About Our Ranch
We here at the Broken J Lazy A Ranch believe we have something special to offer.
No hype and no need for promises! What we have here is the "Real" thing.
Look Closely - the Beauty, the Conformation.
The presence - THE GREAT ONES PASS IT ON!
What you see here is the Prevailing POWER, SPIRIT, and BEAUTY of Real Bonanza!
How it all began...
It all began in 1990 with the purchase of a small acreage in Butler County , Iowa . Jim Luebbers was a district manager for the "Kent Feed Company." He traveled the area promoting and helping farmers set up feed rations for their livestock. Ann Luebbers had just left the very prestigious "Midwest Training Centre" where she had been training western pleasure show horses - with the likes of Bill Porcher and Randy Anderson for David Boggs of Elk River , Minnesota .
Ann's job with the Arabian show horses took her around the world going from show to show. Being gone from home so much made her decide to take a break. After 12 plus years this was enough. That is when Ann joined her high school sweetheart and started "the Ranch."
It started out with some stock cows which later grew to well over 100 cow/calf pairs and then came the horses. Ann trained a few outside horses for people. The horses were used to check the cattle in the pastures, wooded areas and across Beaver Creek which ran through the property. A lot of the local cowboys thought Jim (300 pounds and 6'6") looked strange riding an almost 14.3 hand Arabian mare to do this work. So they decided to find a "Real" horse for Jim. That is when they stumbled across Real Bonanza. A friend had him and did not think that he had the speed and mental attitude to be a great chuck wagon horse. (Thank God!)
When Dwight Weilenga heard we had him he was elated. Real was kept for Ann to show. So she went to the Paint Horse World and Congress shows to see how "those" horses were supposed to go. That looked easy compared to the "bridled up and big" Arabians that she used to train. That was the end to the trail rides and strolls in the pastures counting cows. Real went on to win several titles in the Iowa Paint Horse Club. Soon after, Real was earning Honor Roll and Leading Sire titles.
Times have changed. Jim now manages the local grain elevator in town, takes care of, and owns several hog sites, runs about 60-70 head of stock cows and bales a lot of hay in his spare time. Ann has gotten her amateur card and takes care of the breeding operations that once bred close to 100 mares a year with Real Bonanza. As Real Bonanza got older, a younger sire, The Ultimate of Lazy, commonly known as Roger, was brought in. He is co-owned by Ann and Kelly Cox, and is a son of Lazy Loper. Ann also started standing Guitar Gun for Dave Eberline. Guitar Gun is a son of Playgun. The opportunity to purchase Guitar Gun came about in November 2019. The partnership of Ann, Linda Penwell, and Gary and Robin Sampson of G and R Livestock Farms formed Three Guns, LLC and Guitar Gun was purchased and will remain standing at the ranch. Ann does all of the A.I. with Linda Penwell assist with collecting and shipping. Dr. Tom Pollock and Dr. Heather Schneider from Highview Animal Hospital are the attending veterinarians, who do all the palpating and health care of the mares and foals, along with taking care of the show horses. Blake Barnett handles all of the farrier work.
Fifeteen to twenty foals are raised each year. Ann prepares a few horses each year for futurities and the junior classes. The breeding season normally runs through July making it hard to have anything ready by fall futurity time. A few horses are sent out each year for training. The addition of The Ultimate of Lazy has resulted in several longe liners being shown successfully in futurities, and they are just getting started in the riding classes, being successful there as well. Guitar Gun has helped Ann start into the ranch classes as well, and both The Ultimate of Lazy and Guitar Gun are nominated for the new IQHA Ranch Horse Breeders Program and Futurity.
There is another addition to the family, our daughters. Bailey is 23 years old and Ella 13 year old. Bailey loves to ride, fish, camp and play basketball. Baby Ella is content watching the barn cats and dragging them around. She has recently started showing goats at the county and state fair.
Success includes honesty, integrity, and erudition. All of these qualities you will find with us at the Broken J Lazy A Ranch. Please feel confident that you will be pleased with your business.
We sell good, honest horses.
We take care of visiting mares and foals as if they were our own.
We ship affordable, quality semen.
Come see for yourself, the coffee is always on!