R.A. Brown Ranch

Fast Facts • R.A. Brown Sr. helped organize

AQHA. • R.A. Brown Sr. and R.A. “Rob”

Brown Jr. are both inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum.

• The ranch bred Thoroughbreds with Steele Dust mare to produce horses for the U.S. Cavalary.

• The Brown family went on cattle drives to move cattle to the stockyards.

Robert Alexander Brown was a native of Virginia, born in Culpepper County, near Brandywine Station, February 22, 1833. He grew up working with cotton, cattle, horses and mules. Upon coming to Texas at age 17, he located in Galveston and was employed as a salesman in a mercantile business.

He later moved to Calvert, Texas, where Robert Herndon (R.H.) Brown, his oldest son, was in the cattle business. Records show R. A. sold Angus bulls in the 1890s and even sent a boat load of cattle to Cuba in 1895. R.H. Brown moved to Jack County, Texas where he had a small ranch and his son R. A. Brown was born in 1902. When the Fort Worth Stockyards opened in 1903, R.H. Brown sold the ranch and bought an interest in a cattle commission company there.

R.A. Brown Ranch

The entire ranch has developed through merging Brown, Thomas and Donnell family ranchland, some dating back as early as 1876. The Brown part was established by R.H. Brown, operator of a livestock commission company on the historic Fort Worth Stockyard during the early 1900’s. R. H.’s son, R.A. Brown Sr., managed the ranch and also helped organize AQHA. He is a member of the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame, and his son, R.A. “Rob” Brown Jr., served as AQHA president and has also been inducted into the Quarter Horse Hall of Fame. Most recently Rob was honored by the National Pedigreed Livestock Council as the 2006 Distinguished Service Award and in 2007 by the Beef Improvement Federation as a distinguished “Pioneer Breeder.”

R.A. Brown Ranch

When R. A. (Rob) Brown Jr.’s grandfather established his Throckmorton, Texas, ranch in 1903, one of the first things he did was to make sure he had some top horses. He had been in the cattle business since 1895, and he knew the value of a good cow horse.

Rob says his dad had a number of good horses, including one called Tubal Blake, which had the Blake and Steeldust breeding of the early days. But he thinks the one that is really the foundation of their breeding program today was a horse called Blue Gold, which they got from the 6666 Ranch.

Blue Rock was by a Thoroughbred named Lost Cause who was a U.S. Military Remount Service Program stallion stood at the ranch.

What was the Remount Service Program and how did these horses have an impact on our military?

What was the Remount Service Program?

The United States Remount Service operated from 1908 to 1948 and produced quality horses. They were constantly searching for a better mount, one that could do the job under saddle more efficiently, stay sound in spite of hard use and have sufficient speed when needed. The search for athletic and mental ability led to a study of practical conformation and an understanding of bloodlines.

The remount program also gave way to the develop of mounted sports. These were always popular with cavalrymen. Horse shows, gymkhanas, polo, steeplechasing and jumping were all popular contests. These sports added to the continual training programs required to produce effective soldiers and mounts.

• During the peak years, the Remount Service placed 700 stallions on ranches and farms throughout the country.

• The United States Remount Department gave ranchers an economic reason to raise better horses.

• There were over 1 million horses used in World War I. They were used a cavalry mounts on the front line and transportation. They also pulled heavy wagons with food and ammunition and carried individual packs holding large artillery shells. The war would not have been won without them.

• During World War II, tanks and aircraft were seen more regularly than in earlier wars. However, horses were still used in difficult terrain in areas of Oahu, Hawaii, and were used in large scale operations with the 10th Mountain Division in Italy and Operation Mars in Burma.

• Countless well-known American Quarter Horses trace their ancestry back to one or more Remount stallions.

The ranch has also been assertive in wildlife management, including whitetail deer, wild hogs, turkeys, quail, dove, and many tanks stocked with hybrid fish (Tiger Bass).

Today R.A. Brown Ranch is owned by the Rob Brown family. In addition, there are seventeen grandchildren coming along in the family operation.

R.A. Brown Ranch

Though recognized as a working family ranch for over five generations, the Brown family gives much recognition to their loyal, dedicated, hard-working employees who work daily with them to reach the ranch’s goals.

The mission statement of the R.A. Brown Ranch is very clear: "We are striving to improve the efficiency of converting God’s forage into healthy, nutritious, great tasting BEEF to better feed His people." This progressive ranching operation will continue to grow as it raises more cows, kids, and Quarter Horses.

R.A. Brown Ranch