Livestock will receive a specially designed award presented during the AQHA Breeder Banquet tentatively scheduled during the 2022 AQHA Convention, and the ranch will be featured in The American Quarter Horse Journal.
Learn more about AQHA Best Remuda award.
Source: AQHA
