This week on From the Pasture with Hired Hand, we sit down with Shawn Sayre of S-A Longhorns in Brookfield, Missouri—a name you know both from the sale ring and the pasture. Shawn shares how S-A Longhorns began in 2011, the same year he and Alyson were married, and how their program carries forward a family legacy that started in 1978 when his father founded the B&C Longhorn Sale—a sale the Sayres still run today.

We talk herd vision—why S-A prioritizes black-and-white Longhorns, how they pair proven genetics with conformation, horn, and eye appeal, and what day-to-day decisions keep the program consistent. Shawn also pulls back the curtain on Sayre Auction—from Longhorn sales to land, commercial, real estate, machinery, and estate auctions—and how that experience informs both buyer confidence and seller results. It’s equal parts family history, breeder strategy, and auction craft from one of the breed’s most familiar voices.

S-A Longhorns: https://www.s-alonghorns.com/

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Fresh off the Eddie Wood Cowtown Classic in Fort Worth, today’s Monday Mini rounds up the big takeaways from sale day at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. We hit the highlights: standout consignments that drew deep bidding, pedigrees that turned heads, and the lots that overachieved once they hit the ring. Short, sharp, and all Cowtown—let’s recap.

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We’re kicking off the year in Fort Worth with a look at the Eddie Wood Cowtown Classic, the marquee Texas Longhorn sale held alongside the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Today we talk with Karen Allen from Circle A Longhorns about this exciting event. She shares with us what to expect on sale day and around the Stockyards, tips for previewing cattle efficently, and where to be and when - so you don't miss a thing!

This weekend’s consignors have reached deep into their programs, bringing a tight set of females and select lots with proven production, eye appeal, and pedigrees built for the long haul.

Saddle up—bidding into 2026 starts now in Cowtown.

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This week we sit down with Nancy Dunn of Rolling D Ranch in Eclectic, Alabama to trace a legacy built on grit, family, and a lifelong love of Texas Longhorns. Nancy opens the gate to her program’s history—how it started, what’s shaped it over the years, and the values that still guide every pairing on the ranch today.

We talk about her well-known cattle, including Dunn Lucky Dice, and the traits she insists on keeping front and center: correctness, longevity, and a calm, workable disposition. Nancy also shares timeless insight for both new and seasoned breeders—how to evaluate cattle with clear eyes, avoid common traps, keep learning from the community, and stay dedicated to the breed through the ups and downs. It’s a conversation full of heart, hard-won lessons, and the kind of perspective you only earn by living the Longhorn life, day after day.

Rolling D Ranch: https://www.rollingdranch.com/

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We close out the year with a data-first look at the 2025 sale season through the lens of Hired Hand Live—focusing on online bidding and what it brought to the auctions. We break down winning bids, the geographical hotspots where animals were bought (state-by-state and regional patterns), and the listing features that correlated with more clicks, watchers, and bids (photos, video, pedigree depth, and description quality). Here’s to strong Wi-Fi, stronger buyer reach, and an even better season ahead in 2026.

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From the Pasture with Hired Hand:
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It’s our end-of-year special! We sit down with guest commentator Ryan Culpepper to unpack the 2025 Website Trends Report from Hired Hand–powered sites: what visitors looked at most, how they searched, and which pages actually converted. We dig into animal view data (by class, pedigree, and photo style), search patterns that drove inquiries and sales, and the rise of new breeds joining the platform—and what that means for marketing in the year ahead.

We also get practical about “digital chores”—the simple, regular tasks that keep a ranch website working: fresh photos, accurate pedigrees, clean sale pens, and smarter links between social, classifieds, and your site. If you want a tighter, more effective online presence in 2025, this episode is your playbook.

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From the Pasture with Hired Hand:
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In this episode of From the Pasture with Hired Hand, we sit down with both 2025 NLFR champions—Danielle Mershon of Whistling Longhorn Ranch (Heifer Winner) and Jeff Wilson of Wilson Longhorns (Bull Winner). They walk us through the decisions that mattered most this season: how they picked their entries, managed conditioning and handling, dialed in feed and mineral programs, and prepared cattle to travel and show their best on the day.

We also get into ring craft and presentation, reading judges without “chasing,” balancing pedigree with phenotype, and the small daily habits that compound into big wins. Danielle and Jeff share common mistakes to avoid, what they’d do differently, and a simple planning timeline for newcomers—so you can head into next season with a clearer game plan and a calmer, better-prepared animal.

NLFR info: https://www.huntingtonsales.com/NLFR

Heads, I Win (Heifer Winner): http://www.whistlingtxlonghorns.com/Default.aspx?AnimalID=149746&Name=Heads%252cIWinDSM

M7 Double Jack (Bull Winner): http://www.m7longhorns.com/Default.aspx?AnimalID=147409&Name=M7DoubleJack

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In this episode, we sit down with Ross Ohlendorf of Rocking O Longhorns in Lockhart, TX—a Princeton grad and retired MLB pitcher who’s traded strike zones for pasture lines and found a new arena for strategy, discipline, and results.

Ross opens up about the habits that carry over from the mound to the ranch: building a system, tracking what works, and staying patient through the long game of breeding. We talk about reading cattle with the same attention to detail he once used to read hitters, why calm, useful cattle matter on a working place, and how the Lockhart climate shapes day-to-day decisions. He also talks about focusing on fundamentals, tuning out the noise, and stacking small wins that compound over time—all rooted in a genuine dedication to the Texas Longhorn breed.

Rocking O Longhorns: https://www.rockingolonghorns.com/

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From the Pasture with Hired Hand:
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