Roaring Springs Ranch

The historic Roaring Springs Ranch headquarters are located in the sweeping Catlow Valley on the high desert of southeastern Oregon in Harney County. The ranch is a contiguous block of land located between Adel, Fields and Frenchglen.

In 1872 the cattle baron Pete French occupied the area that includes the present day ranch and developed a magnificent ranching empire. In the early 1900’s the federal government purchased the heart of the ranch to create the Malheur Wildlife refuge and the remainder of the ranch has since changed hands several times including Eastern Oregon Livestock Company, Swift and Company, Gill Cattle Company, and Allied Properties, among others. In 1992 the Bob Sanders family of Vancouver, Washington purchased the ranch and they still own it today.

The mission of the Roaring Springs Ranch is to be sustainable: This requires a focus on the economic, ecologic, and social function of our operation. We are proud of the abundance of diverse wildlife species that share the landscape with our cattle, horses and ranch families. We are proactive in finding solutions to challenging resource issues. Clean water and air, beautiful scenery, open space, healthy fish and wildlife species are important outcomes of our management strategies.

Through co-operative projects with a multitude of agencies and interested groups and individuals, we are able to ensure healthy ecosystems on our private land as well as our permitted public lands. Projects have focused on sage grouse, bighorn sheep, antelope, deer, elk, neo-tropical migrant birds, raptors, waterfowl, and overall ecosystem health. We are very proud of our wildlife populations and the health of our watersheds.

Being a cattle ranch our focus falls towards what it takes to keep them and the land healthy but the management of cows doesn't happen without our horses. We have around 60 brood mares that we run on the range along side our cows. We are proud of the foundation and bloodlines that we have in our horse program. Our horses are all bred to perform both inside and outside the arena. They are born and raised around cows and whatever wildlife happens to be there. The fact that we keep several different studs in the cycle gives us the opportunity to select and breed the right mares with the right studs to create a premier horse program. 

We expect our horses to work with us through the hardest of days, in the hardest of conditions. Our aim is to raise honest horses that think through life's situations and not just react in a negative way. When it comes time to trot out in the morning, we want a horse that can get us there without stumbling, and home that night with a will and motor big enough to handle the day. We want to have well rounded horses that is your kids can enjoy too.