Prunty Ranch History
The Prunty ranch is located about 80 miles north of Elko, Nevada, nestled against the foothills of the rugged Jarbidge Wilderness Area. The ranch stands as a working monument to a bygone era and to the dream and determination to leave a legacy.
From broncs to bridle horses, the Prunty family’s horse operation has spanned a century and five generations. Horses have been a mainstay in the operation since the very beginning.
From broncs to bridle horses, the Prunty family’s horse operation has spanned a century and five generations. Horses have been a mainstay in the operation since the very beginning.
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In 1894, Earl Q. Prunty settled near the mining town of Charleston. He had come to the area with his father, Pinkard, who was seeking his fortune in gold. While Pinkard gathered and sold mustangs to raise money for his mining venture, Earl came to love horses and the ranching way of life. Earl carved a productive ranch out of the rocky sagebrush landscape to raise his family, making the ranch sustainable with a range of ventures centered around horses. He produced a few local rodeos in the late 1930s and, during the Depression, sold horses to south-eastern states for work horses. He also marketed horses to the cavalry remount program. Horses often outnumbered cattle on the ranch. As his family grew, so did possibilities.
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In about 1948, Earl’s sons, Frank “Shorty” and Harold “Corky” hit the rodeo trail with the roughest of the bunch—a string of broncs that made its mark in rodeo history books, from local and regional open rodeos to the National Finals Rodeo. The horses Cornflakes and Broken Blossom are probably the most remembered, but a few of the other great ones were Royal Taboo, Hereford, Country Cousin, Lookout, Goldrush, Roller, Pathfinder, High Noon, and Bandoleer. While the horses were the foundation of the rodeo company, the Prunty Brothers produced entire rodeos, including the bucking bulls and roping cattle, subcontracting specialty acts, announcers, and other rodeo personnel. Shorty and Corky routinely worked as pick-up men. Click here to read a transcription of the article at left.
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The Diamond A Rodeo Company operated for about 20 years before the stock were sold and the ranch’s focus shifted to better accommodate family life.
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It was also in the late 1940s that another development in the ranch’s horse business came about. About the time rodeo season ended, hunting season began. One of the first licensed master guides in the state of Nevada, Shorty started guiding mule deer hunters in the wild mountain country surrounding the ranch.
The addition of hunting and outfitting to the operation has evolved over the years, and the family remains only one of three guide services permitted to guide in the Jarbidge Wilderness. The area continues to offer some of the best hunting and fishing opportunities in the west. Visit our outfitting page for more information. Hunting & Outfitting |
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When the bucking stock was sold to another rodeo company, Shorty began crossing the ranch mares with registered stallions to build what would become a line of ‘good using horses.’ Today, the majority of the ranch herd is AQHA registered. Throughout the years, the family has worked to incorporate more and more breeding stock from some of the best programs in the West. A number of well-known cow and running bloodlines are represented in the stock available today.
While pedigrees and breeding practices have changed substantially over time, the way the horses are raised has not. Just as it did a century ago, the high desert terrain plays an invaluable role in the horses’ upbringing—they are raised the way nature intended them to be, with the central goal of the program being to produce a horse that offers naturally developed instinct and abilities balanced with the inherent traits of proven quarter horse bloodlines.
“Training” begins at birth. Mares are turned out during foaling and the foals remain untouched and at their dams’ sides until weaning, allowing them to “just be horses” for the first several months of their lives. After the foals are weaned, they are halter broke and handled over the winter, and then turned out for the summer and fall of their yearling year to further their natural development. As two year olds, they are started under saddle with 20 to 30 rides, and then brought along in the vaquero tradition as they grow and mature.
While pedigrees and breeding practices have changed substantially over time, the way the horses are raised has not. Just as it did a century ago, the high desert terrain plays an invaluable role in the horses’ upbringing—they are raised the way nature intended them to be, with the central goal of the program being to produce a horse that offers naturally developed instinct and abilities balanced with the inherent traits of proven quarter horse bloodlines.
“Training” begins at birth. Mares are turned out during foaling and the foals remain untouched and at their dams’ sides until weaning, allowing them to “just be horses” for the first several months of their lives. After the foals are weaned, they are halter broke and handled over the winter, and then turned out for the summer and fall of their yearling year to further their natural development. As two year olds, they are started under saddle with 20 to 30 rides, and then brought along in the vaquero tradition as they grow and mature.
Shorty Prunty with his horse Canary, in 1946 after winning the snaffle bit class at the Elko County Fair.
Now, nearly 75 years later, the family remains dedicated to buying, using, and raising good horses. They enjoy competing in working cow horse events, ranch rodeos, ropings, and running the occasional horse race.
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Photo credit from left: WT Bruce (2), David D. Kimble, Miller Rodeo Photography, Kathy Bengoa, Sandy Black