Our Ranch
Talking Waters - Our Story
by Jo West Lauter

Once upon a time, in a land where the wind blows free beneath the broad Wyoming sky, a boy grew up learning the lay of the land and the ways of the creatures with whom he shared it. Life on the cattle ranch of Ed Stuckenhoff's boyhood may have been simple -- but it certainly wasn't easy -- and the honest necessities were always readily apparent. From his earliest youth, the boy understood that on a ranch like the one his family operated, the most valuable commodity, outside the product, is a good horse. Early on, it became evident that horses carrying Arabian blood were the most stalwart, the hardiest, the most game. And so it was that a seed planted itself in the heart of the boy, and the dream of one day helping to perpetuate the best of that Arabian blood took root and began to grow.

It has been said that life is like time and a river, that the streams of our lives flow inexorably toward the fulfillment of those goals born of our most cherished dreams. For Ed Stuckenhoff, this maxim has proven true. The heart-held hope that drew him ever forward is, today, reality. In a magical place nestled safely in the shadow of Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains, Ed and his lovely wife, Bobbi, are living Ed's dream on their own piece of paradise.

There are a few regions on this earth that God has blessed with a special kind and degree of peace. The promise of heaven that calls itself Talking Waters is one of those uncommon sanctuaries. There was a time when immense herds of buffalo roamed freely across this land and throughout the region that surrounds it. And there were Indians whose lives revolved around the great, shaggy creatures. The American natives who roamed the vast Western wilderness before civilization arrived to defile their land, came, in the proper seasons, to this place of rare serenity where the waters talked and the winds were calm, where peace permeated the air, enveloping in its gentle thrall all who visited. Even the animosities between warring tribes curled into the air on the smoke of friendly campfires when they met on this hallowed ground. Today, a hundred years and more since the buffalo were slaughtered and the peoples they fed were herded onto reservations to be imprisoned by their sorrows, the waters remember ... and talk on.

Just over a half century ago, Ed Stuckenhoff's father purchased the BB Brooks Company Cattle Ranch, then operating on a little more than 100,000 acres in northern Wyoming ... not far from the place of the "talking waters." In the best 20th century custom, the Stuckenhoffs successfully raised both cattle and sheep. As the operation grew, another 20,000 acres were acquired and through good times and not so good, the Stuckenhoff Ranch maintained and prospered. Four years ago, Ed and Bobbi were convinced to part with half of the family ranch holdings, a sale that enabled them to begin the realization of Ed's aforementioned dream. First came the acquisition of a 2,200-acre tract of land once cherished by the natives of the region, a place that named itself, quite naturally, Talking Waters. Next came the collecting of a top quality mare band, the seed stock for the Arabian horse breeding ranch of the couple's shared dreams.

Among the most important members of that mare band is the exquisite Princess Huck V, a daughter of Huckleberry Bey out of a daughter of the immortal *Bask. Volumes could be written about the pedigree of this exceptional mare, but the element most important to the breeder is the tail-female line, which, in this case, is one of the most beautiful, most powerful in the breed. Through the lovely Mekeel-bred MHR Princess Bask, to the Hallany Mistanny daughter Halany, to the unparalleled Ghazna, dam of Ga'Zi, The Princess carries the power of immortality. The strength of her pedigree is what makes a Princess of the show ring. The potent, predictable tail-female line of that Princess's heritage is what will one day make her a queen in the broodmare band.

In the time-honored tradition of the best horse breeders, the Stuckenhoffs wanted to prove their most promising mare in show ring competition. Given their fondness for the Western-style performance horse, it was natural that Ed and Bobbi would connect with one of the Arabian industry's most successful Western trainers, Bob Hart Jr., at whose skilled hand The Princess has bloomed and come into her own. In addition to training their Princess, Bob has enjoyed extraordinary success with the Stuckenhoff's national-winning working cow horse

Having collected mares of The Princess's caliber, Ed and Bobbi decided it was time to look for a stallion of equal greatness and complementary attributes. Says Ed: "We felt that the wonderful mares of our band deserved the best stallion we could find. Our search led us to a horse that represents a spectacular fusion of those qualities of solid beauty and performance ability that we so treasure in the Arabian horse. When we first laid eyes on Rave, we knew he was the one. No other stallion had captured us to the degree he did ... he literally gave us goosebumps. We're so excited about this horse and his future as a show and breeding stallion, we can hardly contain ourselves."

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Talking Waters Ranch
Bobbi Stuckenhoff
149 Robinson Canyon Rd.
Buffalo, WY 82834
Tel: 307.684.2624
Fax: 307.684.0984
E-mail: info@talkingwaters.com