It took a few tries to reach Stan Weaver and sit him down for a visit.  He and all of the family had been on the go throughout much of the fall - a hectic time for most ranch folk.  After their September horse sale, the family scheduled a quick trip to California, where a Weaver Ranch horse was entered in the Pacific Coast Legend Cutting Futurity.  Considering the stiff competition, a ninth-place finish made the trip worthwhile.  But the Weavers' Montana ranch and waiting work beckoned.

Back at home, the shipping pens were the hub of activity, as cow-calf pairs were gathered, the calves pulled and sorted for shipment to new owners.  Then attention turned to working the cows and moving them to fall range.  But Stan and his wife, Nancy, made time for sharing a little ranch history, and offered some clues to their philosophy for producing good horses.  For the Weavers, raising cattle and making useful horses are interdependent endeavors.  They fit hand in hand.

"Working cattle goes better when you're riding a good horse," grins Stan, "and cattle work is what makes a horse good."

Weavers have been making a living with horses and cattle for generations.  Stan's forebears came from Tennessee and went as far west as Oregon, before backtracking to settle in northcentral Montana.  His granddad, Elmer Weaver, grew up near Chinook and proved himself handy at snapping out broncs.  By 11 years of age, Elmer was breaking horses for the public.  At 16, he was earning a man's wage, riding for as many as 21 clients.

Elmer opened a livery business in Geraldine, and often trailed horses to and from Chinook - a distance of some 100 miles along the Bearpaw Mountains and across the Missouri River.  When his livery barn burned, in 1925, the Weaver Ranch patriarch acted on the advice of a friend and purchased a spread located southeast of Big Sandy, and started running cattle as well as horses.

Upon Elmer's death, his youngest son took over the Weaver ranch.  Art was a cowman with a preference for white-faced cattle.  He sought out and bought Hereford bulls representing some of the popular bloodlines of the 1950s and '60s.  The operation was fairly typical of the era, with calves held over and marketed as yearlings.

"That changed after a pretty bad drought, in '64," tells Stan, who has managed the ranch for over two decades. "Because feed was short, Dad decided to sell the calves. We've continued to market calves in mid- to late-October. Then we started using mostly Angus bulls, so the cow herd is pretty much black now. We still use a few Hereford bulls to get some black-baldy calves. And now, we're looking into retaining ownership of our calves, through the feeding phase. That's what we're working toward."

Art also served as the country order-buyer.  Stan has continued that part-time business, putting loads of cattle together for purchase by Midwest feeders.  In an average year, Stan will handle up to 70 percent of the private-treaty sales in the local area.

Stan says his dad liked to raise horses for his own use, and usually kept five or six broodmares in production.  Art brought the first registered Quarter Horse mare to the ranch in 1959 - a granddaughter of Poco Bueno.  The conformation and cow-savvy of foundation-bred horses suited the country and the work to be done on Weaver Ranch.

"These Bearpaw Mountains look a lot like South Dakota's Black Hills. It's a short-grass country, ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 feet in elevation, with a lot of pine trees.  The slopes are steep and the ground is rocky," offers Stan.  "Horses have to be durable, with a lot of bone.  Good feet and legs, and a set of withers are important to me.  Ideally, I like a horse to be 14.3 to 15.1 in height, and athletic.  If they'll look at a cow, that size is about right for the ranch, the cutting pen or just about anything you'll do in the arena."

The demand for working and performance horses has been strong enough to encourage expansion of the Weaver horse enterprise.  At 300 head, the cow herd is a bit smaller than it used to be, allowing an increased tally of broodmares, to about 100 head.  Dominant bloodlines include Poco Bueno, King, and Leo, as well as Peppy San Badger and Doc O Lena.

The mares aren't babied, but run on native range year-round.  They do receive energy cubes or "cake," during the winter, through late-April and early-May foaling, and up until they're sorted for turn-out with the stallions.  The primary stud is Ima Bit Of Heaven, a red roan son of Smart Little Lena.  His get have shown promise in the cutting pen while colts by PC Joes Frost, a Sun Frost son, have been well received by ropers.  Among the several other Weaver sires is Poco Ima Doc, a grandson of Poco Bueno, whose daughters rank among Stan's favorites in the mare band.

"We've been building mare numbers during the last several years.  Some we bought, but most we raised," Stan explains.  "We had been buying a few yearlings and two-year-olds to start and get ready to sell through our sale, but now we're able to offer more horses of our own raising.  We'll offer quite a few weanlings along with broke horses.  We usually hold back 10 to 15 (weanlings), out of each crop, to grow up and use on the ranch."

Colts are started as two-year-olds and put to work as threes.  Calving starts in late February and runs through March and April, with colts logging plenty of miles during twice-a-day checks of heavies and pairing out of cows with calves.  All of the young horses are used when calves are roped and dragged to the fire for branding, in late April.  And by mid-May, cattle are trailed to high-county summer pastures, which involves drives of up to 10 miles.

"We'll do a little more sorting and moving to different pastures during the summer.  Then we'll move cattle back, closer to headquarters, so we can pull and ship calves, followed by preg-checking and working the cows.  We do it all horseback, so the young horses get quite a bit of experience," adds Stan.  "We also take them to the arena, to teach them to track cattle and turn a few steers.  And if we have to doctor any cattle, we do it horseback."

Fall also brings the annual Weaver horsesale, held at the fairgrounds in Great Falls.  Stan and Nancy, coordinate the 100-mile haul, the advertising and clerking of the auction.  They arrange for some outside help, but for the most part, it's a family affair.

"Our kids have always been a big part of the operation," Stan adds.  "KellyAnne and her new husband, Casey Terry, are on the ranch with us and are really involved with the colts.  Our oldest son, David, just got married too.  He and his wife, Telicia, live in Texas now, but they still have input.  David starts two-year-olds and trains cutting and reining prospects, including some horses from the ranch.  Our younger son, Daniel, is a sophomore at Washington State University, and his main interest is helping plan out breeding program."

Campaigning a few of their horses helps the Weaver clan to promote that program.  They've adopted an aggressive approach, keeping horses in training for cutting as well as reined cowhorse competition.  Merada Ima Boonsmal, for example, is the young Weaver stallion that was shown in California.  Sired by Peptoboonsmal, the blue roan three-year-old is proving himself in the cutting pen.  The Weaver family plans to follow his progress at some major cutting events, during the spring.  Of course, it's hard to get away.  There will be plenty to do on the ranch - the work that makes good horses.