Wyoming... the Cowboy State
a little known land of
history, beauty, extremes...
Talking Waters Ranch is a remarkable place, tucked away in the northern Rocky Mountains, at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains and the Cloud Peak Wilderness area. Quiet...private...beautiful, a place that has an energy all it’s own, a permeating peacefulness. No better place to raise fine Arabian horses.
Bobbi Stuckenhoff & Max Torbert are the heart of Talking Waters.
Talking Waters was born from an historic ranch established in Wyoming Territory of the 1800’s, a large, traditional ranch that raised both cattle and sheep along with hay, alfalfa and corn silage. It was a ranch that ran from the lowlands up into tremendous, high mountain country. Tho’ they wouldn’t necessarily admit it to outsiders, the old Wyoming horsemen knew that only an Arabian or an Arabian/Quarter Horse cross had the bottom, the stamina, necessary to cover all that country. Even though the Arabian breed hasn’t been bred specifically for cow sense they are so smart, so interested in the world around them, that they quickly become accomplished cow ponies. And thus began their love of the Arabian...
“The world has enough mediocre horses. If you can afford to raise horses, you should raise the best ones you possibly can”. So began their quest to produce the rarest, most wonderful horse of all... mountain raised to be tough, imprinted at birth to be gentle, quintessential bloodlines for brains and beauty. "We won’t settle for 'just a halter horse' or 'just a performance horse'. We know that the best Arabians can do both. We have the horses to prove it".
In Talking Waters horses you will find bloodlines of the most athletic and influential horses in the breed, own sons and daughters of immortal sires like Huckleberry Bey, Bey Shah, Fame and Khemosabi. You’ll find the National accolades that substantiate what TW horses can do... winners in Western Pleasure, Halter, Hunter, Sidesaddle and Working Cow Horse. But nothing can compare to visiting the ranch, walking in the verdant pastures and having a band of mares and babies come running to greet you... the indescribably lovely smell of “horse”, the soft nuzzle from a foal, the kind nicker.
And the folks at the ranch? Hermits by design, travelers by nature, and at their core, great lovers the horses.
Bobbi Stuckenhoff has lived on the ranch life always, with a passion for breeding and foaling, working livestock, irrigating, driving big equipment - - whatever needs to be done on a ranch, and that’s a bit of everything. She's currently having great success in the Burkman Centre show barn. Their kind and talented trainers have coached Bobbi to her first Res. National Championship and Regional Championships on some of Talking Waters talented mares. At the ranch she often prefers to head out to the hills bareback with only a halter, one of the perks of having such beautifully trained horses.
After a career in public service including Assistant City Manager and Director of Leisure Services for the City of Casper, Max Torbert, a Wyoming native, has “retired” to Talking Waters. It's startling how much of his experience is so relevant on the ranch... his knowledge from being in charge of all things recreation; ski area, golf courses, pools, and most importantly running the Casper Events Center, booking fabulous entertainment from rock concerts to the National College Finals Rodeo, (called "The Rose Bowl" of rodeo). They all have a direct application to the business of raising horses. Best of all... he’s a natural with the horses, who settle under his touch.
It’s a special life here on the ranch. "And the trips to Scottsdale and Nationals to see the TW horses and 'our babies' showing so beautifully... well, that’s pretty indescribable. Wonderful. Makes your heart swell, puts a lump in your throat"
... Yup, all those cliches. They’re true.
