The Farming Families of Lincoln County (SD)— November 2021

November 2021 | www.AgeMedia.pub

Faith / Family / Friends / Farming

Meet the

of Lincoln County

MCNEIL FAMILY Kristen and Chance McNeil and their children, Emerson and Wyatt.

Story on page 28.

Photo by Calvin Kroger.

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of Sioux County

SOCIAL SECURITY DEATH & TAXES

PUBLISHERS Garrett and Mindy Gross, AGE Media (605) 690-4071 EDITOR Bob Fitch, AGE Media (712) 551-4123 ADVERTISING SALES Garrett Gross, AGE Media (515) 231-9367 garrett@agemedia.pub © The Farming Families, Age Media & Promotion The Farming Families is distributed free exclusively to the farmers, ranchers and producers in rural southeastern South Dakota. All rights reserved. Content in this magazine should not be copied in any way without the written permission of the publisher. The Farming Families assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. Content in articles, editorial and advertisements are not necessarily endorsed by The Farming Families and Age Media & Promotion.

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

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TURNER COUNTY FAMILY

RODNEY HAMMERSTROM’S ROUGH BUT REWARDING RODEO OF LIFE

By Bob Fitch

“For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”

~ Philippians 4:13.

Half his lifetime ago, rodeo team roper Rodney Lane Hammerstrom took his colt out to check some fence lines in the family pasture near Davis. The path back proved to be a long and painful journey.

“Rod didn’t come home by the time I thought he should be home,” said Daryl Hammerstrom, Rodney’s father, talking about the evening of Oct. 15, 2003. “But I gave him a little more time because I knew he loved to just ride. Finally, though, my oldest son and I went looking for him.” They began their search and, as they backed out of the pasture Rod was supposed to be checking, Daryl spotted the colt.

Brother Rick ran to investigate. Rod was facedown, unconscious on a downhill slope. Rick told his dad it looked serious and he’d better go for help. “Thank goodness the colt stayed with him because we wouldn’t have seen Rod because his clothes blended in,” Daryl said.

Rodney Lane Hammerstrom with his parents, Barbara and Daryl.

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

Daryl ran into a neighbor who called for an ambulance and, breaking protocol, even called for an air ambulance based on what he perceived the situation to be.

Before the air ambulance arrived, Rodney quit breathing, but the Lennox ambulance crew succeeded in restoring his breathing and stabilizing him.

Daryl, Barbara and Rodney at one of the many churches where he spoke and gave his personal testimony about how Christ helped him recover from a traumatic brain injury.

Upon his arrival at Sioux Valley Hospital, Rod was already intubated and a machine was breathing for him. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma. “He looked like he could wake up and start talking to you. He didn’t have any broken bones, he didn’t have any internal injuries, he just had a little scrape on his finger,” said Rod’s mother, Barbara.

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“I spent 34 days in the ICU where I went code blue three times,” Rod said.

On the evening of day 31 in the ICU, there were about 70 members of Hammerstrom’s rodeo family at the hospital to provide moral support to Rod’s parents and family. “In the waiting room, they all stood in circles, and, going from the outside to the inside back to the outside, they all said oneline prayers for Rod’s healing,” Daryl said. “That was on a Friday night. On Saturday morning, he started coming to.”

He was a little more conscious on Sunday and, by Monday, they were moving him to the rehabilitation floor. Barbara said, “He didn’t all of sudden wake up and everything was fine. The pathways sending messages from the brain to the rest of his body needed a lengthy healing time.”

When he first started therapy he wasn’t able to communicate any wants or needs, still had a trach in, couldn’t eat anything orally, and was very agitated. The first two weeks were tough and progress was slow. He had to work on just sitting up. He had to re-learn how to open his eyes and focus, move his mouth and move his tongue. Then he had to learn to walk again.

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Bob McPhearson and Rod Hammerstrom after they captured a world championship this summer at RSNC. Photo by Tiffany McLeod.

Five days a week, for an hour a day, he spent time in the therapy pool walking – trying to regain the motion and movement in his hips.

He spent 60 days on the rehab floor of Sioux Valley.

Brian Iverson, one of his physical therapists said, “One thing about Rod is he was always willing to work hard. He tolerated a lot of pain. We got him up on his feet pretty quickly, but it was pretty much a max assist by two people.

His father was here almost every session and was very helpful.

The family support made a big difference for Rod. He had a sense of humor even when things were hard.”

MOVING MOUNTAINS But the nurses and doctors had warned Rod’s parents that every patient with a traumatic brain injury goes through some sort of

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depression. Rod hit that wall. “My dad came up one morning. When the elevator doors popped open, the nurses met him and told him the depression had set in. Being the optimistic fool my dad is, he thought ‘Oh heck, we’ll beat this.’

He came in the room all happy and joyful. He asked ‘How’s it going, bud?’ and I didn’t move. He then asked me ‘What’s the matter, bud?’ I told Dad ‘I just can’t do this anymore. All the things that came so easy to me, I’ve got to work so long and hard at the simple things.

I can’t do this therapy anymore. It’s gotten so darn tough.’”

Daryl said he thought Rod loved his life. Rod agreed, but now he felt he had tried everything to recover and he just couldn’t do it any longer. Daryl said, “Just a second there, son. Let me ask you this one more time, have you tried every option? Maybe there is one thing you overlooked. Have you given it

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

all over to the Lord?” Rod agreed to pray. “Fifteen minutes later, I popped my head up and said, ‘Dad, we’d better get to therapy.’”

Bible verses which helped him get through his seven years of physical, occupational and speech therapy included 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “But he said to me ‘My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” To conquer the mountains he faced daily, he leaned on Matthew 17:20 – “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

“So I looked at the mountains that were in my way. The first one was I couldn’t speak. The second one was I couldn’t walk. And you’ll probably admit those are two pretty crucial things in our lives. And the third thing was I knew less than what a baby does coming out of the womb.

A baby at least knows how to focus their eyes on what they want to look at and use their tongue. I didn’t know how to do any of that,” he said.

“The most crucial thing I did all the way through this wasn’t the therapy, but it was saying to the Lord, ‘Here is my good and here is my bad, do with it as you may.”

Rod valued the support he received from family, friends, the community and their extended rodeo family. “Rural people will get behind someone who’s fallen on hard times. If it weren’t for the rural type of people wanting to be there to help me, this whole story would have ended up much different than it has. Your country people are good, down-to-earth people.”

Rod happened to leave the hospital the same day the Lennox Sundstrom FFA was holding a pancake feed as a benefit for him.

“They were not expecting to have 725 people. They drained every store of eggs and other supplies,” Barbara said. Rod arrived in Lennox after most people had left the fundraiser, but he was able to greet a few of his supporters.

The FFA chapter made the pancake feed an annual event, raising money for different families in need in the community.

Working closely with the school district and a great tutor, Rod was able to finish his senior year of high school and graduate with his classmates. In an emotional moment at the ceremony, Rod slowly and haltingly walked unassisted across the stage to accept his diploma.

SHARING HIS TESTIMONY When he completed his years of therapy, Rod had a chance to give his personal testimony as a guest

at the Young Pro Team Ropers Camp in Texas, a faith-based camp for up-and-coming team roping professionals. Word-of-mouth was strong and others began calling.

For 10 years, he traveled mostly in the southern and southeastern U.S. as a Christian motivational speaker.

He spoke in 20 states and to more than 30,000 people. “I gave my testimony of what God had done for me in my recovery. That was a fun time in my life.”

He told every group that the Lord has a plan for their lives. “Maybe you’re walking in it right now, but you might not be walking in it for five, 10, 15 or 20 years. But if you keep walking with Him, you’ll be walking in your destiny.”

Rod got off the long-distance speaking circuit in March 2019.

Being on the road eight months of the year, he was ready for a change of pace.

November 2021 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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BACK IN THE RODEO ARENA About five years ago, Rod started easing back into the rodeo arena, competing alongside his parents in local team penning and sorting events. Not many years earlier, his physicians didn’t know if he would ever speak, eat or walk again – let alone ride a horse.

Barbara said, “Spending time with horses is good for both mind and body.” Rod agreed. “I didn’t just ride for the enjoyment of riding. I also rode because a horse walking mimics a human walking pattern. It helped me re-learn how to walk. Over time, I’m so thankful I rode as much as I did. It helped me in areas I didn’t even realize at the time.”

After two years at local rodeo events, he moved up to events sponsored by the South Dakota Rodeo Association. He continued to re-build his skills for another three years.

In 2021, he took it to another level.

This past summer, Rod and his sorting partner, Bob McPhearson, competed against 170 other teams in the Western Heritage Beginning Ranch Hand Class at the World Finals of the Ranch Sorting National Championships (RSNC) in Fort Worth, Texas. Teams from Australia, Brazil, Argentina and the United States competed. Not only did Rod and Bob have success in the qualifying rounds, but they made it through to the finals.

In the finals, they sorted a total of 19 cattle in 147.93 seconds.

That was good enough for Rod and Bob to go home with belt buckles that said “World Champions.”

The sleeve of Rodney’s leather jacket citing the world championship he captured with Bob McPhearson this summer.

Daryl said there isn’t normally a saddle awarded in this particular class. But Todd Jey, one of the country’s foremost saddle makers, was led to build a saddle for Rod, the design of which will include Bible verses.

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One of Rod’s favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:13 – “For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” “Going through this, I found there’s all kinds of hurts in this old world,” he said. “The devil is lurking around every corner just waiting for you to stumble so he can rip you away from God. But the thing that I have found is that if there’s a hurt in your life you can go in prayer to Jesus about that hurt. In a sense, what is hurting you is hurting the Lord and he wants to get that cleared up as soon as possible.”

Portions of this story are adapted from Rod’s personal testimony given to audiences throughout the United States. Search “Rodney Lane Hammerstrom” to find the presentation on YouTube. Additional interview material by Bob Fitch.

Rod Hammerstrom and some of the other team ropers in Fort Worth, Texas, this summer.

Photo by Tiffany McLeod.

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11

HUTCHINSON COUNTY FAMILY

‘I’VE LIVED A LOT OF GREAT PLACES, BUT THIS PLACE HAS ITS OWN TREASURES’

By Bob Fitch

Jennifer and Tom Martinez of Ethan.

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

Once upon a time, movies about the Old West were Americans’ favorite genre of film.

There were good guys and bad guys and it was easy to tell them apart. One typical plot line told the story of a rough Texas cowboy. The reliable ranch hand eventually seeks new adventures, so he joins a cattle drive heading north.

Later, he joins a new crew wrangling cattle somewhere in Colorado. But the circumstances of life eventually leave the cowboy downtrodden and destitute.

All is not lost! The Texas cowboy is redeemed by a golden girl he meets by chance. The beautiful lass not only knows her way around a horse, but she and her kindly parents welcome him to the prairies of Dakota. The cowboy and the golden girl raise their children and care for their livestock, always struggling against the harsh elements of the Dakota seasons. But love conquers all and the movie closes with their children riding painted ponies in the tall grass as the couple watches the burnt orange sun set in the west.

Sound too good to be true? Well, to be honest, it’s actually a pretty good synopsis of the lives of Tom and Jennifer Martinez, who live on the northern edge of Hutchinson County.

Jennifer grew up on the Ethan area farm of her parents, LeRoy and Susan Adams. She and her two sisters helped with the dairy cows, beef cows, registered Spotted pigs, and even sheep for a time. “I milked cows until I was a junior in high school. I think that’s something every kid should have to do for at least one summer because I think it teaches responsibility and time management,” Jennifer said.

Age Media Qtr Page Color 7-12-19.pdf 1 7/12/2019 11:22:43 AM

Magda and Cash Martinez.

But much of the their lives revolved around horses. Jennifer and her two sisters showed horses for many years and LeRoy raised and sold registered American Paint horse seedstock. Jennifer’s mom and sisters would travel to registered American Paint horse shows to earn points which increased the value of the stock LeRoy was selling.

“After high school, I didn’t show horses as much. I kind of switched to the rodeo side. I did a lot of rodeo pageants.”

Her crowns included Irene Rodeo Queen, Miss Corn Palace Rodeo, and Miss Dakotah Stampede. Today she actively volunteers on the Miss South Dakota Rodeo committee.

Jen and Tom’s commitment to the world of horses goes further. Jen was part of group that took over the hippology, quiz bowl and horse judging at the Sioux Empire Horse Expo when those competitions were floundering. Another threat to youth horse events occurred when restructuring of the Extension Service left the state with fewer educators to provide training and clinics. Interest waned quickly.

Jennifer and her colleagues first re-built a core group of volunteers for the Sioux Empire Horse Expo Youth Day. They were fortunate to receive lots of assistance from McCrossan’s Boys Ranch and other horse producers in southeastern South Dakota.

November 2021 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

13

growing yard there. I was in the feedlot business for 10 years. My first wife and I went our separate ways, and then I was on my own for four years.”

Then a chance encounter changed his life. “Jennifer was judging a rodeo queen contest in southwest Kansas and we met. I had a friend there from Aberdeen, S.D., and Jen was there with friends from Aberdeen, so they were all getting together to catch up. Jen and I were the two fifth-wheels of the group.”

Jennifer said, “We didn’t exchange phone numbers. He gave me his phone number and said, ‘If you ever want to talk, give me a call.’”

She called Tom a month later and told him she was done with her long-time boyfriend.

LeRoy and Susan Adams; Cash Martinez; Collin and Mikalena Rupp; and Jennifer, Tom and Blayne Martinez, with Magda in front.

“We always have a horse judging for Hutchinson County here at our place, and we open it up to anybody in the state of South Dakota to participate,” she said.

They also helped groups reestablish judging contests in a half dozen spots in the state. There was enough success to add a buckle series last year in southeastern South Dakota.

Participants must be able to judge a horse’s conformation, plus know multiple breed standards and 10 performance classes. Tom said the skills learned in horse judging “are being lost and we don’t want to see them go away. These skills can help them later in life if they’re choosing a rodeo horse or a working cow horse – or if they become any sort of salesperson or need to convince someone of their opinion.”

THE TEXAS COWBOY Tom’s story starts in New Mexico and west Texas. “My mom was a rancher’s daughter from Pampa,

14

Texas; and my dad was from New Mexico.” Four days after graduating from high school in El Paso, he went to work as a ranch hand in central Texas. “I was a ranch hand and manager for 14 years. I put myself through college.

When I got out, I didn’t want to do anything but ranch. That’s what I did.” Tom attended New Mexico State University, Tarleton State University and the University of New Mexico.

While he was managing a ranch in Colorado, he became dismayed about big corporations buying ranches as write-offs. “They didn’t care if I killed off every head on the place. They didn’t want to invest in anything on the ranch. So I said I’m not doing this anymore. I know better. And you guys aren’t going to re-train me to do something less than what I was trained to do.”

He moved into the feedlot business and eventually made a home in southwest Kansas. “Me and my exfather-in-law started a 5,000-head

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

“When I met Jen, I was so destitute,” Tom said. “I told her I had nothing.

How would you like to be her dad when she said to him: ‘I’ve met a man. He’s over 10 years older than me. He’s divorced. His last name is Martinez. He’s got two kids. And he’s coming up to visit.’”

Her parents never said a negative word. Tom thought, “Man, there is a sympathetic God.” When Tom’s children, Mikalena and Blayne, came to South Dakota, they opted into the arena of horse shows. But Jennifer made it clear that practices would be hard, but “We’re going to shows to win, and if we have fun while we’re there, great. We may not win, but we’re going to do it right.”

Mikalena and her husband, Collin, live in Hesston, Kansas. Mikalena is an RN, BSN in the Trauma-Surgical and Cardio Thoracic Intensive Care Unit at Wesley Medical Center.

Collin works with his father at their family-owned business, Rupp Performance Management, an ag recruiting business. They welcomed their first child, Sawyer, in July.

Blayne is finishing a degree in ag business at South Dakota State University. He graduates in December and has accepted a position with Hefty Seed.

GRANDPA IS A DOOR TO THE PAST Tom and Jennifer added two more children to the family, Cash, 13, and Magda, 7. Magda loves gymnastics in the fall, winter and spring at Mega Gymnastics in Mitchell, but she saves the summer for horse and goat shows. Cash likes to spend time with his grandfather, checking on the livestock or the farm fields or trapping coyotes and raccoons.

Tom said, “LeRoy and Cash are best friends. They do everything together. Cash will be sad when I die, but he will cry when his grandpa dies. Grandpa is a door to the past that we need to have, that we shouldn’t forget … better people, better work ethic, better moral fabric. I’ll gladly take second seat to Jen’s dad because he is a good man. He’s a good man and he’s treated me well and is an asset to our family.”

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Tom and Jen live in the house she grew up in; and her parents moved a house from Milltown to a spot right next door on the farm site. Her mom no longer works in town, but she spends time raising Corgi’s on the farm. “Mom loves to go trail riding. And she’s kind of back to showing horses, too.”

BREEDING AND SHOWING GOATS In addition to all the time spent in the world of showing horses, the family has been a seedstock producer of Boer goats since 2009. As a youth, Jen would “lease” sheep from Roger Vanness for the show season. By the time Mikalena and Blayne were around, Roger had added African Boer goats and he encouraged them to use his goats for summer 4-H projects.

Jen’s dad acquired four of Roger’s goats for her when Roger was retiring. In the last 12 years, Jen and Tom have become experienced as Boer goat seedstock producers and show goat breeders. And they feel fortunate right now that the market is strong for the Boer breed.

After testing the show waters elsewhere, Jen, Tom and other volunteers established their own show sanctioned by the American Boer Goat Association (ABGA). Their first show in Tripp was nerve-wracking, but ultimately 100 goats were entered, which tripled the entries at two established shows in the region. The next year there were 250 goats, which pushed them to have two shows, one in the spring and one in the fall. Some of the Martinez seedstock is now showing up as state champions in places like Wyoming and Minnesota.

Tom said the females they sell have all the traits needed “to make a good momma.” Jen added, “A lot of the bucks

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we sell are to commercial guys who want a better animal running through the sale barn. Our bucks are going to grow meat, they’re going to grow up fast, they’re going to grow up hard. So when they run those kids through the sale, even though they’re just going for meat consumption, they’re going to look better than anything going through the sale barn that day and make them more money. Our bucks are all home-raised; all of our does except maybe five are home-raised.”

Like Roger Vanness did for Jen and her sisters, Tom and Jen now lease goats to local youth to use for summer 4-H projects. Tom said, “We give the kids the ability to show show-quality goats without having to make a big financial commitment.”

Magda Martinez with one of her show goats at an ABGA-sanctioned show in Tripp in August.

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Just as nearly all of their goats are home-raised, that’s a point of pride on the horse side, too. “We’re proud that any horse I’ve ever shown, or roped off of or queened off of, or any horse our kids have shown off of, has been raised right here. They were bred, born and at least started on this farm, even if we sent them to a trainer for some special training. My kids and the kids we’ve worked with in 4-H go to the State Fair and we’re competitive.

We’re going up there and placing in the top five.”

Tom said, “We don’t make any money from the goat show held here. It all goes back to next year’s goat show.

And we don’t make any money on the horse shows. But the thing is, if we don’t hold shows like these, who will?” Even though the horses are an expense which doesn’t generate a “gol’ dang dime,” he and Jennifer invest the money and the time because it’s “part of the value system for us.” Jen added, “It’s an experience and the life lessons we can give to our kids.”

A TEACHER AND A CATTLEMAN When Jennifer is not volunteering for horse judging, goat shows, rodeo pageants or the Southeast South Dakota Horse Show Association – or

helping on the farm with the cattle, horses and goats – she works full-time as a special education teacher for the Bridgewater Emery School District.

She is a graduate of Dakota Wesleyan University.

In addition to their cow-calf operation, beef cows, and putting up hay, Tom is also a “commission man,” independently buying western feeder cattle to place on feedlots and then helping to market finished cattle to beef processors.

Jen is happy and content with their life as it is right now, but she said Tom is more driven. He replied that he isn’t “raging” like a rich man who wants to keep his riches, but rather he is raging to secure what they have. “When I came here to South Dakota and saw what was happening, I thought ‘What do I have to do to keep all this in place?’ I’m not raging for something big, but I just want to be able to rage long enough to secure what we have, so that my kids can do what they want to.”

Tom concluded, “To live here is just awesome.

I’ve lived a lot of great places and seen a lot of great things, but this place has got its own treasures.”

Cash Martinez showing a Boer goat at the South Dakota State Fair FFA show.

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HORSES AT SUNSET PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN BEGEMAN.

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MINNEHAHA COUNTY FAMILY

A PASSION FOR HORSES AND THEIR YOUNG RIDERS

By Bob Fitch

Deb McGuire is wellknown in equine circles for producing riders and horses who win national championships in Arabian horse competitions.

She’s proud of those champions, but she doesn’t keep a running tab on the total number of champions she’s helped produce. Her passion is connecting kids with horses. “I don’t care whether they just want to ride in lessons, go trail riding, or go to shows. I want to teach the kids to be committed and responsible and learn how to ride.” Deb believes it’s more important for youth to have a “grassroots experience” than simply having an expensive horse purchased by their parents. Her goal is to put great riders on great horses.

Deb and her husband, Keith, operate Performance Plus Arabians several miles west of Sioux Falls on 41st Street.

Deb described Performance Plus as a private training facility with a riding lesson program. “I know I’ve reached a lot of people and helped a lot of kids gain confidence and give meaning to their passion. It’s especially good for the kids who are real introverted, it helps them come out. It helps them learn how to communicate,” she said.

Deb McGuire operates Performance Plus Arabians with her husband, Keith.

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“The other thing that has really come into focus for me is expanding God’s kingdom through horse therapy, some way or another. It’s been good for me, my whole life.” Persons

participating in equine-assisted therapy are usually seeking help for emotional or behavioral problems. The therapy typically focuses more on learning to care for the animals rather than learning to ride. “My grandson was four when I first put him on a horse. He’s real hyper and just very physically active. You put him on a horse and he just falls asleep. It just changes people.”

A LOVE FOR HORSES SINCE CHILDHOOD Deb’s love for horses stretches back to her childhood. “I was just a horse crazy kid … drawing horses since I was five years old.

I was fortunate enough that I had a father who spoiled his little girl,” she said. Her parents were Denny and Peggy Plooster. “Dad The family of Deb and Keith McGuire (left to right). Brittney McGuire; Chelsey Zaheen holding Roya marched to the beat of his own Zaheen; Ryan McGuire; Deb and Keith McGuire; Hunter Janzen; RP and Miranda McGuire; Hayleigh Janzen; and Brianna and Nick Cummings who is holding Nola, with Edgar and Abram Cummings drummer. He went through the in front. Missing from the photo is Chelsey’s husband, Aaron.

Great Depression and he left home when he was 11. He got a scholarship for pole vaulting to Colorado University. He became a physical therapist at Crippled Children’s Hospital & School and worked his way up to assistant administrator. Then he got into sales and was one of the founding distributors in Conklin Distributing.”

Their farmland was originally acquired in 1936 by Deb’s grandfather. “My grandfather was kind of an ornery old coot.

They’re still finding whiskey bottles around here. He was more of a hobby farmer than anything.” Her dad rented out the crop ground, but used the home acres for his sideline as a dog trainer. “He raised German Shorthairs, did field trials, and bred and sold dogs. Then he got into Labradors because he wanted water fowl dogs. He dug all the ponds out here so he could work his dogs,” she said. When she wanted horses, Denny decided he could make money breeding horses too.

Denny started adding buildings on the property in the late 1970s as tax write-offs. “When we first got into horses, it was just for ourselves. Then we got into a mare breeding program.” Horse breeding crashed in the mid-1980s as a result of tax code changes. Before Deb started training horses and riders, her brother, David, farmed the family’s acres for a short time. He left to go to seminary. Her brother, Michael, is a retired orthopedic surgeon. Both brothers left South Dakota to pursue their dreams elsewhere.

Deb started training horses and caring for them at the fairgrounds during high school but, when her dad remodeled the “old barn” on the farm, she started training client horses and began training kids to ride. She began taking some

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Audrey Flakus and her horse, Great Xxpectations, were the most recent national champions to come from Performance Plus Arabians. Audrey won the championship in Arabian Sidesaddle English JOTR at the Midsummer Arabian Youth Nationals in Oklahoma City. Audrey is pictured with her family and friends after her big win. Deb McGuire (third from right) is holding the trophy.

of those horses and the riders to national Arabian horse competitions in the early 1980s. “My parents said I couldn’t make this a business, but I proved them wrong. I kept pushing through. My parents supported me when I needed it and God has been good,” she said.

“We originally started out with a 4-H group and that morphed into people wanting to show more and more, and go to Arabian shows all over the country.”

Sisters Leah and Lucy Anderson take riding lessons at Performance Plus.

LESSONS PROGRAM GROWS The riding lessons program at Performance Plus has been growing.

“We start everyone with an intro lesson that’s usually an hour-anda-half. They learn how to brush and groom the horse and why we do that; how to pick their feet; how to move around the horse; how to put a halter on and how to tack them; and then they learn the basics of riding.”

Those that choose to go beyond the introductory lesson go into group lessons or private lessons. Out of

the lesson program Deb finds horses to purchase for her students who want to take that next step. “We have had numerous national champions, including another one last year. “ They have several in-house shows each year for their academy students. There are five instructors in the program. “You need people with a lot of drive and energy to do this,” she said. Having an indoor heated facility makes it easy to operate year round.

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For 10 years, Performance Plus hosted the ‘Y’ camp when Leif Ericson wasn’t in use. During the same time period, their annual Halloween party was a large community event used as a way to introduce people to horses and the company’s services. They continue to host a Halloween party, but now just for the children and families who are clients and part of the lesson program.

Deb also recently hired an ex-SDSU equestrian coach to provide jumping lessons. “We don’t teach ranch or rodeo riding. We concentrate more on the finesse of riding, horsemanship and ultimately the communication and control of the horse,” she said.

Deb has trained many horses and coached many riders to become national champions. She used to have as many as 25 show horses a year. She’s narrowed that number down in recent years. “We traveled to Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio.

We used to go everywhere for horse shows.” She said 2022 will be the last year she’s going to drive the semi and nine-horse trailer to national events. Keith said, “I’m going to sell the horse trailer and the Peterbilt to hold her to that.”

Keith owned McGuire Electric from about 1988 to 2008. He started doing repair and farm work for Deb even before he sold his business. “I put up the hay, maintain the grounds and arenas, and fix what needs to be fixed.”

Performance Plus Arabians is located several miles west of Sioux Falls.

He bales 100 acres of grass hay for the TRAINING HORSES horses. Deb said, “I married him because he wanted Deb spends a significant amount of time to be a farmer. And thank God he’s with every new horse. She described the good at doing stuff because the Arabians as sensitive athletes. “Normally maintenance on this place is crazy.” when I get a new horse I spend 30-40 They each have two children from minutes a day, three to four days a week previous marriages and a total of on their back. Then I’ll spend a couple seven grandchildren. days a week on ground work. It takes about three years to train them. Every In addition to the husband/farmer/ horse is different. Some need more jack-of-all-trades she has in Keith, riding than others; some horses have Deb also relies on another team of had bad experiences and need to rebuild to keep the horses healthy. “You trust,” she said. need good professionals who help

keep the horses fit – like a good vet, Whether “I think I’ve been successful yobecause u’re seekI ing dentist and farrier. A farrier has a skilled, ass ving comwork have such aliconsistent munitethic ist always been a hard thing. Most y forforyourse able things lf is the horses.”

She said a horse-related o a r se fo n r se a w love of the South Dakota people who e’re num of warmth a ber orequires nd comfort. business complete commitment. ne. have horses have working horses Let Ti “You’ve got to be totally invested and or rodeo horses. You shoe a have a passion to do this.” working horse way different than a show horse.”

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KEEPING LOCAL HISTORY ALIVE

Russian thistle tumbleweeds along a fence line. Russian thistle first appeared in the United States in Scotland, S.D. Flax seed from Russian was contaminated with the thistle seed. Photo by Mark Marathon, Wikipedia Commons.

THE RUSSIAN INVASION THAT BEGAN IN SCOTLAND, S.D.

By Gary Jerke

Some years ago, when I was doing an oral history interview with a Mrs. Bender from the Scotland area, she shared with me how the notorious Russian thistle began its U.S. journey on their farm (the Gimbel place) south of Scotland or at least nearby.

Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers sang a classic version of “Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds.”

The story seems plausible as, in 1876, a German Russian farmer near Yankton named Henry Schantz had found the weed in some flax seed he had brought over to the new land.

When told to destroy it, he refused, wanting to see it grow and what it would amount to.

See them tumbling down

In the steppes of Russia, the thistle would be cut when young and made into cattle feed. Needless to say, that was not the case in South Dakota. The only good to come from this thistle is the song that many of us “wannabe” cowboys remember singing along with Roy Rogers called “Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds.” Here are two verses from the classic song:

Cares of the past are behind

Pledging their love to the ground Lonely but free I'll be found Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Nowhere to go, but I'll find Just where the trail will wind Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds Songwriter: Bob Nolan Tumbling Tumbleweeds lyrics © Williamson Music, Inc.

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In some places, Russian thistle has served as a centerpiece at some community festivals, but here in Dakotaland it is a nuisance weed and nothing more.

This story took on added meaning when I was visiting my dentist in Tripp. On his waiting room table, I found a copy of the December 2013 National Geographic where, on page 130, was a story titled “The Weed That Won The West.” The story shares that the Department of Agriculture in 1880 had received reports of a strange new plant near the town of Yankton, S.D. Furthermore, the story said the seed was found in some contaminated flaxseed near the town of Scotland, S.D. Interesting as that was the very story Mrs. Bender had shared with me earlier.

AMERICAN EMBLEMS Tumbleweeds were already a detested farming pest and fire threat back in the late 19th century, but that didn’t stop them from becoming immortalized in 20th-century Western movies as rugged roamers, symbols of our national reverence for resilient individualism, wide open spaces and rambling frontier freedom.

Several Westerns were named for these shrubby lone drifters — a 1925 silent film called “Tumbleweeds” and a 1953 Audie Murphy flick named "Tumbleweed." A 1935 Gene Autry movie titled "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" also featured a hit song by the same name.

A poster for the 1925 silent movie “Tumbleweeds” starring iconic cowboy actor William S. Hart.

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TUMBLEGEDDON! From a series of Twitter posts on Jan. 1, 2020,

by Washington State Patrol Officer Chris Thorson • We’re still working on clearing the roadway with Washington State DOT. We are unsure when the roadway will be opened. Tumbleweeds are piled 20-30 feet in places. #tumblegeddon • After 10 hours of (Highway) SR 240 being closed last night on New Year’s Eve, it was opened around 0430 thanks to Washington State Department of Transportation. #tumblegeddon • We still have one abandoned car trapped in the tumbleweeds that was found at daylight, luckily no one was in it. #tumblegeddon “Tumblegeddon” was a massive collection of tumbleweeds which closed highways in Washington State on Dec. 31, 2019, and Jan. 1, 2020. Snowplows were brought in to clear the highways of the tumbleweeds.

Photo by Chris Thorson, Washington State Patrol.

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Salsola tragus, commonly known as Russian thistle.

THE COLD HARD FACTS Russian thistle (Salsola tragus), also referred to as tumbleweed, is a summer annual belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Stems of this plant vary in length from eight to 36 inches, and are striped with red or purple markings. At maturity, the plant takes on a dome shape with diameters ranging from 18 inches to 6 feet. During the fall months, the plant becomes dry and breaks off at the soil level where it rolls for great lengths from wind movement. The result of the tumbling is to spread seeds across long distances.

State workers unbury a car trapped in tumbleweeds on a Washington State highway on Jan. 1, 2020. Photo by Chris Thorson, Washington State Patrol.

By depleting available water for crops, providing shelter to harmful invertebrates, and a carrier of curly top virus, the Russian thistle reduces ag crop yields. Russian thistle can build up along fence lines, creating a fire hazard, and where it must be manually removed.

One plant is capable of releasing 200,000 seeds across several miles depending on wind conditions and path obstructions. Russian thistle has been identified in 23 states and the District of Columbia.

Russian thistle was accidentally introduced to the United States by immigrants in 1873 in contaminated flax seeds brought to South Dakota.

Excerpted and adapted from the Texas Invasive Species Institute www.tsusinvasives.org/home/database/salsola-tragus

The annual Christmas tree made of tumbleweeds in Chandler, Ariz., a tradition more than 60 years old. Photo by Peter Bronski, Wikipedia Commons.

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LINCOLN COUNTY FAMILY

Kristen and Chance McNeil and their children, Emerson and Wyatt, in front of their stables. All photos by Calvin Kroger except where noted.

MCNEIL FAMILY FINDS THEIR CALLING

By Bob Fitch

Any good cattle or hog producer will say feeding and caring for their animals takes priority over their own human comforts. The story is no different on the Chance and Kristen McNeil place east of Harrisburg.

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“We grew up with animals and we know the animals eat first,” Chance said. “Whether it’s snowing, raining, blowing, those chores need to be done. It’s definitely a labor of love. There’s easier ways to make money, but we both enjoy what we’re doing. Neither one of us is cut out for the office.”

The big difference between the McNeil place and other area farms is they are caring for horses and dogs.

Chance and Kristen operate three businesses:

A look at CK Stables and CK Kennels from the highway east of Harrisburg.

•

CK Stables has 27 large horse stalls, pasture, 16 paddocks, indoor riding arena, heated barn, and other amenities. There are riding lessons and options for full care stall board or partial care stall board.

• CK Kennels provides overnight dog boarding, long term boarding, and dog daycare in a state-of-the-art facility.

on properties that were going to be developed. In addition, Chance has been in charge of snow removal for the Harrisburg School District for 20 years. He did it by himself for many years, but as the district grew and the stable and dog business grew, his dad and uncle have taken on much of the snow plowing.

• CK Bulldogs raises and sells French and English bulldogs.

Kristen grew up raising bulldogs on her family’s farm north of Canton. When they started dating, Chance quickly came to share her passion. Together, they’ve been raising and selling English bulldogs since about 2003 and added French bulldogs in 2007. Kristen also grew up riding horses on her family’s farm.

Chance’s childhood experience with raising animals was a little different. “I remember multiple times my name would come over the loud speaker in middle school and I thought, ‘Man, what did I do now?’ But when I got to the office, the call was ‘Hey, we need you and three of your friends … the emus got out and are running around Harrisburg. We need you to come help catch them.’” Chance’s dad raised emus on his farmland which used to sit where Sam’s BP and Harrisburg South Middle School are at now.

“My dad thinks I’m nuts to be raising dogs, but I remind him most people think he was further out there raising exotic birds back in the day.” Chance’s parents had 400-500 head of emus, as well as a few horses.

After high school, his journey zigged and zagged. With his parents, he started the car wash in Harrisburg. In addition, he had an automotive body shop in Sioux Falls. (Both businesses have since been sold.) He and his dad also did lots of “dirt work” … demolition and site preparation

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found the right spot east of Harrisburg.

But the only thing the place had going for it was location. It was in rough shape, so they remodeled the house and took down every other building on the property.

They began building the barn in spring of 2011. “We had our wedding in the barn in August 2011. I don’t remember if it was because we wanted to do it in the barn or if we were too broke to do it at any other venue. There was no honeymoon, no nothing.

We were too broke and too busy to go anywhere,” he said.

Emerson with her horse and Wyatt on his dirt bike.

Meanwhile, Kristen was doing medical coding and billing for a large certified public accountant and consulting firm. But she wasn’t enjoying sitting behind a desk every day.

BULLDOGS AND BOARDING HORSES “We both seemed to be missing our calling. Neither one of us were happy living in town,” Chance said.

To get Kristen out of her office job, they started looking for an acreage where they could board horses and operate their bulldog business. They

They began boarding horses that fall and also moved their bulldog breeding business into the barn.

They boarded dogs for friends and family, and had so many requests for boarding, they added that to the business several years later. In 2015, they put a big addition onto the house and moved the puppy nursery there, which opened up kennels to board adult dogs.

“But we were still full up, plus the horse barn was getting so busy and the riding lesson program was going so well. I decided if we were going to continue doing this, we had to separate our dog customers from our horse customers. In 2017, we added another building, and completely separated the kennel from the barn,” he said. The couple added an office and further professionalized by branding under three business names: CK Stables, CK Kennels and CK Bulldogs.

“When we first started, it was just us.

We did all the chores, we did all the cleaning, we did all the turning out. I still laugh about when we first asked ‘Can we afford to hire somebody to help us?’ Now I’ve almost lost track of how many employees work for us,” Chance said.

NAME ON THE BUSINESS – PRIDE IN THEIR WORK “We started all of this from nothing.

Because Kristen and I have our names on it, it took me a long time to find people who pride themselves in their work and get it done the way I want it,” he said. Just like you can’t mess up when feeding and caring for your children, you can’t mess up with animals either. Key fulltime employees are barn manager

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

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31

and riding instructor, Kat Naber; kennel manager Angel Mendez; and Kristen’s brother, Zac Hyronemus, who does facility maintenance and is a jack of all trades.

Many of their part-time workers are in-house hires – girls as young as 14 who have horses in the barn have become employees. “They want to work off their board and they want to get the experience in the barn. They know our system very well,” he said. Some of the young women also end up working in the kennel.

Two of their best workers are their own children, Wyatt, 11, and Emerson, 7. Both do a good job with the puppies and the dogs. Wyatt enjoys the canines, but he’d rather be on his dirt bike than with the horses.

“Kristen and Emerson are absolutely horse fanatics,” Chance said. “The horses are their thing. Emerson got Kristen back in the saddle. I very much believe Emerson will be running the barn by the time she’s 14 years old.”

Kristen added, “I had stayed away from horses for years, but when we had Emerson and when she got to be two or three, she had a horse ride and she’s been hooked ever since. So then I got back into the horses.”

Chance and Kristen McNeil in front of CK Kennels.

She continued, “My gosh, Emerson will go all day and all night. A lot of nights we won’t see her until 9:00. She

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

The McNeil family also operates CK Bulldogs, a breeder of French (left) and English (right) bulldogs. Photos by Kristen McNeil.

comes in, eats, and lays down to sleep. She does the chores, lets them out and brings them in.” One day in October, Emerson helped the veterinarian from 8:00 in the morning until about 8:30 at night.

Chance said, “She thought she was pretty cool getting out of school to help with veterinary services. She helps hold horses while the vet checks teeth and does vaccinations and so forth.”

GOOD HORSEMANSHIP Chance said youth who have animals at CK Stables need to know and practice good horsemanship from day one. “There’s a whole checklist of things they need to know before they ever get in a saddle. The kids have to know how to care for their animal, to protect the safety of the animal, to check hooves, and they have to know how to tack. Even though we’re a full-care boarding facility, they need to understand it’s an animal they’re getting into. It’s not a dirt bike or four-wheeler you can just put in

the shed when you don’t feel like dealing with it.”

Caring for animals is a 24-hoursa-day, 365-days-of-the-year business. And holidays are the busiest times for boarding dogs. “We never get away over Thanksgiving or Christmas. We just get slammed with boarding business,” Chance said.

The businesses have grown almost entirely by word-of-mouth. Their marketing is focused on two open houses that double as community appreciation events. According to Chance, “Every year, we have our big barn party on the Saturday after the 4th of July. We have a band, cater in food, give horse rides, and have a professional fireworks display. We see about 750 people. Then we have a Halloween party where we decorate all the horses and their stalls. Last year, we had a little over 1,200 people.”

Both events are free and open to the public. Follow CK Stables on Facebook for event information.

Chance and Kristen recently started buying land in the Black Hills where they plan to build vacation rental properties. This enterprise gives him a chance to do some of the “dirt work” he loves, but no longer has time for in Harrisburg.

On top of the stables, kennel, puppy nursery, snow plowing and now the Black Hills project, Chance is also president of the South Dakota Pet Breeders Association.

The organization does continuing education for breeders. He’s involved with the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council which lobbies in Washington, D.C., for causes such as additional funding to provide service animals for veterans suffering from PTSD. “I don’t do well with downtime,” Chance said. “I always have to have a project, I always need to have something going. I always feel like I’m behind the eight-ball, but when I look back, there are a heck of a lot of things we’ve accomplished in 10-12 years.”

November 2021 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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FROM THE KITCHEN

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• 1 cup chopped pecans toasted • 1 Tbsp. dried sage leaves • 1 pork loin (4 lb.) butterflied • ½ tsp. salt • ½ tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare stuffing as directed on package. Remove from heat; gently stir in fruit, nuts and sage.

3. Open meat; please cut-sides up, on work surface. Top with stuff; roll up, starting at one long side. Place seam-side down, on foil-covered baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Season with salt and pepper.

4. Bake for 45-60 minutes until internal temperature is 145 degrees. Let sit 10 minutes before slicing.

Contact Bob Fitch at (712) 551-4123 or Bob@agemedia.pub 34

The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021

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November 2021 | www.agemedia.pub | The Farming Families Magazine

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of Minnehaha County November 2021

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The Farming Families Magazine | www.agemedia.pub | November 2021