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contributing factor to Parker County’s economy is the animal healthcare. According to the American Association of
Equine Practitioners (AAEP), Parker County is home to 58
AAEP members, or equine veterinarians.
KEY PLAYERS
There are numerous large cutting horse operations in
Parker County that are owned by prominent businessmen and women. Alice Walton, who is the daughter of
Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, owns a ranch in Millsap.
Her cutting horse operation ranked No. 6 in 2014 on the
Top Breeders list of Equi-Stat, which tracks earnings and
records of cutting horses, riders, owners and breeders.
Horses bred at Walton’s Rocking W Ranch accumulated
$430,490 in 2014. Leading the list of top cutting-horse
breeders was Slate River Ranch, located in Weatherford,
which is owned by Glade Knight. Knight is the founder,
chairman and CEO of Apple REIT companies. Others
that have contributed to the community because of their
involvement with cutting include Jon Winkelreid. The former Co-President of Goldman Sachs Group built a cutting
horse facility in Aledo which is now listed for sale at $12
million.
Weatherford is also home to Phil and Mary Ann Rapp,
two household names in the world of cutting. With more
than $8 million in NCHA earnings, Phil ranks as cutting’s
all-time leading money earner while his wife, Mary Ann,
ranks as the leading Non-Professional rider of the association. Of the top 10 cutting horse owners in 2015, according to Equi-Stat records, six call Parker County home. On
the list of leading open riders, or cutting horse trainers,
three of the top 10 live in Weatherford; and on the list of
top 10 money-earning non-pro riders in 2015, six reside in
Parker County.
Weatherford is also home to the 2013 and 2014 NCHA
Open World Champion Horse, One Time Choice, and
rider Chubby Turner, as well as last year’s NCHA Non-Pro
World Champion Constance Jaeggi. Jaeggi’s J5 Ranch is
one of several unique horse ranches that incorporates a
million-dollar design on the arena alone.
AN INDUSTRY ON THE RISE
Jay Gibbs, President of First Financial Bank, has been
in the banking industry in Parker County for 14 years and
deals a lot with cutting horse ranches. He estimated the
average price of a cutting horse ranch in Weatherford to
be about $3 million. He added that he’s witnessing a lot of
new faces coming in as some of the older generations are
beginning to retire.
“A lot of the people that are retiring are being replaced
with new blood,” he explained. “Younger people in their
30s that are now financially stable enough to do this kind
of operation are stepping in and taking over. The new
people getting involved is probably the highest number
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White’s Funeral Home
JUNE 2015
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
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