"The State of Affairs:  It is a very sad state of affairs here in Eastern Oregon when you can look at two GREAT RANCHES like the Roaring Springs and the White Horse and see what they have not become or stayed as.  I have Buckarooed on and been around both of these places as well as the TS and Maggie Creek since the late 70's and it just makes me sick.  I am not going to get into a name calling game but these Leppy's need to be worked over.  Maybe we need to have a Buckaroo Strike.  I think this means dont work and chastize the ones that do.  There are plenty of family places looking for good buckaroos and cant find them...Thanks and keep up the good work....J****"

"Stacy Davies is a lying trash cowboy and a political whore.  He'll never answer your roast, I can tell you that.  He is a spineless piece of crap.  I was around him just long enough to see through his little game.  He should be run out of this country and banned from every cattle operation in the world.   Anonymous******"

"hope this meets you with good health and spirit.  the updated page is awesome.  fuck the white horse ranch.  men like that disgrace the traditions thats been in the making for generations by people that deserve to be called cowboy, buckaroo, vaquero, or gaucho.  one of my college profeesors asked me what cowboy or buckaroo means, hes never really understood the full termonology of that word.  i tried telling him that you are it, but you dont call yourself that.  we are just what God made us.  no more no less.  you cant define a mans life by a mere word.  too much is that term used too loosley by men and woman that want to be it but arent willing to sacrafice the ammenities of life.  they will wear the hat and chinks, but wont live the life.  you cant put a term or word on working a nevada winter, or a fire season in northern california movin cows from summer grass to summer grass.  people ask me what i do, i jsut reply that i work my ass off for the men that pay me.  no more, no less.  i am what God made me, and i thank him every day for that. "  J********** 

"I was so glad to see and read yer Roasting page this month its about time somebody called these assholes to the carpet. I think we all know where this is all leading, Thats the demise of the cowboy way of life as it has been known for over a century. So, what happened to bein' a stand up guy? To the traditions and moral fiber that has always been the root of ranching and the cowboy way? I reckon they don't feel the need to take care of there own! WARNING TO THEM: becareful who you step on on the way to the top!!!  I for one am willing to "go down with the ship". At least I'll have my dignity and hope I can show a little class on the way out. So tonight I will raise a glass to the unmoveable BUCKAROO GUIDE for being who we all can be real proud of!!! "   A**********

  ROASTED! 

READ BETWEEN THE LIONS, PEN RAISED GUNSEL RANCH OWNERS AND COW STARVIN' MANAGERS...

For July.....We Roast:

Maggie (AKA Maggot) Creek Ranch, Nevada

Roaring Springs Ranch, Oregon

The Whitehorse Ranch, Oregon

With a quick swipe at the Newmont Mining owned T Lazy S Ranch out of Battle Mt., Nevada (AKA Tough Shit Ranch)....

Maggie Creek!   Sometimes affectionately referred to as MAGGOT CREEK by it's denziens.  Based out of Carlin, Nevada...once home to the likes of Larry and Toni Schutte, Martin Black, Royce Hansen (based at The Red House), Gene Campbell, Jose Gonzales, Robert Bennett and the nefarious Two Rein Jane (based at the Hadley - in a trailer which has long disappeared). 

  Exit here....

Below:  Robert Bennett, Bruce Negri and Two Rein Jane, Maggie Creek Ranch's Team Penning entry at Elko Fair sometime in the 1980's....

Maggie Creek....For 18 dedicated years of service....home to Terry Riggs - former Span Ranch and Marvel Brothers/Tom Marvel Ranches buckaroo - experienced, loyal, hard working and respected....  Below: Riggs family tintype by Robb Kendrick; Joe Marvel, Terry Riggs and us, Marvel Brothers Ranching, running down oreanas up on Mt. Tobin above the Buffalo Ranch, summer of 1981, Kurt Markus photo....

Then....one day....rather out of the blue....no notice...no nuthin'.....he's abruptly dumped for a younger model..... 

2007: Maggie Creek burns....

  So it is, Green King casts a leering spiteful gaze at  MAGGIE CREEK RANCH MANAGER JON GRIGGS and hisses SHAME SHAME SHAME....for his two-faced quote in the Elko Free Press this past week in an article titled "21st Century Cowboys: Working with nature offers its own riches": 

"For anyone that is willing there is still opportunity for them," Griggs said.  "No matter your age, if you did a man's work you were respected as a man."   

  Hmmm just add a dab of garlic butter and...yeah Jon, yer tasty....

Shame on Maggie Creek for playing the age game...something that is happening more and more on many spreads in the ION...when younger lesser experienced hands are replacing the old guard with all the knowledge of the works and the cattle and the layout and the land.  T'aint right.  This ain't to say...there arent' good young hands out there because there are..but many of them (those that can that is - some are tied down with families and can't) are leaving....fed up with the mismangagement crap, and fleeing the ION country and heading to parts south and north...due to the demise...of many of the big ION outfits, leaving behind...what?  Who?  With what kind of knowledge and experience?

Newmont Mines owned T Lazy S Ranch out of Battle Mt., Nevada is pulling that little number with one of it's own hired hands too...we're not naming names...but you big boys reading this can READ BETWEEN THE LIONS.....  Nevada sources tell us recently right before they branded they moved some cows....and suddenly came up with 60 motherless calves....  Sold at $200 a head...gee...so who got the $12,000 bucks?  The price for casting off old age and wisdom for a degreed and  diapered kid out of college?  Come on Newmont, wake up and use the same sense some of our own military and intelligence agencies are using: hiring back the old guard for their experience, wisdom, maturity and stability....  Just 'cause a guy can't fork some broncy colts anymore does NOT mean you slap him with moving water around and bottle feeding leppies....you're so big on mining, why don't you tap into that goldmine there in your older hands?  Well????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE WHITEHORSE RANCH & ROARING SPRINGS RANCH

Two venerable historical ranches out of Frenchglen and Fields, Oregon.....have become....what?  Tourist meccas?  Skeleton, hide and tallow outlets?  Dude ranches?  We hear horror stories...of starving cattle and no water and managers asking the mail carrier what to do and how to run the place....we hear...the entire crews have quit recently....  We thought it best to reprint the words (authors will remain anonymous) from sources on the Ranch Board (see below) rather than trying to regurgitate it all.  What we WILL say is: total bullshit!  NO EXCUSES....for this type of crap.  

The Whitehorse website:  http://www.whitehorseranch.info/ 

Sorry...but WE AIN'T payin' SIXTY BUCKS A NIGHT to sleep in a fuckin' TIPI.

Dude ranch for the rich, eh?  Such a sorry end to a historical ranch; we are sure it's founders roll in their graves to see what it's become....

We see where RANGE Magazine did a little suck up piece on STACY DAVIES of the ROARING SPRINGS RANCH in 1999:

http://www.rangemagazine.com/archives/stories/summer99/roaring_springs.htm

The comments (regarding Whitehorse & Roaring Springs Ranches):

 I guess the entire buckaroo crews have quit both ranches in the last month.  It was so bad at the Springs that one of the roos asked to be put on the hay crew instead of being under the direction of the almighty mormon cow boss Stacy Davies. He did work for the Deseret, you know. He does have this ranching thing down to a science- he has figure how many cows he can lose in the winter and still turn a profit by not buying any hay. I don't know if the loss of a calf was figured into this scenario or not. In addition this ranch was given the environmental stewardship award by the NCBA. I believe it was for wildlife habitat since the coyotes have been fed well. I guess the nice part is since Stacy took over you don't have to worry about hitting a cow on OR 205 hwy because the cows are too weak to climb out of the barrow pits.

The Whitehorse has become a dude/cattle ranch and has been asking their mail carrier how to run the operation. Granted the mail carrier is a handy booger in his own right- so he explained to the cook/caretaker that they may want to get the cows off the winter feed instead of using it all up this summer....

All I am asking is WTF? Any thoughts?

 You could not pay me enough to work for either one of those F---ING ABORTIONS!!!!!!!
I know guys that have worked on both crews over the past few years, What a F---ING JOKE!
Their is more stupid shit that goes down on those two outfits than you could document in a f----ing book. The sad part is, both outfits will continue to operate because their are enough dink wannabes out their that dont know anybetter that are willing to work for them just so they can say they are a buckaroo. I wont even say the names of these outfits outload any more out of respect for the punchers that made their names their and those that have came and gone. WHAT A F---ING TRAVESTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 The sad part isn't some rich fellow it is the fact that they hire some dink without common sense to be the cowboss. I know Stacy personally and wouldn't walk across the street to p!$$ on his guts is his @$$ was on fire. He is an arrogant fool who made his way in life because he is part of the mormon religion.

The rich fellows problem is their total lack of regard for the people in the area which make their living doing exactly what he is playing at and not taking to heart their suggestions. The mail carrier in this situation is my FIL and he does that so he can maintain the ranch so Luke and I might be able to run it in the future. He has the knowledge and experience in the area and hopefully the caretaker will take his suggestions to heart.

It is sad that those places which were once a buckaroo destination have now become a millionaires playground but what do you do to fix it?

 Hell there are places all over going to hell like that. Shit there are bunch right here in AZ doing the same damn thing. Run by out of staters that cant get around shit wont try to get around shit so they run all the good help off and then all they gots is a bunch of dinks from some where else who dont know the country dont know the cattle and they just let shit get away. Welcome to the new west where the more retarded you are the further you get!

 It is happening everywhere. A buddy of mine got fired from this shithole http://www.pawsup.com/resort/ back when it was just a ranch, because the new owners didn't think he "fit the image" of a true Montana cowboy. The owner is from Las Vegas and is a giant f*&%ing shithead, that tried to trade mark "The Last Best Place", so only he could use it. It turned out for the best though, because now they have a bunch of tourist running around there and a shitload of Single Action Shooting Society wannabees running around "cowboyin" on that place. They all wear monogrammed shirts, you know, real cowboy shit.

I have had friends quit the Roaring Springs ranch because Stacy had them work Christmas, not to feed cows but to preg check them. He wasn't there nor was his wife or 5 kids he expected the help to do it.

I see the starving cows at the Roaring springs and how the brush has taken over the meadows.....

  Stacy Davies from RANGE article

We don't care if you're Mormon, Catholic, or Baptist or a non-beleiver.....  There is NO excuse....NO EXCUSE for what is going on up there......and if the Mormon Church knows about it...well...shame on them for not doing something to stop it.  Stacy, you cowboy enough or do you even CARE to answer these allegations from not just ONE but SEVERAL SOURCES?  You got explanations?  BRING 'EM ON.

The WHITEHORSE needs a reality check.....and some new EXPERIENCED management....who don't wear suits and come off of Wall Street.