Lauing Ranch Quarter Horses | Building using horses on a century of heritage
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By Maria Tibbetts ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ n their ranch south of Blunt, South Dakota, Bernie Lauing and his son, JD, can stand and gaze at their horses grazing the rolling hills, silhouetted against the buttes, drinking from Medicine Creek. Bernie’s grandfather, George Sias looked upon much the same scene when he bought the first 160 acres of the ranch in 1920. George and his wife, Christina, moved to the area in 1910, with their children, including their only daughter, Marie, horse and buggy, livestock, personal belongings packed into rail cars. Ten years later, they bought the beginnings of what is now the Lauing Ranch. In 1937, Marie Sias married Hank Lauing and they rented the ranch from Marie’s parents, adding pastureland as it came available. Marie taught rural school for 26 years, raised five kids, milked cows, sold milk, gardened and helped with the cattle and horses. In Marie’s 54 years on the ranch her daughter remembers her as an accomplished horsewoman and capable roper. Marie also loved to travel, visiting all 50 states and several countries. Her husband, Hank, loved and raised animals of all kinds—from buffalo to horses and donkeys. Bernie Lauing bought the ranch from his parents in 1975 and has more than doubled the acreage. The first accolades for their horse program came in 1960, when Bernie showing a home-raised mare, Lucy Pillsbury, was awarded the South Dakota State Fair Champion Mare. As a teenager, Bernie was also recognized through the South Dakota Quarter Horse Association as having the Best Light Horse 4-H Project. Today, Bernie’s youngest son, JD, is the next Lauing to work on building their horse program, while partnering with Bernie and his wife, Genie, raising commercial Angus cattle, which gives their horses early cow experience. Bernie’s oldest son, Tom, lives and farms near Oral, South Dakota, continuing to be involved with Lauing Ranch’s horse program, coordinating on prospects and breeding stock. Another of Bernie’s sons, Denny, lives near Sturgis with his own horse program, the Mill Iron L Ranch. Bernie’s daughter, Shannon Stroman, lives in Sioux Falls and takes photos for promotion of the ranch and horses. While they raise horses for the market as they see it, Bernie is most proud of the horses that his children and grandchildren ride to success in the arena and on the ranch. Bernie’s oldest son, Tom Lauing, has four kids who have ridden Lauing-raised horses to winnings in high school, 4-H, college, Little Britches and the professional level. One of his favorite moments was when grandson, Levi, won the tie-down roping at the Central South Dakota 4-H Rodeo in Blunt in the early 2000s aboard Dakota Star Pat, a son of one of Lauings’ early stallions, Billy Star Pat out of Dakota Playboy Girl. “Blaze” was chosen the best tie-
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down horse when Levi was in college. Turning 29 this year, Blaze is building the confidence of the next generation, with great-granddaughter, Ellie, 10, aboard. As Ellie graduates to Blaze’s 24-year-old brother, Dakota, Ellie’s younger sister, Olivia, will take her turn on Blaze. “He’s not a babysitter. He’s a teacher. He’s safe, but he makes her sit up and ride,” Levi says. Bernie’s wife, Genie, grew up 20 miles north of Blunt in Onida, where she was involved in church, school and 4-H. She taught school for 38 years and works on the ranch, handling the AQHA paperwork and records, taking photos of the horses, organizing sale catalogs, plus pitching in with the outside work, while also being rodeo advisor, event organizer, chairperson of the Central South Rodeo 4-H Ambassador contest, judge, and rodeo event timer. In 2016, the Sully County Fair Board recognized Genie as their annual Friend of Rodeo recipient.
The Horses
The Lauings’ first registered Quarter Horse arrived at the ranch from Texas, brought to South Dakota by Bernie’s father, Hank. Lauings have raised horses ever since, and have registered them with AQHA cumulatively for almost 40 years, said JD Lauing, the horse marketing manager at Lauing Ranch. At one time, Bernie bred some Mammoth Jack donkeys to some of his quarter mares because good mules were worth more that horses, but that’s not the case these days, and JD is focusing on continuing to improve the horses that Lauings produce--many of them that go back to studs he remembers from his childhood. “Billy Star Pat was one of the stallions here when I was a kid,” JD said. “He was broke to death and everybody could ride him. All of my older siblings, Tom, Denny, and Shannon experienced his terrific disposition as a stallion and sire.” That red roan stud, bred by the Pitzer Ranch in Nebraska, is still the foundation of many in the Lauings’ broodmare band. “We’ve had some cutting-bred and some cowhorse-type bloodlines. Some bloodlines have just worked well for us ranching. We always look for conformation, size, bone, disposition and training ability,” JD says. Early in the 2000s, they started adding in the Blue Valentine bloodlines for disposition, size and bone. Two Broken Bones-bred blue roan stallions, Revue Hancock and Hancocks Two Boys were added to the breeding program. “They crossed tremendously with our mares” JD says. They’ve also added color as both were homozygous roans, which means they’ll produce a roan no matter what color the mare. “Color is always a good thing,” JD says “but we won’t compromise on quality.”
