Cap Yates, founder of the Yates line of Texas Longhorns passed away and his family quickly liquidated his cattle herd. The sale was at Vineyard, Texas in 1968. Every Texas Longhorn from the estate sold except what Fayette Yates (son of Cap Yates) thought were the 20 best heifers and a bull.
Bob and Virginia Purdy of Buffalo, Wyoming had been reading about Texas Longhorns. They were well known as importers and a major player in the registered Charolais business. Bob had been to France and selected what he felt were the top Charolais genetics. Now he wanted to start and develop the best Texas Longhorn herd equal to his white cattle. Bob and Virginia attended the Yates dispersal at Vineyard.
The sale cows and pairs averaged $290 per lot. The Purdys did not buy anything. After the dust settled Bob asked Fayette what he would take for the 21 keepers. Fayette tossed out a testy price of $300 each and that was the start of the Purdy herd.
Four years later Bob Purdy was installing a soap dish in their shower and due to some miscalculation his electric drill hit a hot wire and electrocuted him. Virginia continued with the ranch and Longhorn herd for a while. As she saw a need to upgrade the herd the bull Mr. Lin was purchased from DCC.
Larry Smith, father of Larry P Smith II, heard that Virginia Purdy might sell some of her cattle. He sent his manager, Gene Bartnicki to Buffalo, WY, and he selected what was thought by many to be the most perfect Texas Longhorn cow ever. Her name was PLHR Miss Lin 4/4, soon to be just Miss Lin. She was a daughter of Mr Lin out of one of the Yates heifers.
Many tried to buy Miss Lin with no succuss until Larry had a dispersal sale February 27, 1983, and she was purchased by Dickinson Cattle Co for $40,000, one of the highest prices in Longhorn history, at that time.
At DCC it was exciting to get her quickly in the embryo transfer program. She was super ovulated and between the insemination and the flush was the Colorado State Fair. We were sure nothing could beat her in the show. As we waited to unload at the fair it was near 100 degrees. Our cattle had to endure a cooking event in-line before off loading. To our dismay, the judge placed her 4th.
Three days later she was flushed. She yielded 28 eggs with 22 dead. The embryologist wanted to know what happened to this cow? What caused 22 embryos to be perfect, then die? What a costly lesson. The stress was deadly and costly. To this day I am sure the hauling of show and futurity cattle during hot weather is a major cause of abortions of an unknown number--unbelievable risks to haul to a show in hot weather.
One of the surviving embryos was Lyn Flyn purchased by Jerry Taylor of Fredericksburg, TX. When bred to King she produced King's Lynn the dam of famous clone John Stockton cow, Overlyn. History records that Miss Lin can claim real virtue to be in the ancestry of Overhead, Adrenalin, Drag Iron, Over Kill, Kid Rock, Silent Iron, Midas Touch, Jam Box, Cut'n Dried, Houdini's Rosemary, Fast Stuff, etc.
The road to perfection is often costly, risky and bumpy.
