The J-B Ranch is located at Henly in Blanco County, the gateway to the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and was established in 1993. Henly is about 45 miles due west of Austin, on Hwy. 290. Our other pastures are within fifteen miles of Henly, in Blanco and Hays Counties.

I was raised on a ranch outside of Beaumont and spent every summer with my uncle on his large ranch in Louisiana. Jimmy is a BOI (born and raised on Galveston Island) and we lived there for many years. I ran a commercial herd of about 500 head, with two partners, on the west end of the island, while Jimmy ran our other businesses in town. We moved to the Hill Country in 1984. Raising Longhorns was just a dream—getting closer to Memorial Stadium and the Hill Country was our real goal!

We started out raising goats, mainly to clear the brush. I was missing not owning cows and on Christmas Eve in 1995, Jimmy surprised me with my first Longhorn. We nicknamed her Beva, (female for BEVO, of course). The next Christmas, I asked for another Longhorn and he gave me Rita.

In January 1997, a co-worker who knew of my interest in Longhorns brought Wilton Wilton by my office to meet me. Wilton asked what I was looking for next and I told him, "a pretty little 'ol black and white heifer." About two weeks later, I looked up to see Wilton standing at the door of my office holding up a picture of the cutest black and white calf you have ever seen. "Here she is!" he said. Carolyn and Wilton took us under their wonderful wings and have become very dear friends. They invited me to my first show, the Heart of Texas at Belton. I was hooked immediately and soon after entered my first STLA Show in San Antonio. I took that pretty black and white baby, J-B Alcade's Daughter, to my first World Show in June 1998—and have never missed one since.

We started with one small pasture and one Longhorn cow. Our program is growing everyday and we now average about 30 head. Raising Longhorns is no longer just a hobby. Jimmy is now totally involved, as he has taken control of our feeding program—and leaves the buying, breeding, and selling to me. Our bloodlines include Abraham, Measles Super Ranger, Overwhelmer, Emperor, Blackwood's Diego, WR, and Cowcatcher. In 2005, we will begin to see our first calves from a leased son of Liberator's Leprechaun and our young Abraham grandson, J-B General Beauregard.

We get very excited about our show prospects, but that is not our total focus. Our mission is to produce true Longhorns, who will retain the traits that made them survivors, scroungers, and great mama's! Longhorns are truly the cattle with "personality," and we love our "Gentle Giants." Call us or drop by and visit anytime, we love to show off our girls and future herd sire prospects.