By Sarah Hill
Photos courtesy Krogman family
The Krogman Ranch shares stories galore about building its successful horse and cattle programs.
It all started with a horse. High-quality American Quarter Horses have been a staple of the Krogman family, White River, S.D., for more than 80 years. With such a legacy behind them, the Krogman family is continuing to produce outstanding mounts for cowboys, barrel racers, and reining and cutting competitors throughout the horse industry. In addition, the family successfully manages a herd of 1,000 commercial cows.
The Early Years
Frank Sr. and Agnes Krogman moved from Iowa to South Dakota in 1917, along with their 15 children. The seventh child, Louie, developed a passion for horses, and helped his father with the 75 to 100 broodmares and 12 to 15 stallions. Frank Sr. and Louie would visit neighboring farms in the region breeding mares for other farmers. One year, Frank Sr. shipped 13 carloads of horses back to Iowa to be sold at auction.
In 1934, Louie married Lillian and started a family. Louie and Lillian were the parents of Ronnie, Barbetta and Dorothy. Louie purchased the current Krogman Ranch property during this time and always ran many horses, in addition to purchasing the auction barn in White River. Louie proved to be quite the salesman, boasting a sale of 2,500 horses sold in one summer and selling 600 horses to one buyer in one day. The same fall, Louie sold another 728 horses through the White River auction market.
Louie married Eunice in 1949 and the couple had five children: Stanley, Casey, Steve, Lorena and Neil. Louie was the driving force behind Krogman Quarter Horses, owning and raising several different types of horses over the decades.
Foundation of the Horse Herd
In 1950, Louie bought the grand champion stallion at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Tom B Glover, which became the foundation of his American Quarter Horse herd. At that time, American Quarter Horses were determined registered by the American Quarter Horse Association, and the horses owned by the Krogmans that were declared registered American Quarter Horses were called “Krogman Mare”.
“From a young age, Dad (Louie) had a picture of a horse in his mind, and he always said that when he saw that horse in real life, he was going to buy him,” Steve Krogman said. “When Dad went to Denver that year, his ideal horse was at that show, and he bought him. That horse ended up being an American Quarter Horse.”
Speed and versatility were two traits Louie favored, as he was interested in racing. He raced several horses from 1953 to 1976 and was very successful in that endeavor. Three of Louie’s favorite race stallions were Go Joe Bar, Leo 3, and Folly Bird. The offspring of those stallions went on to excel at barrel racing and roping events.
Over the years, the American Quarter Horse program has utilized stallions including Paprika Pine, Zippo Blue Pine, Smart Little Romeo, Playlight, and Watch Jo Pac.
“We’ve always wanted to raise horses that their owners can use for multiple events, and the American Quarter Horse covers all those aspects,” Steve said. “We wanted a horse that would get a cow in and watch that cow.”
Steve notes that clients’ expectations of their horses have changed over the years. For example, there are horse owners who just want hobby horses, while other buyers are interested in working horses that can compete in reining or cutting events.
Unique Solution
“Our horses can go out and look good and still perform with the upper echelon of their class,” Steve said. “Our American Quarter Horse program really changed in 2012 when my brother, Ronald, found Cant Kick This Cat. If it wasn’t for Ronald finding that stallion, Krogman Ranch wouldn’t even be where we are today. Cant Kick This Cat changed our whole program.”
The Krogmans bought Cant Kick This Cat sight unseen - not knowing that he had an injured stifle. Once the Krogmans brought home the stallion, it was decided that due to the stifle injury, Cant Kick This Cat wouldn’t be able to breed their mares in the pasture as they’d previously done.
“We had to figure out a way to use him to breed our mares without turning him out,” Steve said. “Cant Kick This Cat could mount a mare, but if she moved, he couldn’t follow her.”
Ronald’s talent was being able to build anything, according to Steve, and so Ronald constructed a contraption for Cant Kick This Cat with places for his hooves so the stallion could mount a mare and she would stay in place. This approach worked well for about six months, until Cant Kick This Cat got spooked and wouldn’t use the apparatus anymore.
“We decided to AI mares instead, but due to the stifle injury, Cant Kick This Cat couldn’t detect mares in heat,” Steve said. “So, someone had the idea to use a stallion that’s had a vasectomy to detect heats.”
The Krogmans talked with five different veterinarians before finding a vet who had previously done vasectomies on pigs and other species and was willing to try it on a stallion. The procedure worked, and four more studs were given vasectomies and turned out with the mares for heat detection.
“We use AI to breed 50 to 70 mares each summer, and we have a 90 percent conception rate, which is unheard of,” Steve said. “The rest are pasture bred.”
Sadly, Ronald passed in 2022, and they lost Cant Kick This Cat last year. Ronald’s daughter, Janelle, has taken over her father’s place working with the horses. Since then, the Krogmans have cultivated other stallions for their breeding program, including Metallic Avator, Mystery Boon, Son Of Hottish and CR Tuffest Catolena.
All in the Family
The Krogman Ranch is truly a family operation, with several of Steve’s siblings operating their own segments of the business on nearly 40,000 acres of owned and leased land.
Lorena and her husband, Gene Hight, and their three children, Shelsey, Matt, and Elliott, focus on producing reining horses. Shelsey is a teacher and also takes all the photos of the horses and puts together the sale catalog. Matt works full-time on Krogman Ranch and is slated to become one of the major decision makers for the operation. Elliott works for Cherry-Todd Electric Cooperative.
One of the top reining horses in the U.S., Whiz My Nu Chex, calls Krogman Ranch home. “They’ve had really good luck with that palomino,” Steve shared. “He’s produced nice colts that have been shown and won points and colts that have done a lot of roping, too. We’ve got a bunch of daughters out of Whiz My Nu Chex.”
Bluprint is the newest reining stallion on the ranch, and thus far, his colts are still untested on their riding ability.
Neil and his wife, Kristi, focus on raising barrel horses. Their oldest daughter, Alyssa, ran barrels all through high school and college. Today, Alyssa leads the charge of flushing, artificially inseminating, and implanting embryos into recip mares while also working full-time as a nurse practitioner. Alyssa’s husband, Josh Hicks, also works full-time on the Krogman Ranch.
“She has a stud called Fame And Champagne, and she’s getting really nice colts out of him,” Steve said. “She’s also very excited about the first colts out of Gott No Regrets, a palomino stud.”
Steve and his wife, Leigh, have three sons. Louie and Ethanie have daughters Stevie, Avery, and Carter; Jake and Jessica are the parents of Ella, Kennedy, and Jenson; while Wyatt and Brittany have two boys, Stratton and Russell. Their family focuses on cow horses, and Louie, Jake, and Wyatt all run their own livestock on the Krogman Ranch.
Steve had taken the reins for several years in the late 1980s, before his father passed away in 1991.
The Krogman Ranch will host their 72nd annual American Quarter Horse production sale in 2024, which is how the family markets all of their horses.
All horses and cattle are range fed year-round. Stallions get a reprieve during the winter, when they’re kept in box stalls.
With any family operation, there are bound to be some snags, but Steve said it’s sad to see when families let ranching and business get in the way of family bonds. “We all get along really well, and try not to worry about the little stuff,” he said. “Jealousy and greed get in the way of progress for the whole ranch. Everybody told us that when our parents passed, it was going to be way different, and it is, but we’re making it work.”
Don’t Forget the Cow Herd
In addition to their thriving American Quarter Horse programs, the Krogmans also have a cow-calf herd of 1,000 head of commercial cows. The cattle are primarily Angus/Hereford crosses to produce black baldy calves. The Krogmans don’t have specific bulls they prefer, and all females are pasture bred.
“There’s a lot of genetics involved in raising the most efficient cattle to produce the most pounds with the least amount of costs,” Steve said. “Milk production and disposition are also big factors for breeding. We look at a combination of genomics and phenotype.”
The Krogmans put up hay all summer long to supplement feeding all those animals, but for the most part, the cattle graze.
Top end replacement heifers are saved each year, and calves are typically marketed through private treaty, although the Krogmans have sold cattle in every possible way over the decades. The last four years, their entire calf crop has gone to one repeat buyer.
Thinking About the Future
Steve said that the older generation has been thinking a lot about the future recently, and there’s still some uncertainty about what the future holds for the ranch.
“We would all like for the family to keep the ranch going, but my sons all have jobs off the ranch, so there will have to be some decisions made,” he said.
72nd Annual Horse Sale:
Sunday, September 1, 2024
12:00 pm CST - Valentine, Neb.
learn more at www.kquarterhorse.com
Comments