Our Heroes - We Need More Heroes Bad

DCC Ranch eNews #129 - 3-5-18

by Darol Dickinson

We must have HEROES! We live to celebrate, locate, savor, respect, brag about, express gratitude, reward, and be friends with heroes. On February 9, Dr. Adam E. Klein, M.D., the Chief Adult Reconstructive Surgeon at the leading medical school, West Virginia University at Morgantown, WV, removed my temporary right hip bone and reconstructed a titanium permanent hip bone. Dr. Klein is not just an orthopaedic surgeon that does hip transplants, but a surgeon's surgeon who cleans up botched surgeries and fixes them correct after lesser skilled surgeons have "practiced" and failed. I walked in the hospital hall without pain meds the following morning after his brilliant surgery. To me Dr. Klein is my greatest hero of all times. Dr. Klein is my personal super hero.

Dropping down a little notch, perhaps not such a life and death hero, the Texas Longhorn industry has a super hero - Craig Perez. Here is why.

Craig measuring

Craig measuring the 100th over 70" T2T bull.

Craig lives at Cleburne, Texas and manages, pays all costs and updates daily the www.arrowheadcattlecompany.com site. Craig started to identify the largest horned Texas Longhorns and record this info with calculated order in 2003. The Gallery of Horns is famous as a reference to see how your cattle stack up on the basis of horn growth, how big, how fast and all about their pedigrees clear back to 1964.

In 2004, when ArrowHead went on line, there were 8 bulls over 70" and 51 between 65 and 70." Now, with Craig's untiring energy there are over 1500 of the leading horned cattle documented. During the early days of "ArrowHead" Craig worked 80 hour weeks locating and recording data. Now, at no charge to those who benefit, Craig keeps data maintained at up to 20 hours per week of his personal time. He is a "horn hero."

Craig records all official measurements from the different contests and cautiously records data privately gathered. Sale managers who want to have the top sales check out ArrowHead to locate the largest horned cattle and solicit them to consign. People who want to private purchase locate promising bulls for purchase or semen on ArrowHead. Investors who are serious about horns plan their business doing research on ArrowHead. Craig provides this service at no charge to any Texas Longhorn association or individual. He is or should be a hero to all who are students of the Texas Longhorn.

Craig cranking out the horn data.

Craig cranking out the horn data.

Horn data is a number. Other things like color, conformation, disposition can not be a data number like horns. Although things like rate of gain and other traits of value are not part of ArrowHead, these virtues still have to be evaluated by producers without Craig's help. Each is on his on with these variable qualities -- not to be left out.

As one is buried in the ArrowHead data all kinds of trivia can be researched. For instance more over 80" and 90" bulls are on ArrowHead than ever before. This month, four bulls are over 80" and not yet age 3 -- bulls born in 2015. That is front cutting edge information for serious horn producers. Funny, these bulls are not clones, nor IVF technology. Two were conceived by AI and two natural service. One would think these were hatched deep in the heart of Texas, but not so. Two were born in Ohio, one in North Carolina and one in California. The world's most rapid growing 2015 bulls are JH Rough Country, Time Line, Flair Galore, and Gold Mine 1. Of the thousands of embryo transfers, and the latest tools in scientific breeding these are the only four to make the 2015 born, over 80" ArrowHead list.

Craig

Craig going crazy trying to identify the best of over 150 heifers at DCC.

Many other trivia can be gleaned from ArrowHead, thanks to Craig Perez. He has never called begging for gifts, donations, buckles, sponsorships, ad fees, or charges for his dedicated services. Wow, is that different? Perhaps a kind note to Craig of appreciation by each of us is what it is all about. We hear about those who say they love the breed -- this is love in action.

At Dickinson Cattle Co we are honored to have bred and raised two of these celebrity bulls. For early bird students of high value data, semen can be purchased on the DCC bull, Time Line, who measures 80.75" T2T and will be age 3 on April 26, 2018. Semen is only $100. It is real semen with both great female and herd sires all mixed perfect for your herd building. More info on Time Line coming soon about his rapid gain and huge muscle development. You can also check him out from A to izzard on www.arrowheadcattlecompany.com or call DCC for semen orders, 740 758 5050.

Time Line

Time Line, perhaps the largest son of Rio Grande. Out of Dragon Pearl by Drag Iron out of Field of Pearls. Gentle as a pet hamster. He was the sleepiest bull shown at the ITLA Championship to win Champion at Halter.