ASPEN SNOW POLO | IG Magazine by ICON.GLOBAL

ASPEN SNOW POLO 2016 ICON GLOBAL FIRST LOOK 2017

FL A SHBACK : 2015 Aspen World Snow Polo Championship Six Teams Compete in the Magical Mountain Village of Aspen

THE GOLDEN AGE OF POLO A.B. “Buster” Wharton and His El Ranchito Polo Team and Club

THE RESERVE and SULPHUR BLUFF R ANCH A Masterfully Planned Retreat with 14,500 Acres

SANDOW L AKES R ANCH A Central Texas Sanctuary with 33,777 Acres

CROCODILE DUNDEE VS. VANIT Y FAIR Nacho Figueras & Bernard Uechtritz Faced Off at 2015 Snow Polo Championships in Aspen

THE W.T. WAGGONER R ANCH A Texas Landmark with a Matchless Legacy is SOLD

Features

WHO IS...

The History of One Man and the Success of International Icon Properties

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SOMEWHERE IN TE X AS

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SOUTH CREEK R ANCH

5,000 Acres in Dallas County

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CONGR ATUL ATIONS AND SPECIAL THANKS TO MARC & MELISSA GANZI NACHO & DELFINA FIGUER AS and the

FOR HOSTING THIS YE ARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 2016 WORLD SNOW POLO CHAMPIONSHIP

ICON.GLOBAL PROUDLY SUPPORTS OPENING DAY AT THE ASPEN VALLE Y POLO CLUB

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THE WORLD SNOW POLO CHAMPIONSHIP December 16th, 11:30am - 3pm The Aspen Valley Polo Club December 17th, 12 - 3pm Rio Grande Park December 18th, 12 - 4pm Rio Grande Park Relax and Watch World-Class Snow Polo Action from the VIP Pavilion while Enjoying Light Mountain Fare from the St. Regis Aspen Resort, along with Complimentary Cocktails. visit WorldSnowPolo.net to purchase tickets

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Fl ashba c k 2015 Aspen World Snow Polo Championship PHOTOS by NICK TININENKO

THE 2015 ASPEN WORLD SNOW POLO CHAMPIONSHIP DREW SIX TE AMS TO THE MAGICAL MOUNTAIN VILL AGE OF ASPEN, COLOR ADO for a 20th anniversary celebration of the snow polo event, with the US Polo Assn. team (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini and Nic Roldan) defeating Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bollini and Jeff Hall) in a hotly contested match with spectacular falls in the game that featured father against son (Juan Bollini, Sr. vs. Juancito Bollini) and mother against son (Melissa Ganzi v. Grant Gazi), but there was plenty of excitement to go around. World class professional players and invited guests gather each year to close out the year’s sometimes grueling global travel and playing schedule, in one final and very competitive effort in the snow to be King of the Snow on Aspen Mountain. Friends, family and team mates at home and off the field these professionals set that aside and leave it all on the snow one last time in a final guts and glory blowout to end the season in what has become the hottest ticket in town. These players have played across the globe throughout Europe, Australia, Argentina, and Dubai, Thailand, Hawaii, and of course coast to coast across the USA. Nic Roldan, the Gracida brothers Mariano and Carlitos, Tommy Biddle, Martin Pepe, Brandon Phillips, father and son Juan and Jauncito Bollini, Jeff Hall, Martin Estrada, Nacho Figueras and many more.

Snow Polo Hosts, multiple team owners and founders of Aspen Valley Polo Club Marc and Melissa Ganzi leave no detail overlooked in ensuring world-class brands, world-class players and VIP exclusive guests, all get what they came for — a world-class event! Marc and Melissa Ganzi have, over the past decade, changed the face of US Polo. Their investment into teams, clubs, polo-centric real estate developments and signing of the very best players from east to west have made an impact unrivaled virtually anywhere in the world, certainly within the US. Their Grand Champions Polo Club complex, programs and other initiatives have eclipsed the former 800-pound gorilla and epicenter of the sport in Wellington, Florida, “The International Polo Club”. Grand Champions is now the focal point of Florida High Goal Polo, all the while incubating juniors and novice players. It’s an absolute outstanding and unfathomable effort and contribution to the game. While their financial investment into the sport can only be guessed at, still it pales in comparison to their personal vision, time, family and emotional commitment which is obviously enormous, and further underscored by their commitment to giving back and ICON GLOBAL

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enhancing the sport and its governing body in the US, The US Polo Association (USPA). Among their hundred other roles, including father, mother, husband, wife, team captain, club managers, team owners, keepers of sponsor and brand contentment and so much more, Melissa Ganzi is the Circuit Governor for the Florida circuit of the United States Polo Association; President of the National Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame; Secretary/Treasurer of the Polo Training Foundation; President of the Grand Champions Polo Club and the Aspen Valley Polo Club; and serves on the International Committee and the Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Committee of the USPA. Melissa is also the owner of ChukkerTV. Marc serves on the USPA’s High Goal Committee. All of which takes a colossal commitment of time, resource’s and effort. It all came to a peak with a Wednesday night draw at the St Regis Hotel, followed by Thursday competition at the Aspen Valley Polo Club’s indoor arena with six teams battling it out in three-team two round-robins for the seeding positions in the following days at Rio Grande Park and right to be King of the Mountain in the World Snow Polo championships. Here are the 2015 results and highlights of some of the action. www.ICON.GLOBAL

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U. S. POLO A SSN. WINS S T. REGIS WORLD SNOW POLO CHAMPIONSHIP A stellar team effort by the U.S. Polo Assn. (Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini and Nic Roldan) Saturday afternoon at Aspen’s Rio Grande Park carried them to a resounding 10-5 win over a powerful Flexjet team (Melissa Ganzi, Juan Bollini and Jeff Hall) as they rode off with the 2015 St. Regis World Sow Polo Championship before an enthusiastic crowd in the Colorado ski resort town.

CONSULTATION FINAL - AUDI 7, SANDY L ANE 3 Only the fourth player in the history of the game to attain a 10-goal arena handicap, Audi’s Tommy Biddle scored five times and demonstrated a solid defensive effort Friday afternoon at Aspen’s Rio Grande Park as Audi (Marc Ganzi, Ricky Cooper and Tommy Biddle) drove over One Sandy Lane (Bash Kazi, Martin Estrada and Brandon Phillips) for the St. Regis Cup in a consolation match of the 2015 St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship.

S T. REGIS HOTEL’S FE ATURE MATCH - CHUKKERT V 6 ½, S T. REGIS 5 Scheduled as a feature match after the final, this game became a test of international wills and skills in an absolute crowd pleaser as tempers flared while an Australian and Argentinian rivalry battled in a neck-and-neck thriller finish with a capacity crowd on their feet and vocal to the very end. A successful World Snow Polo Cup debut, earned Bernard Uechtritz MVP honors while Nacho Figueras’ mount, Merlot, was named Best Playing Pony. ICON GLOBAL

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Golden Age of Polo

COURTESY: VERNON DAILY RECORD

DURING THE GOLDEN AGE OF POLO — THE L ATE 1920S THROUGH THE E ARLY 1950S, THE SPORTS WORLD’S E YES WERE ON VERNON, TE X AS AND THE W.T. WAGGONER R ANCH. Leading the charge was A.B. “Buster” Wharton and his famous El Ranchito, “The Little Ranch” in Spanish, polo team and club. While “Buster” Wharton was well known for his ranching and oil activities, he was perhaps better known as the man who put Vernon on the sports map with the Zacaweista Polo Grounds. He also d built the famed polo club and team El Ranchito east of the Arlington Downs Racetrack constructed by his grandfather W.T. Waggoner between Dallas and Ft. Worth.

Beginning the late 1920s and through is death in 1963, “Buster” Wharton and his famous El Ranchito team competed with their high-powered Texas brand of polo throughout the state, around the United States and across the world. Always in their trademark blue shirts with red and white stripes and three Waggoner DDDs across their helmets and boots, the El Ranchito polo team became well known for being fierce competitors, racking up tournament victories for many years. Wearing the El Ranchito jersey were some of the greatest players to ever play the game such as the 10-goal great Cecil Smith, Harold Barry, Roy Barry, ICON GLOBAL

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Tommy Hitchcock, “Rube” Williams, Billy Skidmore and Jesse Smith to name a few. The polo and sporting legacy that “Buster” began in Vernon at the W.T Waggoner Ranch still remains strong as many of the sons and grandsons of the El Ranchito polo team and club still compete across the polo fields of Texas, the US and around the world. “Buster” Wharton made sure that everyone knew that no one could out ride and out play a team from Texas! • IG www.ICON.GLOBAL

KEY FAC TS •

2,500 Idyllic, Very Private Acres Hidden Retreat Resort

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with Authentic Texas Ranch Lifestyle •

Extraordinary Luxury

and Eclectic, Exclusive Comfort

World-Class Amenities

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and Hosting Capabilities for: High-Security Executives, State and National Politicians, Music & Film Celebrities Just 1 Hour from Dallas / 10 minutes from a Jet Strip

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Multifaceted Lodging

35,000 SF Timber-Beamed Lodge with Exquisite Gardens Cabins and Cottages and Luxurious Apartments • Clean Architecture, Subdued Use of Wood and Stone and Beautiful Pine Trees •

Abundant Recreational Opportunities Golf Course, Shooting Range, Equestrian Facilities, Collector's Garages, Greenhouse and More •

Magnificent 100+-Acre

Ski/Boating/Fishing Lake •

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Multiple Stocked Fishing Lakes and Ponds

Surrounded by Woods and Wetlands with Abundant Wildlife

MORE THAN A R ANCH, this 2,500-

acre idyllic and very private, almost hidden retreat resort absolutely defies the imagination and defines the very best of authentic Texas ranch lifestyle with a Four Season’s finish. Exuding a simple tranquility and functional excellence, the ranch goes beyond pampering both its owners and guests into a realm of extraordinary luxury and eclectic, exclusive comfort. This ranch is simply an Icon: one of one. Containing world-class comfort, amenities and hosting capabilities, this secret and secure ranch lies just an hour from Dallas and 10 minutes from the nearest jet strip. It has hosted — in both comfort and security — economic and leadership summits and retreats for high-security executives, state and national politicians, countless rock and country music stars as well as celebrities of all kinds. It is also capable of hosting and handling several large families and groups of 50 or more at once for extended stays in the multifaceted lodging, cabins and luxurious apartments that go beyond the main lodge, expanding the maximum capacity while providing privacy and intimacy, when desired. More than a ranch, it is truly a private luxury resort with a distinctive “less is more” approach, exhibiting clean architectural lines, subdued use of wood and stone and bunkered service buildings built

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Somewhere in Texas

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FIRST LOOK

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AVAILABLE

FOR OFFERING IN

SPRING 2017

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into hillsides. Some features are even obscured by massive boulders and hidden by grooves of beautiful pine trees that flourish throughout East Texas. If the Queen of England owned a family royal retreat disguised as a ranch in Texas, it would be this one. Detailed in design, impeccably maintained and meticulous in thought, planning, landscape design, architecture and use of space, the estate is breathtaking. It features an incredible 35,000-square-foot, timber-beamed lodge with exquisite gardens, golf course, boat house, multiple cabins and cottages, tennis courts, driving range, paintball course, shooting range, equestrian center, a chef ’s organic garden and greenhouse and garages for car and toy collectors — all sequestered and combined across the hills and dale in an idyllic and incredible setting encompassed by scenic ski and boating lakes. It is all wrapped up in and surrounded by an incredible mix of serene rolling hay fields with woods and wetlands with abundant wildlife. In its discerning class, this ranch is by far and away the single most outstanding example of tasteful “money is no object” design, craft and construction in Texas. This ranch resort will be offered on the open international market by Icon Global in the spring of 2017. In the meantime, by invitation to principals only, private exclusive preview tours are available, as well as list of amenities, capital improvements, historic and other preliminary property information. Access to electronic and physical data rooms and video /photography links will also be made available to pre-qualified, approved and invited principal prospects who execute a non-disclosure agreement. • IG

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FIRST LOOK

South Creek Ranch

AN INVESTOR, L AND BANKER & MASTER PL ANNED COMMUNIT Y DEVELOPERS DRE AM! 5,0 0 0 ACRES IN DALL AS COUNT Y

AVAILABLE

FOR OFFERING IN

SPRING 2017

The qualities of a Tommy Ford-built masterpiece are simple: quality materials, attention to detail and respect for both the client and the environment. Like its exceptional and world-class residence, South Creek Ranch mirrors those values and unveils itself as a property not just built, but crafted; not just placed, but planned — all awaiting an owner who desires the best without compromise. “Potentially, a discerning private and secure haven just minutes away from the metroplex itself, or quite possibly the greatest master planned community to add value to the great city of Dallas.” In Texas, there’s often a fine line between the city and the country. In many areas, what stands as countryside one day quickly sees the encroaching city the next until it all becomes part of the quickly spreading metropolitan network. South Creek Ranch features 5,000 acres of bucolic rolling hills, lakes and valleys. Yet, even with its peaceful and secluded setting, the ranch lies just 20 miles and a 20-minute drive direct south on I-45 from Dallas’ most notable amenities, including upscale shopping and dining, sporting venues, as well as the bookends of Klyde Warren Park – “The Federal Reserve and Museum Tower” located in the Uptown/Midtown financial , corporate and museum district areas. South Creek Ranch is quite possibly a much-needed

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respite for the herculean growth of DFW and Dallas County and, in any case, definitely a master-planned community developer and land investor’s dream. The incredible topography allows for stunning vistas from every angle and literally hundreds of potential home building sites. It is crisscrossed perfectly with countymaintained roads and easy access all round, an important factor for a developer along with the already newly built schools in the Ferris Independent School District. In one corner, the ranch features a headquarters and an owner’s grand, gated estate home and compound with helipad, lake and high fence. It’s a masterpiece of craftsmanship and planning that would, in any edition, compete with any home featured in Architectural Digest and stands as a testament to the quality and sophistication standard with a Tommy-Ford built home. With a mix of sandy loam soils, giant trees and designer-perfect topography the balance of South Creek Ranch is covered with improved coastal Bermuda grass pastures, several hundred head of red Angus cattle and a few African exotics. In its own right, South Creek has been a long time in the making and today is a vibrant, operating and robust cattle ranch in the very true sense of the Texas word. The view to the north is framed by the magnificent and prominent skyline of Dallas, the robust engine and

KEY FAC TS • Potential Master-Planned Community 20 Minutes South of Dallas •

5,000 Acres of Bucolic Rolling Hills, Lakes and Valleys- Creeks and Lakes •

20-Minute Drive from Dallas

Sporting Venues, Klyde Warren Park, Uptown/Midtown Financial District and Corporate and Museum Districts •

driver of the ever-expanding DFW Metroplex expected to grow from a now bursting-at-the-seams 7.5 million people to an almost unthinkable 21 million by 2023. The view to the east and south are endless. Herein lies the inherent value of this unique South Creek offering! The conventional residential growth of Dallas is mostly positioned in the northern suburbs of Frisco, Plano, Argyle and Lewisville. Unfortunately the only way for downtown executives to commute to these areas is to brave the hectic and crazy bottlenecks of the North Dallas Tollway, I-35 and US 75 North or any number of increasingly overwhelmed sub-arterial thoroughfares.

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On the other end of the spectrum, the corporate centers, financial districts, cultural districts and the heartbeat of the ”live, work, play” emergence is all located on the south side of the city. Just 15 minutes south on multi-lane interstate I-45, the 1st exit at Ferris puts you immediately home. There is no other planned-unit residential development between Ferris and Dallas of consequence. But there is a multimillion dollar modern hub and logistics development “South Port” and many other rapidly developing industries and investment.

Planned Business Loop – By Pass – contiguous

Headquarters with Gated Estate Compound, Helipad, Lake and High Fence •

Main Residence is

Tommy Ford-built Masterpiece • Hundreds of Potential Home Building, Golfing, Equestrian, & Outdoor Recreation Sites

County-Maintained Roads and Year-Round Access

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South Creek will be offered on the open market by Icon Global in the spring of 2017. Price and terms available upon qualified request and executed non-disclosure agreement. • IG

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Newly Built Schools in Ferris ISD •

Varied Topography

with Sandy Loam Soils, Giant Trees and Coastal Bermuda Pastures •

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Several Hundred Head of Red Angus Cattle and a Few African Exotics Operating and Robust Cattle •

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Ranch

Stunning Dallas Skyline Views to the North

Easy Drive to Dallas/Ft. Worth

International Airport & Corporate Dallas

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Who Is...

Seachelles Photo ICON GLOBAL

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BERNARD UECHTRITZ?

Today the name is associated with a successful entrepreneur, an award-winning real estate broker over a dozen times over and founder of the global brand International Icon Properties (Icon.Global), but to understand today, one must see yesterday through a clear lens. What motivates a mongrel-bred kid to not only succeed, but excel in the intricate, fast-paced and competitive world of the real estate industry? The Uechtritz family is the “David versus Goliath” story of a small noble family that originated from the East Austrian Thüringen Knights of the early 12th century. In the short version of the legend, the year is 1187-ish and the current emperor has left his castle guarded by one of his knights and a small band of soldiers. For many days, the loyal knight and his small band’s defenses were tested as they came under repeated attacks by a large army trying desperately to overtake the castle. But although they tried, throwing the full weight and overwhelming numbers of the larger force against the walls, the castle held strong. The lone knight, skilled both in combat and strategy, always outmaneuvered his opponent. Eventually, with supplies and energy exhausted, the leader of the opposing army tried one final “trick”. He sent a messenger on horseback to the gates of the castle. Calling up to the battered, but unbroken walls, the man yelled up to the knight and his men, “Surrender the castle with honor and, in return, we will ‘spare’ your life!” Half amused by the leader’s attempt to sway them into believing he had the upper 20

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hand in their duel, the knight climbed to the top of the castle’s highest turret and shook his fist at the army that shadowed the once verdant hillside with their weapons and horses and camps. They had come to his land, to the home of his family and not only dared to tread on its beauty, but to stain it forever with the memories of needless bloodshed. They dared to take that which they held no claim, dared — in their arrogance — to conquer those who they thought lesser. Little did they know the knight’s strength of will and much did they underestimate the man they sought to intimidate. Lifting his voice, he faced the massive force and shouted into the wind that flowed through the valley and up the hillside, carrying just two words: “Ich trutz!” (I resist!) Shortly after, the very gates at which the messenger stood did fall, but not at the will of the army. From within the walls, the knight led his soldiers into the heart of the larger force and, after a fierce battle, left the bulk of the army fallen and the rest fleeing for their lives. And thus, the castle was saved. When the Emperor returned, he gave the heroic man the status of a free knight and the right to use the Emperor’s shield and symbol of keys as his coat of arms, along with the name “Von Ich Trutz” as his descriptive surname. Many years later, the Ich Trutz name evolved phonetically to become simply Uechtritz (You-Tridge). And when one of the Von Uechtritzs married a commoner, the “Von” was dropped to simply become Uechtritz. 2017 FIRS T LOOK

THE UECHTRITZ FAMILY IS THE “DAVID VERSUS GOLIATH” STORY OF A

“Queen Emma”

SMALL NOBLE FAMILY THAT ORIGINATED FROM THE EAST AUSTRIAN THÜRINGEN KNIGHTS OF THE EARLY 12TH CENTURY.

And like every great origin story, a family history holds two sides. Richard Parkinson was born under a cloud of scandal, but lived and left a legacy. The illegitimate son of an heir to the Danish throne, Duke Christian II of Denmark, Richard was the result of an affair with one of the duchess’s ladies in waiting. Unwilling to see the bastard son ostracized and stifled by his name and situation, Richard was given to the king’s head groom (Parkinson) of Augustusborg Castle to be raised and educated. Later, Richard met and married Phebe Coe, sister of Queen Emma Coe (also known as Queen Emma) and daughter of Joana Coe née Le'utu, of Samoa's Malietoa Royal family and Jonas Myndersee Coe, the United States Consul in Apia. Richard, a botanist, scientist, ethnologist and author, and Phebe, an excellent linguist fluent in English, German, French and Samoan, made a lasting and positive mark on the formative modern years of Papua New Guinea’s native people. They also worked and lived with famed anthropologist Margaret Meade for many years. They brought education and agriculture in the form of cattle ranching as well as coconut and cocoa plantations.

Their daughter, Dolly Parkinson (Bernard’s grandmother), married Peter Karl Uechtritz and their son, Alfred “Alf” Max Parkinson Uechtritz was Bernard’s father. On his mother’s side, Mary Louise Harris runs an equally colorful heritage and lineage of Scots, Scandinavian and English relatives who were WWI and WWII heroes, including a British spy killed in Iran and more.

Phebe with native Papua New Guineans Phebe Coe

Today, the generations of Australian New Guinean Uechtritzs remain a small, proud and tenacious entrepreneurial family. Bernard, along with many of his brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, proudly carry “Ich Trutz” somewhere on their body in honor of father and grandfather “Alf Uechtritz”. “I carry mine tattooed across my back and shoulders,” said Bernard. “It reminds me of the weight my father carried throughout my family history and the duty I carry today in all I do. It’s the family code of tenacity and resilience and I’ve tried to put every aspect of the values and traditions I learned from my history, my parents and my own experiences into building my own life.” ... continued on page 50 ICON GLOBAL

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WELCOME WORLD SNOW POLO TE AMS & FANS!

ALL ABOUT

POLO PONIES ALTHOUGH the name “polo pony” has become a misnomer over the years, the original American polo mount was limited to 14.2 hands in height by rules and was developed from the tough cutting horses of the western cowboy. Now, selected from some of the top thoroughbreds in the country, the polo mount displays the very finest qualities of the thoroughbred.

polo pony is perhaps one of the finest trained animals in the world. The stamina of a polo pony can’t be compared. They carry up to 200 pounds — and sometimes more — they have to be pliable to their rider’s direction, stopping, turning when they are fully extended and have to have the endurance to stay at top speed for seven minutes, the length of a chukker.

Most players agree that the polo “pony” represents75%-80% of a player’s game. Not restricted by breeding, the mounts are usually at least three-quarters thoroughbred or better. The characteristics of the thoroughbred, which make it so ideal for the game, are that it has more stamina, goes farther, faster, and has a better disposition for polo. Because the game is very hard on the “ponies”, they may gallop as much as three miles in each chukker, and the sudden stopping and turning imposes considerable strain — the polo player needs a string of mounts. No player plays two successive chukkers, and each player rides at least three ponies in the course of a six-chukker match (in highgoal polo the players arrive at the field with no less than six horses apiece, and usually more, and change to a fresh mount after each chukker of play). No longer limited as to size, today’s average pony is from 15 hands (a hand is four inches, and the horse is measured from the withers) to as much as 16 hands, and will weigh between a thousand and eleven hundred pounds. The average age of the ponies is about nine

years, but their playing life may last into their teens, depending on the level of polo that is played and the health of the horse. Carefully trained for at least one year before playing polo, the ponies develop keenness and skill and show great cleverness in anticipating the run of the ball and in placing themselves at the best distance from it for the rider to make his stroke. The raw product recruited from western ranches, or the vast estancias of Argentina, are usually four to five years old and well broken. Compared to other animals, the ICON GLOBAL

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The care and feeding of these fine mounts is important. They must have the finest feed available, and they must be bedded down at night in a way that would be quite comfortable, even by human standards. The average polo pony works an average of five to ten miles every day, according to the number of games it has played. In high-goal polo most players carry at least 10 horses, whereas in lower goal competition, because the slower speed of play, not as many mounts are needed. With players placing such a premium on their horses, it is easy for the average spectator to understand why these highly trained mounts are so difficult to find. Without the polo pony, polo would be just another stick and ball game. • IG www.ICON.GLOBAL

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14,50 0 -ACRE RETRE AT

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The Reserve and Sulphur Bluff Ranch Valued at Approximately $100 Million Available Turn-Key / Offered Together or Separately by HENRY CHAPPELL

SET HIGH ABOVE T WO FORKS OF A TE X AS RIVER, THIS MASTERFULLY PL ANNED 14,50 0 -ACRE RETRE AT

features world-class waterfowl and upland bird hunting as well as fly-fishing, sporting clays, and other shooting sports. Rich wetlands, cultivated fields, and expertly managed pastures evince a devotion to the best traditions of sport and agriculture. It even boasts its own vineyard. The seasoned staff at the 65,000-squarefoot limestone lodge welcomes the weary with creature comforts, superb service, and the finest fare. In 2005, Steve Hageman, founder and chairman of the board of Indianapolis-based Hageman Group, set his sights on acquiring top-tier farmland in the Lone Star State. The land was attractively priced and in some cases the quality exceptional. One tract caught his eye: a 14,000-acre parcel at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Sulphur River near the small town of Sulphur Bluff. From an agricultural standpoint, the property had it all: rich blackland soil, lush pastures, abundant post oak mottes, a mixture of gentle hills and bottomland, abundant surface water and proximity to Dallas. Previous owners included a European prince as well as a series of agricultural investors. The Midwest native immediately recognized the potential.

Hageman’s son-in-law, Shad Schenck, a pro angler, recognized something else: incredible wildlife habitat. The same ecological richness that powered the property’s agricultural potential also lured tens of thousands of ducks from the central flyway every winter. That also meant the presence of the requisite bottomland fertility needed to nurture largemouth bass in lakes and ponds. Oak mottes dotted long stretches of grassland and created miles of high-quality habitat and cover critical to countless species such as whitetails. With proper planning and long-term management, the surrounding uplands could become prime habitat for game birds such as bobwhite quail and pheasant. Thus, a unique hunting and nature reserve was born. First, the water. Thanks to 22,000 acre-feet of surface water, three reservoirs were stocked with largemouth bass. Smaller ponds were designed with fly-fishing in mind. Although the Sulphur River watershed provided superb waterfowl habitat, Hageman brought Shane Roethle on board. A wildlife biologist with a track record in Stuttgart, Arkansas, Roethle developed a program to optimize the mix of marshland plants ICON GLOBAL

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for waterfowl. Today, flooded corn, rice, and soybean fields and a green-tree reservoir draw in ducks by the thousands. To promote natural regeneration of smartweed and millet, the system draws down selected wetlands, thus exposing the soil to sunlight. This stimulates plant growth. These areas are then reflooded, creating ideal waterfowl habitat. Next, the uplands. Most Indiana farmers, including Hageman, know a thing or two about pheasant and quail habitat. The vast patchwork of cultivated fields and natural cover at The Reserve creates ideal habitat for upland game birds — and hunters. Before they get out in the field, most shooters like to limber up and sharpen their shooting eye. So Hageman built a shooting complex complete with pistol and rifle range, trap and skeet field, a 12-station sporting clays course, and a crazy quail bunker. The Hageman family envisioned a lodge with half a dozen guest rooms, but thinking small is not the way the family fortune was made. Hageman thought 30 rooms seemed about right. The family got on board, and from there on, the vision grew into a classic. www.ICON.GLOBAL

KEY FAC TS • 360º

View of 14,500 acres

• World-Class

65,000 sq.ft. Multi-faceted and Old World-inspired Lodge Adjacent 5,000-Foot

Jet Airstrip

• 100%

Off-Grid Capability

• Owner’s

Suite

5 Bedrooms - 5.5 Bathrooms Living & Dining Areas - Full Kitchen • Presidential

Suite

2 Bedrooms - 2 Bathrooms Living & Dining Areas - Kitchen • Founder’s

Suite

3 Bedrooms - 3.5 Bathrooms Living & Dining Areas - Kitchen • 28

Additional Full Luxurious

Guest Suites

• Energy-Efficiency

Throughout with LED Lighting and Premier Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems • Multiple

Professional Chef and Banquet Kitchens • State-of-the-Art

Technology Throughout with Over 15 Miles of Fiber Optic Network and Full Security Systems

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• Wine

Vault and Cellar

with Storage for 2,800 Bottles and Seating for up to 40 for Dinner • Full-Service

Spa and Salon

Full Independent Backup • 17-Acre

Power

Vineyard

with 17,500+ Vines plus a

74-tree Fruit Orchard (2016 Harvest - 57 tons) • Range

House

6,400 sq. ft. 2 Bedrooms - 4 Bathrooms • Shooting

Sports

Sporting Clay Course, Five Stand and Duck Roost shooting, Pistol and Rifle Range & Archery Course • Cabana & Pool House with 2 Guest Apartments – 4,400 sq. ft. • 50,000

Gallon Swimming Pool

with Geothermal Control

• Fitness

Center & Outdoor Kitchen

• Private

Driveway

2.1 Miles Gated and Sealed sq. ft. Lake House 4 Bedroom - 4 Bathrooms

• 6,000

• Private

Heliport

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For the building site, Hageman selected the highest point in Hopkins County. He had the lodge made with Texas limestone, roofed in slate, and floored in the post oak cleared from the property. In addition to 28 guest suites, the lodge features a 5-bedroom, 5½-bath owner’s suite, a 3-bedroom, 3½-bath presidential suite, and a 2-bedroom, 2-bath founder’s suite. A geothermal system heats and cools the structure. Those needing to take a break from the field can avail themselves of a giant swimming pool just a few steps away. The pool house is also a favorite setting on game days. In addition, a 4-bedroom, 4-bath lake house and a 6,400-square-foot range house are also available. To enhance the Old World feel, a vineyard and orchard were planted. In 2014, Hageman Reserve opened as a members-only club. Almost immediately, glowing reviews appeared in high-end sporting publications. Two years into the project, The Reserve had approximately 60 members and an ever-increasing waiting list. It was Steve Hageman’s hope that one or more of his children would take charge and run the family’s Texas venture, but the close-knit clan, Hoosiers to the bone, realized its future lay back home in and around Indianapolis. In July 2016, the Hagemans decided to put The Reserve on the market. Steve Hageman planned his reserve for a special membership. Likewise, the property will attract a special kind of buyer, and whoever that is will soon see that The Reserve is in pristine condition. The family chose Bernie Uechtritz of Icon Global to bring The Reserve to market. “One of the best things about this amazing property is that it’s multipurpose,” Uechtritz says. “It could continue to be a membershipbased reserve, yet it has plenty of room for homes with

beautiful views. The lodge could serve as a communal area or even as a guest house. It’s also big enough, yet cozy enough, for three or four owners to share comfortably. Everyone in Texas who knows hunting says there’s nothing else like it in the state or even the nation.” Another possibility is that a foreign buyer would use the property as a private residence. In addition, the professional kitchens, wine vault, and dining areas make the lodge an ideal focal point for a corporate retreat or headquarters for concerns looking to buy more farmland in Northeast Texas. A helipad is already in place. A jet strip can be found in close proximity. And there’s plenty of room for an airstrip on the property. “This place has its own power sources, security, internet, phone, water — everything you need to be completely independent of the grid,” Uechtritz says. “It sits off the main road on more than two miles of private, paved road. If you’re a world leader or Arab sheik, you can hunker down here as long as you need to. You’d have global internet, global phone, and global television regardless of what was going on in the outside world.” Better yet, you could enjoy some world-class hunting and bass fishing. • IG

For more information on The Reserve go to www.Icon.Global. This editorial was previously run in the Fall 2016 issue of The Land Report. The editorial is rerun here with permission. ICON GLOBAL

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S N O W P O L O FAC TS • THE BASICS: Polo is a ball sport, played on horses. Where one team attempts to

score goals by hitting the ball through their oppositions' goal with a mallet attached to the end of a 4 ¼ foot cane.

• THE FIELD: Arena polo areas (used in each and snow polo) usually measure

100-yards by 50-yards.

• CHUKKERS: Each polo match is divided in to “Chukkers”. A chukker is 7 minutes of

active play time and is supposed to represent the amount of time a horse can reasonably exert itself before needing a rest. There are four chukkers in a game, and there is a brief intermission at halftime — between the second and third chukkers.

• PL AYERS: In snow polo there are three players on a team in field. Numbers 1 - 2 are

traditionally attacking while the Number 3 players acts as the quarterback for the team on offense and a defensive player when the opponent is on the attack. However, as the sport is so fluid there are no definitive positions in Polo.

• HANDICAPS: Handicaps in Polo range from -2 to 10 “goals”, with 10 being the highest

attainable. It is so difficult to attain a high handicap that 90% of the players in the world are rated at 2 goals or less. A player’s handicap is based on his/her horsemanship, ability to hit the ball, knowledge of the game, strategy and teamplay. The handicap rating has no relationship to the number of goals the player may score over the course of the game. • UMPIRES: A mounted umpire referees the game. • THE RULES: The Rules of polo are centered almost in totality around safety. When

you have 1/2 a ton of horse traveling one way in excess of 30mph, you do not want to be hit by 1/2 a ton of horse traveling in excess of 30 mph the other way. Polo is inherently dangerous, which may be part of the allure; however, the rules go a long way to negate risk. Everything in polo is based on the “Line of the Ball”, an imaginary line created by the ball as it travels on the field of play. The “Line of the Ball” defines rules for players to approach the ball safely. These rules are designed to prevent serious injury to players and their horses. The “Line of the Ball” changes each time the ball changes direction. The player who hit the ball has the right of way, and other players cannot cross the “Line of the Ball” in front of that player. As players approach the ball they ride on either side of the “Line of the Ball” giving each access to the ball while reducing the risk of injury to players and ponies. A player can cross the “Line of the Ball” when it does not create a dangerous situation. Most fouls and penalty shots are related to players improperly crossing the “Line of the Ball”. • IG 28

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Sandow Lakes Ranch by ERIC O’KEEFE

VALUED AT $250 MILLION

MULTI USE/PURPOSE: AGRICULTURAL • RECREATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL • INDUSTRIAL • RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL

AND THEN THERE’S THE WATER… A CHAIN OF 14 L AKES, SOME UP TO 30 0 FEET DEEP.

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ALCOA’S STEWARDSHIP GOES WELL BE YOND SOIL AND GR ASS, WILDLIFE AND WATERFOWL . IT AL SO INCLUDES THE R ANCH’S MOST VALUABLE ASSET: WATER.

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A sea of water rights is the highlight of this 33,777acre Central Texas sanctuary, which balances endangered species and stewardship with industrial resources and productive agriculture. It defies the imagination, the story that Tommy Hodges is sharing. “That’s right. From the 1950s through the 1960s and 1970s and into the 1980s, this Alcoa plant was one of the largest aluminum smelters in the world. In our prime, the complex employed more than 2,400 people and produced a pound of aluminum every 11 seconds,” he says. Tommy’s words are hard to swallow because at this very moment we’re watching a pair of nesting bald eagles take flight just a stone’s throw from the industrial complex that was the epicenter of Alcoa’s operations. “They typically feed in those wetlands right below their nest. Plenty of little critters down in there. But what they really like is the tilapia in the cooling lake. Must be like sushi to them,” he adds.

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Spring has sprung in Central Texas, and we’re at the start of a six-hour tour. Tommy tells me that’s about enough time to see less than half the 50-square-mile property. He pilots his Suburban down a dirt road along the eastern edge of the ranch and then points toward a thick clump of trees. “Over here on the right, you can see the natural buffer that lines the perimeter of the property,” he says. Pecan, hickory, and other hardwoods tower above a dense canopy of cedars, mesquite, and other invasive species. Impenetrable scrub and lack of sunlight hinder ground cover of almost any sort. “Now, on the left, you’ll get a good view of one of the reclaimed pastures,” he says. In the near distance, a gently sloping carpet of crimson clover and white clover undulates down to a shimmering sliver of blue water. Along the shore, a flock of wood ducks is barely visible, paddling about. “This clover packs a lot of nitrogen, which is just what

this soil needs in early spring,” Tommy says. That was the comment that did it for me. I hit the brakes. Not on the Suburban but on our conversation. Tommy’s business card clearly states his position: Energy Manager. Yet for the last 30 minutes, the man has been all about touchy feely, tree-hugging notions such as increased biodiversity, habitat enhancement and land rehabilitation. When he drops the term “approximate original contour,” I push the Pause button. I’ve never heard the phrase. He quickly explains. The New Mexico native signed on with Alcoa in 1978 and was posted to Sandow Lakes Ranch in 1983. Back then, Alcoa’s primary focus was mining the lignite coal that powered the smelters. But the Alcoa team was also charged with creating a new terrain, one that had the “approximate original contour” of the ranch itself. On the advice of soil specialists, Alcoa took the hard-packed clay that formed the traditional topsoil and replaced it with loamy dirt unearthed by mining operations. The result? Simply stunning. The new topsoil exceeded Mother Nature’s best-laid plans.

Whereas the original clayey soil was slow to drain and inhospitable to all but the hardiest plant life, the rehabilitated terrain is fertile ground for productive agriculture. “Last year, we produced 15,000 round bales without a drop of irrigation water,” Tommy says. When I ask him the ranch’s true capacity, he shrugs off the question. “Three times that amount? Four times that amount? 50,000, 60,000 bales? I don’t know. We grow enough to pay the property taxes. That’s it. And if Alcoa grew much more, it would kill the market for round bales in who knows how many counties nearby. I won’t let that happen,” he adds. That’s not the story I anticipated when I first learned of Sandow Ranch Lakes. What I expected was a slick presentation from a Fortune 500 press agent. What I got was a good neighbor to a lot of folks in Milam, Lee, and Bastrop Counties whose stewardship has been recognized by the Department of the Interior as “The Best of Best.” Alcoa’s stewardship goes well beyond soil and grass, ICON GLOBAL

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wildlife and waterfowl. It also includes the ranch’s most valuable asset: water. The 14 lakes on Sandow Lakes Ranch cover 1,960 surface acres and contain 48,379 acre feet of the all-important resource. That’s just the start. Another 44,000 acre-feet of ground water is currently permitted from the Simsboro Aquifer. But wait — there’s more. An additional 14,000 acre-feet can be permitted out of the Simsboro Aquifer, which brings the groundwater total to 58,000 acre feet. If that weren’t enough, yet another source flows right through the ranch. Sandow Lakes Ranch has 1952 diversionary rights from the Little River for AND another 18,000 acre-feet.

All photos, including this image, taken on-site at Sandow Lakes.

THEN THERE’S THE WATER... A CHAIN OF 14 L AKES, SOME UP TO 30 0 FEET DEEP.

All told, this ranch controls more than 120,000 acre-feet of water just 35 miles from Austin, 70 miles from Waco, 100 miles from San Antonio and Houston. That’s right. Smack dab in the middle of a state that is projected to double in population by 2050. In the second half of 2016, however, Alcoa is scheduled to separate into two standalone, publicly traded companies: an upstream entity that retains the Alcoa name thanks to its strong history in the aluminum and alumina markets, and a downstream value-add company called Arconic that will provide high-performance multi-material products.

Sandow Lakes Ranch? It will be a part of neither. It is to be sold. Marketing a valuable and complex asset such as Sandow Lakes Ranch is no ordinary undertaking. The task requires a specialized skill set. With that in mind, Alcoa turned to Bernard Uechtritz of Icon Global in Dallas. Uechtritz is no stranger to these pages. In 2011, he led the marketing effort on Texas’s Camp Cooley. The quarantined ranch was in bankruptcy court and 34

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was about to be divvied up by warring creditors. The successful sale, which kept the property intact, was designated The Land Report’s 2011 Deal of the Year. More recently, Uechtritz spearheaded the global marketing campaign to sell the Waggoner Ranch in conjunction with Sam Middleton of Chas. S. Middleton & Son at the behest of the courtappointed receiver. The 18-month effort was covered by press outlets globally and was designated The Land Report’s Deal of the Century.

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“Sandow Lakes Ranch has a great deal in common with the Waggoner Ranch,” Bernie says. “To begin with, the ranch is a world-class asset. It’s also an agricultural powerhouse. And a recreational paradise. “And then there’s the water,” he says. When I ask Bernie who the buyer will be, he holds up his index finger. “A committee of one — just like at the Waggoner,” he says. “Someone who will be able to put a plan together to recognize and monetize the many assets at the property.”

Then he adds an all-important proviso: “But let me be clear: When Stan Kroenke bought the Waggoner, he was prepared to steward a Texas tradition, one with over a century and a half of history behind it. Thanks to Alcoa, Tommy, and his team here on the ranch, whoever buys Sandow Lakes will actually have the opportunity to create a new path going forward on a brand new landscape. It’s an exciting opportunity, one that has been decades in the making.” • IG

For more information on Sandow Lakes Ranch, go to www.Icon.Global. This editorial was previously run in the Spring 2016 issue of The Land Report. The editorial is rerun here with permission.

KEY FAC TS

33,80 0± FEE SIMPLE ACRES AVAIL ABLE IN T WO SEPAR ATE TR AC TS: 25,777 acres of highly improved pastoral and agricultural land with 14,100' to 300'± deep lakes •

8,000 acres, which include 1,000± acres of current industrial, warehouse, intermodal, power facilities and 7,000± acres of surrounding wooded recreational buffer property •

These two tracts are available either together or separately.

UNPAR ALLELED WATER RIGHTS & RESOURCES

100% of All Water Rights Convey Positioned within the Austin and San Antonio Interstate 35 Corridor

Surface Water Rights - 14 Deep Water Lakes with 48,379 acre feet covering 1,960 surface acres Ground Water Rights - 44,000 acre feet of currently permitted water rights with 14,300 acre feet available for additional permitting Diversionary Water Rights - 18,000 acre feet of senior surface water diversion rights

MINER AL RIGHTS

100% of Owned Oil & Gas Minerals Convey

Additionally, it is estimated that 200 million tons of lignite coal remain in the buffer Sandow acreage, all to convey.

E XISTING INDUSTRIAL / POWER COMPLE X

Turn-Key: Full utilities in place (electricity, gas, water, water treatment, fiber, and waste disposal), roads, railhead, intermodal facility, warehousing, manufacturing and distribution

INCOME PRODUCING MULTIPLE E XISTING & FUTURE REVENUE STRE AMS PROPERT Y TA X NEUTR AL ICON GLOBAL

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Crocodile Dundee vs. Vanity Fair

L A S T YE AR’S FINAL S of the World Snow Polo

Championships had the US Polo Team and Flexjet play in Sunday’s opening game with a US Polo Assn. team win; however, the consensus had the hotly-contested feature match between St. Regis and ChukkerTV as the draw of the day. As host Marc Ganzi exclaimed after the game “it was crazy good, the best match ever on the snow, the spectators absolutely loved it!” Riding for St Regis: Bryan Boyd, Carlitos Gracida and Nacho Figueras. For ChukkerTV: Bernard “Bernie” Uechtritz, Mariano Gracida and Martin Pepe.

by ALEX WEBBE

While the St. Regis team featured international heartthrob Argentine 8-goaler Nacho Figueras, the man voted by Vanity Fair readers to be the second-most handsome man in the world; the face of Ralph Lauren; pal of England’s Prince Harry and the most recognized player in the game, team ChukkerTV’s Bernie Uechtritz (pronounced “you-tridge”) wasn’t without credentials of his own. The former Polocrosse playing Texas dwelling Australian recently sold the largest ranch in US history, a massive 535,000 acres listed at a record smashing $725 million. Known in the real estate world as a “go-to, can-do” fixer guy, Uechtritz’s skill set and attitude have translated well to the polo field and his debut on the snow.

“So we went back on in the 2nd with a change in tactics based on the theory that it couldn’t get any worse… I was to mark Nacho, slow him down in the hope to free up my guys to score. I started throwing everything I had at him, the mallet, me, the horse, a few Polocrosse moves, anything I could think of to slow him down... If there was a kitchen sink handy I would have thrown that at him as well.”

After matching Vanity Fair press clippings (Bernie got some Vanity Fair ink for some of his mammoth real estate deals) with St. Regis team captain Nacho Figueras, the competition got underway to the roar of a capacity Aspen crowd who were mostly cheering for their icon Nacho. Figueras got the early leg up on ChukkerTV, scoring a blistering three times in rapid succession from the opening bell as St. Regis took the early lead. Boyd and Pepa exchanged goals, but it was St. Regis in front, 4-1½. “Initially, he was not my guy to mark, but Nacho basically smoked us in the first chukka, it was an embarrassing start. I told my teammates we needed to shut him down, Pepe told me to change from my offense # 1 position to defense, to let me have a shot at him,” said Uechtritz. Nacho’s many fans were pumped and already going crazy, while a few of my Lone Star mates from Texas who showed

Nacho Figueras & Bernard Uechtritz faced off

PHOTOGRAPHY by NICK TININENKO

at the 2015 World Snow Polo Championship in Aspen and return for a 2016 Rematch at Rio Grande Park

up for support, as well as my family I am sure, had started edging towards the bar to begin drinking to dull the pain for what looked to be a major thrashing on ice.

A more disciplined defensive team effort in the second chukker kept St. Regis off of the scoreboard with Uechtritz’s efforts starting to wear on the talented Figueras. Uechtritz added two goals in the second chukker with Mariano Gracida scoring for the first time on the day. St. Regis was blanked as ChukkerTV took the lead at the end of the first half, 4½-4. The ChukkerTV defense continued to dominate play in third period action as they shut down Figueras and the St. Regis attack for the second straight chukker. It was at this point that tempers flared between Figueras and Uechtritz who began comparing Argentine and Australian vernacular and intimidation tactics, causing the umpires to step in to separate the two. Meantime, the fervent Nacho fans in the VIP tent were going wild, yelling to “take him out” and “get him Nacho”. Every inch of the rail in the VIP tent was packed, every eye on the game. The half-dozen Uechtritz fans put their drinks on hold. ICON GLOBAL

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Gracida managed the only goal of the period as TV stretched their lead to a goal-and-a-half, 5½-4. “He’s a helluva player,” offered Uechtritz, “down the boards, he was like a bloody train that just kept coming and it turned in to quite a battle,” he added. Boyd’s second goal of the day cut the ChukkerTV lead down to a half-goal, 5½-5, but a final goal from Pepa padded the ChukkerTV lead and gave them the 6½-5 win. “I knew from the moment the umpire blew the final whistle and he (Nacho) flashed a big smile at me we had earned each other’s respect and each made a friend for life; it was one of those moments in sport and the only two people who loved it more than the crowd were he and I.” “An absolute sportsman and gentleman, Nacho was kind enough to critique my play on the day, pointing out — in the kindest and most diplomatic way — what I did well and what I needed to work on.” Don’t miss the 2016 Rematch at Rio Grande Park December 18th! • IG www.ICON.GLOBAL

ERINDI R ANCH NAMIBIA, AFRICA

Erindi in Herero means “Place of Water”. It has become a central reserve in Namibia for untamed wildlife viewing in the heart of the African bush. Below you will find the most frequently asked questions to give you practical advice for your trip to Erindi. Pathways wind through the camp and across soft green lawns between 48 luxury suites tucked away under indigenous trees. Old Traders Lodge is the perfect base for your forays into the exhilarating bush, from spacious suites that offer charm, comfort and convenience. Hosea Kutako international airport is 45 km from the capital city of Windhoek. Transfer for guests is available between Erindi and Omaruru/Okahandja/Windhoek. Price upon qualified request.

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TERRY BR ADSHAW ’S CIRCLE 12 R ANCH

THACKERVILLE, LOVE COUNT Y, OKL AHOMA $10,80 0,0 0 0

NFL Hall of Fame legend Terry Bradshaw’s Estate is the perfect family or corporate retreat. One hour from Dallas, 5 minutes to the Winstar Casino, dining, entertainment, seclusion, security, views, lakes and room to roam, ride, play, ranch, hunt and fish on 744 acres of pristine rolling grandeur with every amenity.

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BIG GAME HUNTING LODGE IN URUGUAY ISL A PATRULL A, TREINTA Y TRES, URUGUAY

Private and secluded, the main residence has 8 bedrooms, 8 baths and beautiful views. Practical building assures comfort without losing charm. In addition to hunting, the property has a range of recreational and tourism activities. Uruguay is starting to distinguish itself as one of the finest hunting destinations in Latin America. Treinta y Tres is full of hills with countless water sources and natural forests. Various game have been introduced, such as Red Deer, Axis Deer, Fallow Deer, Mouflons/Cimarrones, Wild Boars and Chivos. The reserve has high game fencing and has recently introduced water buffalos. There are 1,500 hectares (3,706 acres) of rolling hills and true high country terrain. Price upon qualified request.

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HUNTING AND WILDLIFE VIEWING IN SOUTH AFRICA

NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

On Northern Cape Province, the biggest, most secured province with the lowest population, this hunting property lies on the Botswana border and the dry Limpopo Riverbed. The Kalahari bushveld offers red sand dunes, acacia thorn, about 80 species of mammals and about 240 species of birds. This is one of the few registered 4-star lodges and is composed of 6 rooms equipped with air conditioning, Satellite TV and dressing rooms. The farm is fenced for 2 wide hunting camps and 3 breeding camps. The farm offers diverse game with very high-genetic-quality and is equipped by a number of water points, butchery facility, workshop and staff houses. There is a daily flight to Sishen, which is a 2-hour drive away. Price upon qualified request.

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BOGATA FARM

6,591± ACRES IN RED RIVER COUNT Y, TE X AS $21,420,750

This 6,591± acre farm is located in southwestern Red River County Texas bisected by US Highway 271 and Highway 37 just west of the town of Bogata. Farming operations include approximately 6,591± acres of owned land and another 1,700± acres of leased land. This is a premier, Midwestern-style farm which has yield potential and farm operation improvements not common to the area. The owner has made significant capital improvements to increase the productivity of the land. Meticulous attention has been given to fertility and improvements, allowing maximum yield potential. A 160-acre sub-surface tile drainage research project has been installed on the south side of US Highway 271. Crops grown on this field have demonstrated higher yields, meaning a future investment in expanding sub-surface tile drainage could push yields even higher. Structural improvements include 410,000 bushels of grain storage, diked fertilizer and fuel storage, a chemical storage and mixing building. Also onsite is a newly remodeled manager’s house with attached apartment. An added benefit is a new, state-of-the-art, 1,800,000-bird egg-laying facility in the center to the property. The joint venture between Rose Acre Farms and Calmaine means higher local commodity prices, virtually no transportation expenses, and readily available chicken litter. Current corn price bid is considerably above the CBOT.

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BROSECO CAT TLE R ANCH

12,200± ACRES IN MORRIS COUNTY, TEXAS $37,820,000

Located less than two hours east of Dallas, just off of I-30, Broseco Ranch has been a leader in the cattle, wildlife, hunting and fishing arenas for years. Positioned just south of the Sulphur River in East Texas and with 12,200± acres, the ranch is home to over 2,200 head of award winning Red Angus cattle, record whitetail deer, two 100-acres lakes stocked with Florida bass and some of the best waterfowl habitat in the state.

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RED RIVER R ANCH

6,370± ACRES IN RED RIVER COUNT Y, TE X AS $20,702,50 0 This 6,370± acre irrigated farm and ranch is located in northwestern Red River County, Texas on the banks of the Red River just west of US Highway 37 with blacktop roads FM 410 and FM 195 passing through the property. Farm and ranch operations include approximately 4,820± acres of FSA cropland. 1,080± acres of pivot irrigation by three recently installed T-L pivots and 40± acres sub-surface tile research irr-drain project. Pivots are currently diesel generator powered, but Lamar County Electric Co-op is installing threephase electric along FM 410 the can be connected in the future. Each pivot is supported by multiple 36-inch alluvial gravel pack wells. 514± acres of sub-surface field tile drainage have been installed to further improve production capability. An additional 1,420± dryland acres form the balance of the row crop operation which could be expanded significantly by reallocating pasture to tillable land. The headquarters location has multiple farm houses, shop, and equipment storage facilities. A significant portion of the property, 3,000± acres, is currently dedicated to the cattle operation. All pastures have been improved through weed control and intensive grass management. Ample water is available throughout. Good fencing and cross fencing exists with centralized working pens and load-out facilities. A large hay storage building has been built.

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BAIRDSTOWN FARM

1,073± ACRES IN L AMAR COUNT Y, TE X AS $3,484,0 0 0

This 1,073± acre contiguous farm is located in Lamar County, approximately 10 miles south of Paris, Texas. Bordered on the east side by FM 1497 and the remainder of the tract by Lamar County-maintained gravel roads. The large, open and very productive fields have excellent drainage of mostly class II and III Crockett, Wilson, and Annona loam and silty-loam soils. Improvements include a 5,000 bushel hopper-bottom grain bin, 65x90 equipment shed, 30x50 storage building and numerous home building sites. Located seven miles southeast of Daisy Dairy’s state-of-the-art facility, which is currently a major consumer of locally produced grain, silage and hay and projected to significantly increase area feed needs as it continues construction of its 12,000-head permitted facility.

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IG â&#x20AC;˘ GIST ESTATES WAGON WHEEL R ANCH

One of the Legendary Gist Estates L AMPASAS COUNT Y, TE X AS / $11,350,0 0 0

Founded in 1872, Wagon Wheel Ranch is the largest of the Gist family properties and is best known for its Foundation Quarter Horse Program. About six miles northeast of Lometa, these 3,492 acres are steeped in heritage and feature state-of-the-art amenities for both two and four-legged occupants. This Texas legacy awaits an owner who is passionate about its future. Available separately or as a complete estate. Minerals will transfer with the sale. 46

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GIST ESTATES â&#x20AC;˘ IG PANTHER CREEK R ANCH

One of the Legendary Gist Estates BURNET COUNT Y, TE X AS / $8,680,0 0 0

Only 45 minutes from Austin, this 2,670.46-acre ranch features unique game facilities and two creeks, one spring and 18 ponds and lakes. Miller Creek runs across the front and Panther Creek meanders through the back. Varied topography, views, two primary residences, two mobile homes and working improvements for cattle and horses are available in this potential hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paradise. Available separately or as a complete estate. Minerals will transfer with the sale. ICON GLOBAL

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IG â&#x20AC;¢ GIST ESTATES T WIN MOUNTAINS R ANCH

One of the Legendary Gist Estates L AMPASAS COUNT Y, TE X AS / $10,330,0 0 0

The Gist Holdings also include the 3,177-acre Twin Mountains Ranch, located along County Road 2200. The spacious ranch boasts rolling plains, breathtaking views and two creeks: Buck Hollow Creek and School Creek. Southeast of the Wagon Wheel Ranch, this ranch is available separately or as part of the entire Gist Estates purchase. Minerals will transfer with the sale. 48

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GIST ESTATES â&#x20AC;˘ IG MA X WELL R ANCH

One of the Legendary Gist Estates L AMPASAS COUNT Y, TE X AS / $1,430,0 0 0

Offering 476.71 scenic acres, Maxwell Ranch showcases feature open fields and pasture, wide valleys and rolling hills, as well as native flora and fauna that range from live oaks to pecan trees and whitetail deer to wild turkeys. Three stock ponds provide water for livestock or fishing. Improvements include two wells, a hay barn, silo, set of working pens and two rustic homes. Available separately or as a complete estate. Minerals will transfer with the sale. ICON GLOBAL

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... continued from page 21

Yes, Bernard is from fabled royalty, but the last thing he ever expects is for anyone to take it seriously. It has interesting entertainment value and is a great icebreaker story if anyone has the inclination, but Bernard Uechtritz prefers to think of himself as, “just a mongrel-bred kid from a large family with a colorful background.” And today, he strives to add to that history with challenges and unlikely victories of his own. A knight that defied an army. A couple who influenced a generation. And a bush-school, New Guinea-raised, drop-out kid who sells iconic properties. THE AMERIC AN DRE AM Uechtritz looks like native Texas cowboy, but his accent gives him away. In fact, Bloomberg Business wrote,

GROWING UP IN NEW GUINE A AND AUSTR ALIA AND MANAGING ... L ARGE L ABOR FORCES E ARLY ... TAUGHT UECHTRITZ

HOW TO NEGOTIATE E ARLY AND OF TEN. 50

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he is “a blue-eyed, square-jawed, 50-year-old who can pass for the Marlboro Man — until he greets you with ‘g’day’ in his Australian accent.”

cocoa and oil palm plantation. It’s still highly successful and sells its cocoa exclusively to a French chocolate company.”

“I admit that my Australian passport, PNG heritage and accent have been door openers for me, but hard work, long days and innovation got me the rest of the way,” said Uechtritz.

On the cattle side, he managed about 4,000 head and implemented the first large-scale artificial Insemination (AI) program for PNG, breeding European Charolais semen over gray Brahman and Santa Gertrudis cows.

Uechtritz is a third generation New Guinean, the eighth child of seven boys and four girls. Growing up in New Guinea and Australia and managing cattle stations and large labor forces early from about 17 years old taught Uechtritz how to negotiate early and often. Previously, in boarding schools across Australia, Uechtritz honed his negotiating skills in front of headmasters and disciplinary committees. He left school in the 10th grade. He then enrolled in an animal husbandry program at a junior college in the Outback, which was designed to prepare young people to run a cattle or sheep station. Uechtritz left the program a year early and returned to New Guinea, where he worked at a gas station near the gold mines in the Highlands. Then, he got a job breaking horses on a ranch. Before long, he had been promoted to assistant manager. “When the manager left, I got promoted again,” Uechtritz said. “I worked there several years and transformed part of the cattle ranch into a coconut, ICON GLOBAL

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“First try out of the gate, I inseminated 300 cows,” Uechtritz said. “Big mistake! It was overwhelmingly exhausting and took months. Later, I learned that most people take 10 or 20 cows at a time and develop a program from there.” About the time he turned 22, he decided to see the world. America was his first stop. He arrived in Kentucky with an AI certificate, a saddle, a Polocrosse racquet, a thousand dollars and big dreams. “I grew up watching John Wayne at the town movie matinée on a Saturday once a month about 50 miles from our station,” Uechtritz said. “He was a cowboy in the morning and a Marine in the afternoon — a hero in a nation of heroes. America loomed large in my imagination. Further fueling my fascination with America; our fondest family hobby as kids was searching for World War II relics across mountains, jungles and swamps of New Guinea. Among many such finds, my father and brother once found air crew remains in a B24 Bomber resulting in loved ones being

returned home 40 years later to Texas and Oklahoma.” Eleven families found solace in the closure to the mystery of their boys who went to the South Pacific and until then had never come home. Later, Dad and Gordon were honored by the US Army for their role. Plus, his sister and brother-in-law lived in Lexington, Kentucky, where they worked in the thoroughbred industry. Never one to shy from hard work, Uechtritz pumped gas, built fences, rebuilt horse barns and even had a short stint as a rock station radio DJ, doing “whatever it took” to stay in the states. He also began promoting Polocrosse, an Australian equestrian sport that combines polo and lacrosse and has been called “rugby on horseback.” It took him across the country, as did his passion for polo, which he began playing in 1991. Polo was big in Southern California, especially in areas around Malibu and Santa Barbara. Uechtritz’s American walkabout ended in sight of the Pacific Ocean. He found himself surrounded by beauty, luxury residential real estate and unexplored opportunities. THE UNIVERSIT Y OF RE AL ES TATE Uechtritz obtained his real estate license in 1993. “On its face, real estate was simplistic — very much like buying and selling horses and cattle,” Uechtritz said. “As a young man, I thought, ‘I can get my head around this.’ I barely got out of the tenth grade, so for me to earn my real estate credentials 10 years later was like being a Rhodes scholar. I’ve been going to the university of real estate ever since.” Real estate in Southern California was in the doldrums in 1994 when Uechtritz began to use his newly earned credentials. The market downturn ICON GLOBAL

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A Banner AND B i l l i o n D o l l a r YE AR 2016 WILL GO DOWN AS A BANNER YE AR FOR BERNARD “BERNIE” UECHTRITZ. First, there was the historic and recording breaking sale of the Waggoner Ranch and a slew of industry awards. Second, Icon Global launched and has already almost singlehandedly set a transactional bench mark of a billion dollars (and counting) of production in real estate. SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL

HIGHEST SALE IN THE HISTORY OF SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL W.T. Waggoner Estate, 2016

DALLAS BUSINESS JOURNAL

TOP LAND DEAL OF THE YEAR W.T. Waggoner Estate, 2015

TOP LAND BROKER OF THE YEAR W.T. Waggoner Estate, 2015

FORT WORTH BUSINESS & CEO

TOP REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY WINNER W.T. Waggoner Estate, 2016 LAND MAGAZINES

LAND STAR AWARD-SPECIAL RECOGNITION W.T. Waggoner Estate, 2016 THE LAND REPORT

DEAL OF THE CENTURY W.T. Waggoner Estate, 2016

DEAL OF THE YEAR Camp Cooley Ranch, 2011

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created the opportunity to purchase RE/ MAX franchises, which he did. He bundled the franchises, but only operated a single office. A couple of years later, as the market recovered, he sold them. While the REMAX endeavor foreshadowed his ability to single out overlooked opportunities, another deal demonstrated what would become the trademark of his career, the ability to sell “white elephants.” In 1989, the Lyle and Erik Menendez headline-grabbing murder of their parents resulted in their lifetime imprisonment and liquidation of all property owned by the family estate. The Calabasas Menendez Mansion, as it was known then, languished on the market for five years despite the efforts of a series of California’s superstar realtors. Uechtritz, a young untested realtor, was brash enough and persuasive enough to convince the conservators and lawyers to give him a chance to market the property. He sold and closed the mansion within 90 days. From that experience, he recognized some key elements that make selling “impossible” properties possible. “Usually you have to spin ‘stigmatized’ properties 180 degrees from where they were,” he said. “You have to look at who the buyer is and where they are going to come from. Then you have to create a competitive environment and a closing window of opportunity.” His phone began to ring. In addition to a burgeoning specialty of selling distressed properties, Uechtritz also formed Front Gate Properties, a firm specializing in high-end developments in Hidden Hills, Calabasas, Malibu, and Beverly Hills. “I worked in that market for 15 years,” said Uechtritz, noting the early 90s were tough because most of the high-end homes in California were upside down. “In those days, ICON GLOBAL

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the big deals were $500,000 to $5 million. I learned a lot about the business and about people.” THE VALUE OF A HANDSHAKE By 2004, the fast-paced life in California had lost its glitter. Uechtritz and his wife, Annie Macdonald, who grew up in a Central Texas ranching family, had four children. The couple wanted to raise their kids in a place where they’d have their “feet on the ground.” “In Texas, handshakes tend to be considerably more reliable than they are in California,” Uechtritz said. The combination of the values and a land ethos with the presence of Annie’s family made the Lone Star State a natural destination. The family has lived in the Dallas area for the past 12 years and has no plans to ever leave the state. While Uechtritz’s hands-on experience in agriculture made ranch real estate a natural fit, he didn’t immediately join the industry; instead, he focused his attention on broadcast and internet television for two years. Then, in 2006, he completed a complicated deal for what is now the Texas Rose Horse Park near Tyler Texas. The market slump of 2007–2009 kept him from being fully engaged in the industry. He reentered full-time in 2010. In 2011, he sold Camp Cooley Ranch — and the rest, including the Waggoner Ranch and now Sandow Lakes Ranch, is, as they say, history. (By the time this story is published, Uechtritz will have gone public with another $200 plus million in listings.) While his professional story continues to be written, Uechtritz enjoys sharing what he’s learned with other industry professionals. “I like problem solving with my colleagues,” Uechtritz said. “This business has been good to me. I hope to be a change agent and good steward of the opportunities and knowledge I’ve been given.”

My individual streak and competitive spirit probably come from two things really — one, being the 8th child and low man on the family totem pole and two, my early years of primary education were spent in a native bush school in a village called “Chivasing,” about 100 miles from the nearest town. I was the only white kid, and except for fishing and hunting, I was pretty useless at most things like soccer, running, long jump, high jump etc. My native picaninny mates beat me at all these sports, even when playing marbles at recess, I was useless. Mondays, I would come to school with a sock full of marbles and ball bearings, and by Friday they had cleaned me out! I was a poster boy for a skinny, white, uncoordinated loser who had to fit in to survive. If it’s a rough deal or they say it can’t be done, those looking to make it happen turn to Australian Bernard Uechtritz, the man they respectfully call “the fixer and a rainmaker.” His “can do” reputation for successful transactions includes expertise in luxury and ranch real estate markets around the world — from cattle stations in Australia to celebrity homes in Beverly Hills and iconic ranches across Texas. Featured in mainstream media print, digital and television worldwide such as Bloomberg Business, CNN, CBS, Sky TV, Nine Network TV Australia, Dallas Morning News, The NY Times, WSJ, and many more, it was Uechtritz who designed and led the unprecedented global marketing campaign of the largest ranch sale in American history, selling the W.T. Waggoner Ranch. LIVING OUTSIDE THE BOX Founder of International Icon Properties Group (www.Icon.Global) based in Dallas, Bernie refuses to be boxed in by convention. “I’ve always been an out of the box kind of guy,” said Uechtritz, who is also an International Real Estate advisor for Sotheby’s. “I was never a good scholar or a rule follower because I’ve never been good at sitting still or staying in the lines.” His innate willingness to stray outside the accepted boundaries and confines of traditional real estate marketing is, in Uechtritz’s opinion, part of the key to his 30-year career as one of the real estate industry’s “go-to fixers”. A partial list of his more publicly, known successful deals in Texas includes: selling Camp Cooley Ranch, in the midst of multilayered bankruptcy proceedings, which in 2011 was the largest sale by price in Texas history; and recently spearheading the global marketing strategy of the 535,000-acre Waggoner Ranch, which at $725 million is the largest ranch sale to date in U.S. history. Another Texas deal that looms large in his memory is the former HTC Ranch in east Texas. Uechtritz successfully outmaneuvered a repeatedly resistant and remorseful seller who had for years stonewalled and thwarted several prior buyers’ attempts to close, including one buyer, who was so determined to prevail he took the seller all the way to the Texas Supreme Court on a specific performance suit, only to lose. Years later, in 2006, in a deal to sell to Uechtritz’s client, the seller got up to his old tricks again and tried to wiggle. However, as real estate attorney Robinson stated, “When the seller started playing checkers, Uechtritz played chess and closed the deal.” ICON GLOBAL

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I FIRMLY BELIEVE THERE IS NO ONE-SIZE- FITS -ALL APPROACH resources, which a local broker may not have. The goal? To lead and co-list bigger or outof-scope deals delivering to a seller a can do global strategy with good boots on the ground local knowledge. A case in point was his partnering with West Texas broker Sam Middleton on the Waggoner Ranch.

photo by Gustav Schmiege

“Bernie and I had vastly different styles and backgrounds, leading some to call us the “Odd Couple.” However; he is a team player, thoughtful, organized, creative and forward thinking, with a positive take charge attitude, and he was always focused on one goal, consummating the sale of the Waggoner Ranch.” - Chas. S. Middelton’s Sam Middleton, Uechtritz’s sale team partner

Uechtritz professes to love thinking outside of the box, whether it’s on the buy or sell side of complicated deals. “Handling complicated deals — those with high public profiles as well as those that by design and confidentiality agreement are conducted behind closed doors and whose details will never see the light of day — is a niche that I fill,” Uechtritz said. As a serial entrepreneur, Uechtritz launched Icon Global to formalize and expand on what he has been doing globally for years, which is running a highly specialized practice in the world of complex real estate of all kinds. A part of Icon Global’s model is aligning with and providing other brokers an international face and brand, global marketing reach, savvy and network 54

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Then, recently, Icon Global brought to market 3 North Texas farms under the Icon Global Co. marketing alliance program, bringing in Bryan Pickens and Jeff Boswell of Republic Ranches. Subsequently, Republic then turned to Uechtritz to team up and engage in another high-end lead and listing pitch where in these sellers required an international marketing exposure and platform. The result was another $50–100 million dollar Icon Global listing. “I’ve been fortunate to earn a reputation as a ‘go-to, can-do guy’ because I firmly believe there is no onesize-fits-all approach to real estate sales,” Uechtritz said. “Icon Global formally delivers the same customized service as I always have, backed up by a deep bench of savvy players and a global network who have expertise in different nuances and different areas of the marketplace. I simply form and lead different teams for different projects. I create think tank alliances and relationships to best position and get a ICON GLOBAL

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client’s property across the line.” The fresh approach has been welcomed in the marketplace. Uechtritz anticipates the company’s 2016 transactional inventory will be close to $1 billion by year’s end. The firm focuses on the “super asset” class of deals that generally start around $50 million and other outstanding deals that fit Icon Global’s criteria for representation. “I’m only smart enough to realize that I need to surround myself with people who are smarter than I am,” Uechtritz said. “When it comes to administration, expertise and international reach, Icon Globals mission is to be the Seal Team 6 of real estate. I create a plan, strategically and tactically, to pre-position in the market place, go in, get out, close the deal and then… next!” “I can say without equivocation that the sale of the assets of the estate would not have occurred, in the successful manner it did, without the expertise, skill and herculean efforts of Bernie Uechtritz. The details could fill a book…” - Counsel Mike Baskerville, court appointed receiver for the W. T. Waggoner Estate.

By tapping into a global network of talent that he’s built for years and continues to add to annually, Uechtritz has been able to leverage an unprecedented level of expertise. For instance, when international aluminum giant Alcoa decided to sell its 34,000-acre property in Central Texas which was the former site of the nation’s largest aluminum smelter as well as an industrial electrical generation station, reclamation lands, mining and unprecedented water rights, the company issued an RFP with extensive requirements. Uechtritz responded with a detailed marketing plan, including re-branding the property as “Sandow Lakes Ranch,” and convening what he pitched as “The A Team,” a group including legal, and other niche professionals on water rights, industrial uses, reclamation, mineral rights and more. Icon Global landed the opportunity to market oneof-a-kind Sandow Lakes Ranch with a price tag of $250 million. “Sandow Lakes Ranch is fantastic multi-use property, and it will be the biggest water rights deal done in

Texas to-date,” Uechtritz said. “Water is the new oil in Texas and globally — and I like that because it’s both an intellectual and marketing challenge, with its combination of water rights, reclamation, remediation as well as industrial uses and leasing, Sandow Lakes Ranch may be my most complex deal so far. I’m learning a lot.” The recognition that he doesn’t — and can’t — know it all is not only the foundation of Icon Global, but his working relationship with sophisticated clients. “At the level where I ‘play,’ the buyers and sellers are already incredibly successful at something,” Uechtritz said. “They’re smart. I never bluff. If I don’t know something, I say ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out.’ Icon’s network of experts just helps me find out, solidly and quickly. If your clients can’t trust you or your advice, you’re out of business.” While the Sandow Lakes’ commission check will be sizable, it will pale in significance to the feeling of doing something good for his fellow Texans. “The thrill I get today doesn’t come from the fee, but from the knowledge that I delivered something of value to society,” Uechtritz said. “Like keeping the Waggoner intact, the water rights that come with the Sandow Lakes Ranch will directly serve humans as a water source for consumption and for agriculture. It’s going to make a difference, and to be a part of that is satisfying.” “In 2013, you put the ranch (and the entire estate) on your radar and began a campaign to convince the owners that you were different from past failures and that you could craft marketing strategies to succeed where others had failed. Fate rejected your initial efforts, but you adapted and demonstrated a creativity that convinced me to trust your judgment and your experience. Your determination created a marketing plan that simultaneously emphasized worldwide exposure to a pool of qualified prospects and personalized access to proven domestic buyers. Your willingness and ability to bond with co-brokers was not only critical to your selection as the lead broker in this case, it was a major reason for the overall success of the effort. You obviously have unique abilities to motivate yourself and others to expand a complex marketing effort beyond expectations, as developments warrant. I saw those efforts grow and succeed in the “deal of a lifetime” in marketing the W. T. Waggoner Estate for $725,000,000.” - Glen H Johnson, counsel for the largest shareholder of the W. T. Waggoner Estate, in a personal memorandum to Uechtritz after the sale of the century.

“Throughout it all, I’ve maintained a passion for polo. I didn’t get to play much the past two years because of the Waggoner deal, but I’ve tried to make up for it. This year we launched Icon Global Polo. My daughters and son now also play. So far, we’ve played in Santa Barbara, California, Chicago, Texas and Australia, and have had a great season. I will also be returning in December to compete in the 2016 Aspen World Snow Polo championship to defend our feature match title of last year. (AspenValleyPoloClub.com) More importantly, though, polo provides a platform for philanthropy. Part of our team’s mission statement is ‘to be involved in human, animal and environmental causes.’ We participate in any event we can that supports one of these causes.

For more information on Bernard Uechtritz and International Icon Properties, visit www.Icon.Global. With the exception of the expanded introductory content, this profile editorial was featured in the Winter 2016 issue of LAND magazine under the original title “Living Outside the Box” and writing credits for that profile belong to Lori Woodward Cantu. The article is adapted here with permission.

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Polo has also become an integral part of my real estate business. It offers marketing avenues as well as incredible networking opportunities. This past year, we’ve even hosted some polo and polocrosse events on ranches we were representing. These events generate publicity while creating a social event where lenders, brokers and potential buyers can mix and mingle. It’s a win-win for everybody.” www.ICON.GLOBAL

Capital Farm Credit Assists in Selling the Largest Ranch Sale in American History, and Others, with

a partnership that pays

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT UNDERSTANDS THE

UNIQUE CHALLENGES

FACED BY L ANDOWNERS

W H EN T H E H I S TO R I C

535,000-acre W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch was put on the market at $725 million, there was a certain level of expertise required in order to offer financing options. After all, the Waggoner Ranch is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States and is part of the rich history of Texas and the American Cowboy. Offering financing on this one-of-a-kind property required the insight of an equally distinctive lending and underwriting team with the ability, capacity and specific knowledge required for an asset of this scope, size and value. For this enormous and historic project, and more recently for the Sandow Lakes Ranch — listed at $250 million — and others offered by the International Icon Global Properties Group, Capital Farm Credit (CFC), Texas’ largest rural lender, is proud to be of assistance to the Icon Global Team as well as many other brokers across Texas.

www.ICON.GLOBAL

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Headquartered in Bryan, Texas, CFC has served that state for a century. With nearly 70 offices across the state, CFC has the expertise and capacity to handle even the largest of deals. With more than $5 billion loaned to Texans for rural real estate mortgages, CFC understands the unique challenges faced by landowners, whether buying, selling or marketing. CFC is a proud member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of borrower-owned lending institutions. The System serves 500,000 qualified member-borrowers nationwide, providing more than $242 billion in loans, leases and related services to farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, aquatic producers, timber harvesters, agribusinesses, and agricultural and rural utility cooperatives. Established in 1916 by Congress, the System today provides more than 40 percent of the credit needed by those who live and work in rural America. As a borrower-owned cooperative, CFC is controlled

by the farmers and ranchers who borrow from it. One of the many benefits of borrowing from CFC is the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patronage dividend program, which is one of the strongest in the country. CFC has a long tradition of strong earnings, which accrues to the benefit of its members. They bring value to their members by delivering credit and other financially related services effectively and efficiently. They also return almost 100 percent of their earnings back to their members through their patronage dividend program, effectively lowering the cost of doing business with them. The patronage dividend program is a unique benefit to

CFC members and sets them apart from many other lenders. In 2016, CFC marked an important milestone: the centennial of the nationwide Farm Credit System. Capital Farm Credit has its roots in one of the first Farm Credit cooperatives in the country, and over their long history, they have grown, diversified their portfolio, created tremendous financial strength, and enhanced their ability to serve borrowers large or small. Through their ongoing efforts, Capital Farm Credit has positioned itself to be a strong source of credit and financial services for farmers, ranchers and rural communities for the next century. CFC has the capacity to help with all your agricultural ICON GLOBAL

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financing needs, from cattle ranches to vineyards to rural homes to farm and ranch equipment. They are experienced in the complexities of financing large tracts, conducting property appraisals and structuring operating loans to meet your needs. â&#x20AC;˘ IG

For more information about Capital Farm Credit, or to discuss farm or ranch financing in Texas, contact Phil Peabody at 877-944-5500, or phil.peabody@capitalfarmcredit.com.

CapitalFarmCredit.com NMLS #493828

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W.T. Waggoner Ranch Largest American Ranch Listing at $725 Million - SOLD by ERIC Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;KEEFE

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WAGGONER R ANCH COWBOYS PREPARE TO RIDE OUT AT DAWN. It’s one thing to get a chuckle out of the state’s highest elected official. But it’s an entirely different situation when the longest-serving governor in Texas history is laughing at you. “The chances of the Waggoner selling?” Rick Perry asked me. The year was 2009, and the two of us were seated in a barren conference room in some nondescript state office building off Congress Avenue a few blocks south of the state capitol. “To begin with, neither side of the family will talk to the other. That’s strike one. And there’s no set price for the ranch, is there? That’s strike two. But neither of those points matters, not when it comes to Waggoner. We both know who the real decision-maker is, don’t we, Eric?” the governor asked. It was my turn to smile. Most people following the fate of the Waggoner focused their attention on its colossal size — over a half million acres — or its Texas-sized attributes: more than a thousand oil wells, tens of thousands of cattle and horses, and enough history and colorful characters to make a movie. But not Rick Perry. I have no doubt that this only son of a longtime Haskell County commissioner could identify the power behind the throne in each and every one of Texas’s 254 counties, and that would include Wilbarger County. I nodded in agreement. “You don’t have a motivated seller,” he said. “You don’t have a set price. And that means the court will never sign off on such a sale. It’s not going to happen.” Point taken, Governor. Tom Waggoner (1852–1934) was to the Old West what Steve Jobs was to Silicon Valley. He endured the before, and he created the after. In 1869, Tom’s father, Dan, entrusted his son with $12. Then he put him in charge of a crew of cowboys. Tom’s task? To drive 5,000 steers more than 400 miles from his father’s ranch in North Texas to market in Abilene, Kansas. Let that percolate for a moment. 1869 was seven years before Custer’s Last Stand. P.S. The Waggoner boy and his crew couldn’t trail their herd across Oklahoma. Why not? Because Oklahoma didn’t exist. Much of what is now Oklahoma was at that time known as the Indian Territory, home of the Comanche, the Apache, 60

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the Cheyenne, and Kiowa reservations. Is this the sort of chore you would give your 17-year-old? But Tom Waggoner did more than do his chore. He returned from Kansas with $55,000 in his saddlebags. Take a moment and pencil those numbers: $12 in; $55,000 out. That type of return created the largest ranch behind one fence in Texas. And while it was being created, Tom witnessed the end of the Old West. A good example would be the deal the Waggoners cut with the Comanche chief Quanah Parker to lease an enormous swath of the Indian Territory called the Big Pasture. Congress had set aside this open range for the benefit of Native Americans, not Texas ranchers. As the pressure built to nix the lease, the Texans held tight. They even had Quanah invite Teddy Roosevelt out to the Big Pasture to go wolf hunting. It may well have been the highlight of T.R.’s second term, but that didn’t matter. Losing the Big Pasture lease was a rare setback for Tom Waggoner. Another challenge that stymied him was what to do with his ranch. He had been his father’s only heir. Unlike Dan, however, Tom had multiple

heirs. In 1909, he divided the ranch into four parts. The largest he kept for himself. The three smaller ranches he parceled off to Electra, E. Paul, and Guy. Maybe it was Electra’s million-dollar shopping sprees. Or Guy’s eight marriages. But in 1923, Tom took control of all four ranches and put them under the control of a single trustee: himself. The W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch had become a Massachusetts business trust. Which is why Governor Perry was spot-on with his first point. When the equal beneficiaries of such a trust disagree, nothing much can get accomplished. As the twentieth century drew to a close, the unwieldy nature of the Byzantine trust manifested itself. Guy’s two children were no longer shareholders; after their father’s death, they had sold their interests to their cousins. That left the heirs of Electra and E. Paul, and by the early 1990s, they were in court. The ins and outs of the complicated case would require a special issue of The Land Report, but in essence the two sides were battling over whether or not to sell the ranch. And if there were a sale, at what price? And if one side of the family chose to remain on the ranch and not to sell its ICON GLOBAL

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interest, which side that would that be? Neither contingent spoke to the other. This was especially uncomfortable for Electra’s grandson, A.B. “Buck” Wharton Jr., and Gene Willingham, who married E. Paul’s granddaughter, Helen Biggs. Although the two officed across the hall from one other in the W.T. Waggoner Estate Building, their principal means of communication was written memos. An avalanche of suits and countersuits literally went nowhere. They stayed put in the 46th Judicial District Court, where Judge Tom Neely and, subsequently, Judge Dan Mike Bird presided. To oversee the estate, Wilson Friberg was designated as court-appointed receiver. All the while, wealthy suitors journeyed to Vernon from across Texas and around the country to court the family. Media moguls, oil barons, millionaires, billionaires — none had any luck buying the ranch. Per Rick Perry, the contentious heirs and the nebulous price precluded a sale. www.ICON.GLOBAL

Ultimately, a brutal scenario emerged: the Waggoner would go to auction. Sell off all 510,527 acres in parcels. Or give a single bidder the opportunity to acquire it in its entirety. The mineral estate would also be severed and sold to the highest bidder. So would the permanent improvements, rolling stock, ranch equipment, oilfield equipment, cattle inventory, horse inventory, and horse facilities. The W.T. Waggoner Estate Building in Vernon would go. So too would the Waggoner’s historic 3Ds brand. A new court-appointed receiver had been designated, and to Mike Baskerville, auctioning the Waggoner wasn’t the best option. It was the only option. Tearing apart the great ranch piece by piece was the sole approach to achieve Rick Perry’s most elusive condition: court approval. Baskerville had already retained veteran Texas ranch broker Sam Middleton of Chas. S. Middleton & Son in Lubbock to consult on essential documents such as a survey and a title policy. But when Middleton learned that an auction was in the works, he dissented.

On Nov. 13, 2013, a hearing was scheduled in Judge Dan Mike Bird’s court. Its purpose was to approve the selection of a trio of companies to oversee the Waggoner Ranch auction. They never got the chance. Also present in the courtroom that Wednesday morning was Bernie Uechtritz, international real estate advisor and founder of International Icon Properties and Icon Global. Like Middleton, Uechtritz believed auctioning the ranch to be a catastrophe. The two had first met at the 2012 Land Report Summit at the Mesa Vista Ranch [see The Land Report, Fall 2012]. By the morning of the hearing, Uechtritz had presented the families and www.ICON.GLOBAL

Eight months later, the family was ready to move forward on its own terms. The Waggoner Ranch would be sold, but only to a single buyer. Uechtritz and Middleton would be co-listing agents. And the price? The princely sum of $725 million.

THAT’S THE WORST THING YOU CAN DO: CUT IT UP. IT’S GOING TO LOSE ITS IDENTIT Y BY DOING THAT.

“I told Mike, ‘That’s the worst thing you can do: cut it up. It’s going to lose its identity by doing that,’” the Texan told me. Middleton wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines.

their attorneys with a type of offer called a stalking horse bid for $550 million. The result? For the first time in decades, the two warring factions came to an agreement: to oppose the auction.

On Aug. 6, 2014, it was announced that Judge Bird had signed off on the marketing plan. News of the 800-square-mile listing of the Waggoner Ranch ricocheted around the world. Thanks to Uechtritz’s global marketing campaign, inquiries began pouring in from more than 130 countries, including India, China, and Australia. Says Middleton, “We showed the ranch to somewhere between 10 and 15 individuals or groups from foreign countries.”

At the Herring Coffee Shop in downtown Vernon, the arrival of each private jet at the Wilbarger County Airport fueled endless speculation. Any means was fair game to determine a prospect’s identity, including Googling a jet’s tail numbers. This worked with almost every prospective buyer, but it didn’t work with Joel Leadbetter’s client. For well over a decade, the Montana broker had kept a watchful eye on the great Texas ranch. Years had passed since his initial contact with the heirs and then Wilson Friberg, the estate’s first court-appointed receiver. But the timing wasn’t right. So the Hall and Hall broker waited. And he watched. In 2011, Baskerville replaced Friberg. Leadbetter kept watching. Three years later, when Bird signed off on Uechtritz’s marketing plan, Leadbetter made his move. “When the ranch got listed, my first phone call was to Sam Middleton,” Leadbetter says. “I said, ‘Sam, you and I both have been down this road with this ranch. I think you guys are wasting your time.’ And Sam ICON GLOBAL

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said, ‘Joel, I would tell you if I thought we were, but I really believe the stars are aligned. This deal’s going to happen.’” Based on Middleton’s assessment, Leadbetter called his client: Stan Kroenke. Sports fans worldwide know Kroenke as the largest shareholder of Arsenal FC. His Kroenke Sports Enterprises owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, MLS’s Colorado Rapids, and NLL’s Colorado Mammoth. Earlier this year, NFL owners approved the return of his Rams to Los Angeles after a 20-year absence. Readers of The Land Report know Kroenke for his ownership of legacy ranches such as British Columbia’s Douglas Lake Ranch, Wyoming’s Q Creek, and Montana’s Broken O. The acquisition of the Broken O by Kroenke Ranches from the heirs of Bill and Desiree Moore was selected by the Magazine of the American Landowner as the 2012 Deal of the Year [see The Land Report, Spring 2013]. On each of those transactions, Kroenke had relied on Leadbetter’s counsel and the insights of Sam Connolly, general manager of Kroenke Ranches. Together the three are an effective team. Leadbetter demonstrated his savvy by not wasting Kroenke’s time discussing the ranch during the previous decade. “‘Stan,’ I said, ‘I talked to Sam Middleton. This thing is on the market, and he thinks the timing is right.’” “‘Well, let’s go ahead and get registered,’ Stan told me.” So began a stealth operation that would last more than a year. In April 2015, Middleton and Uechtritz flew to Denver to meet with Kroenke, Connolly, Leadbetter, and Mike Hall of Hall and Hall. Few knew that Kroenke got his first look at the great ranch the very next month. The cat-and-mouse game that the locals had been playing didn’t work with Kroenke and his team. Instead of flying into Vernon, they landed some 60 miles east in Wichita Falls. No one at the Herring Coffee Shop would be the wiser. For Uechtritz and Middleton, the next six months were

a whirlwind of conference calls, meetings, and trips to Vernon. “Stan’s in-house advance team worked long and hard on this deal under the radar for nine months at least before Stan was revealed at the last minute,” Uechtritz says. Still wary of spooking the deal, he had a colleague, Will Beuck, facilitate due diligence by setting up a data room not in Vernon but in Dallas at the Ritz-Carlton. In September 2015, six parties presented $15 million earnest money deposits. The following month, four finalists were invited to Fort Worth to meet the heirs and present their vision for the next chapter in the history of the Waggoner Ranch. According to Uechtritz, the deciding factor wasn’t about money or resources. It was Kroenke’s unflinching sense of stewardship and responsibility: “Stan looked them in the eye and said, ‘I’m a committee of one. I don’t have any partners. I’m a committee of one.’ In my mind, that did it.” • IG

For more information on the sale of the W.T. Waggoner Ranch, go to www.Icon.Global This editorial was previously run as the Deal of the Century in the Spring 2016 issue of The Land Report. The editorial is rerun here with permission. Waggoner Ranch, Texas / Seller: W.T. Waggoner Estate Ranch; Seller’s Agents: Bernard Uechtritz, Icon Global, International Icon Properties & Sam Middleton, Chas. S. Middleton & Son. / Buyer: Kroenke Ranches; Buyer’s Agent: Joel Leadbetter, Hall and Hall. ICON GLOBAL

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www.ICON.GLOBAL

P o l o : A COLOR ADO TR ADITION

Polo arrived in Colorado in 1891, flourishing in the English-populated community of Colorado Springs, and appearing in Denver in 1892. Introduced at the Cheyenne Mountain Club in Colorado Springs the game was embraced by Spencer Penrose who made it a feature of his Broadmoor Hotel, constructing a Moorish-style stadium on the grounds and the Will Rogers Indoor Polo Arena. It wasn’t until the Devereux brothers (Horace, James and Walter) moved to Aspen in the mid1880s that the horse and mallet game took root in the state’s higher elevations. Irishman Hervey Lyle, serving as manager of a coal mine owned by Jerome B. Wheeler, had played in India and taught the basics of the game to the Devereux clan. Walter Devereux and Lyle formed the Glenwood Polo and Racing Association and play began with an opening match against a team from Colorado Springs. Glenwood Springs hosted a number of polo tournaments, attracting teams from all over the area, and in 1902 Walter B. Devereux presented an ornate punch bowl to be played for the Rocky Mountain Championship.

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Ron Allen and ESPN’s Daniel Moriarty handled the announcing duties while a format somewhere between arena polo and field polo was offered to a curious throng of over 500 onlookers and VIP guests. “I remember that our first efforts to get the city to support our efforts were turned down,” said Allen. “We contacted the Governor Roy Romer and asked him to send a letter to the Town Council, and it seemed to work. We were on our way.” Two teams of four-man teams took part in the one-day program that took place at a ranch near the airport, with Denver (Dan Boyle, Michael Payne, Philip Friden and Robert Koehler) beating Aspen (Vaughn Miller, Dennis Geiler, Don DeLise and Barry Stout) 12-8. www.ICON.GLOBAL

There are currently eleven polo clubs in Colorado with growing interest and participation. With the construction of the Aspen Valley Polo Club and the development of the Aspen World Snow Polo Championship, Marc and Melissa Ganzi have assured the continued presence and growth of the game in Aspen Valley. • IG

snow polo in Aspen

Created in the Swiss village of St. Moritz, snow polo had already been played for over a decade before it found its way to Aspen. In 1996 Polo International’s David Wray recruited ABC’s Ron Allen and Aspen socialite Scarlett Adams to produce the First International Snow Polo Classic. A large banner spanned Main Street in front of the Hotel Jerome and players and horses were collected for the premiere of a winter wonderland version of the “sport of kings”.

Spencer Penrose continued to expand the polo infrastructure at his Broadmoor Hotel, creating the Penrose Gold Cup, a trophy made from the gold mined from Cripple Creek and competing before a Moorish-styled polo stadium as the Broadmoor Polo Association. Individual ranches in Aspen built their own fields and Colorado State University initiated an intercollegiate polo program that netted them four National Championships.

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The following year the tournament moved further out of town and attracted four teams with Bulgari (Mark Graubart/Ashley Schiff, Nacho Novillo Astrada, Javier Novillo Astrada and Adam Lindemann), Land Rover (Pat Nesbitt, Barry Stout, F. D. Walton and Don Healy), Idealdial (Don DeLise/Gary Fellers, Michael Payne, Guillermo Kemp and Santiago Novillo Astrada) and Pommery (John Manconi, Eduardo Novillo Astrada, Piki Alberdi and Johnny Good). Land Rover beat Bulgari in the final seconds of the game for the 1997 Pommery International Snow Polo Classic title. Top players and sponsors were drawn to the event as it grew in popularity and esteem. When polo playing husband and wife team of Marc and Melissa Ganzi purchased property in Carbondale for the Aspen Valley Polo Club, they took a more intense involvement in the snow polo tournament, eventually taking control of the event and attracting a number of the top players in the world including Argentine 10-goalers Facundo Pieres and Gonzalito Pieres and celebrity polo professional Nacho Figueras. The 2016 Aspen World Snow Polo Championship will mark the twenty-first anniversary of the event and promises to continue delivering top teams, horses, players and world-class competition. • IG 2017 FIRS T LOOK

ASPEN SNOW POLO | IG Magazine

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