World history documents that four-fifths of all cattle were bred for use as pulling oxen. In the J. Frank Dobie book, The Longhorns, Dobie carefully recorded that all original cattle arriving to North American shores were trained pulling oxen. The blend of these early cattle, mostly from Spain, included various types, colors and breeds of Spanish bovine. In this case, Texas Ranger more closely resembled the oxen type, and to the opposite, Don Quixote the Mexican range cattle. On July 11, 1972 Don Quixote was purchased from Chain Ranch by Dickinson Cattle Co. Inc., then headquartered in Colorado. Immediately it was planned to collect his semen, however, the collection company was scared of Don Quixote and refused to collect him. Terms were finally agreed that they would collect him only if he was halter trained and could be handled safely with a halter. Dickinson proceeded to halter break a seven-yearold bull, which was not an easy job. When the day came that Don Quixote was taken to the AI center, he made one collection jump and donated over 800 ampules. That was his only collection for nearly 10 years. Most of his famous progeny came from semen (price $5.20) of that collection. He was TLBAA AI Certified as AI bull #2. Don Quixote was bred by Dickinson Cattle Co. for several years mostly to Texas Ranger daughters. He was purchased by Texas oil man Cy Rickel Jr., then Wright Ranch at Robstown, Texas, and completed his service life at the Safari B Ranch of Vici, Oklahoma.
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During the life of Don Quixote there were only a few hundred Texas Longhorn producers and very few of those used AI. From small herds a handful of calves were produced, B Bar D Texas Don, Don Quintana, Choya, Quixote Cheetah, Don Quinado, Don Abraham, Quixote Joan, Tiptoe, Oklahoma Quixote, and Quixote Caledonia were the better known ones. From the Don Quixote foundation many of the most valuable cattle today trace back to him. Some are black, many are dark colored, and to throw the main point off track there is the first clone cow, Starlight, mostly all white, one of the best, sired by the black bull Deigo’s Hot Shot. At Texas Longhorn shows as many as a third of the entries are black or black spotted. With few, if any exceptions, they all trace back to Don Quixote. Some are as far back as 12 generations, and still black. Some over-eighty-inch, respected cows with the foundation lineage of Don Quixote are Day’s Feisty Fannie, BL Rio Catchit, Working Woman, 4C Princess, Outback Beauty, Shadow Jubilee, and Jester (seven times). Bulls that share a piece of his foundation DNA are Top Caliber, Respect Me, Tempter, Jamakizm (five times), Rodeo Max ST, Safari BL Chex, Drag Iron, Rio Grande, Hunts Command Respect, Jet Jockey (TLBAA World Halter Champion) and Boomerang C P. Only a few people are living who actually saw Don Quixote in person. Through his down-line progeny his dominant mark of black, dark colors, small specks, and correct trim-type forever lives on. The early colors of registered Texas Longhorns were mostly dun or a pale red -- dominant pale red. Had Don Quixote not contributed his bold black slick-coated DNA, without a doubt, there would be very few, if any true black Longhorns today. Without the DON, it would have been a very pale, dishwater colored Longhorn world.
Texas Longhorn Trails