Passion runs through Rick Kieckhefer’s veins as he and his family strive to make all the different facets of their businesses—the horse sale, livestock and farming operation, and the beef business—better.
Rick’s family has been in Arizona since the 1860s on his mother’s side. His father’s side moved to Arizona in 1941 and bought the K4 Ranch north of Prescott. In 1954, Rick’s maternal grandfather, ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Sheppard, went to work as the manager for Rick’s paternal great-grandfather, J.W. Kieckhefer, at the K4 Ranch and remained the manager for the next 40 years.
Rick was born on the ranch, and his daughter, Kodi, will be the sixth generation. Rick said the family has a passion for the horse and livestock business despite it being a tough business to be in.
“There are a lot of other ways to be in business, and if you don’t have the passion for it, it’s certainly not the business for you,” Rick told WLJ.“My family’s been involved in a lot of things, and we’ve always had a passion for this business. As I got older, that passion got stronger, and the things that we had done just continually grew.”
The Kieckhefer family began raising Quarter Horses shortly after purchasing the K4 Ranch and began registering the first horses in 1943, just three years after the formation of the American Quarter Horse Association. The family was passionate about horses. Within a decade of raising Quarter Horses, Robert (Bob) H. Kieckhefer and Sheppard were producing horses that were winning championships at racetracks and in show rings all over the West, in addition to raising good ranch horses.
As Rick grew older, he developed that passion, and he and his wife, Sarah, decided to expand the horse business with the Legacy Ranch Horse Sale.
The horses are raised and trained on the K4 Ranch and are under saddle at 2 years of age, where they learn to travel through rough terrain and wide-open spaces and work with the cattle on the ranch.
Rick and Sarah have built the business to become a “premier ranch horse sale of the Southwest,” and as Rick said, it really showcases what the ranch is doing.
“In the cowboy world, the fastest way to one’s heart is through the horse, and it’s been great for us to showcase that and then see some of these horses go on to be very successful outside of our operation and into the professional ranks,” Rick said. “It’s just been great. It’s been really rewarding to watch.”
Rick said it is enjoyable to see the horses competing in circuit rodeos and have the people competing come back to the sale year after year to purchase the ranch’s horses. One such person was Tuf Cooper, competing in his 14th career National Finals Rodeo (NFR), who purchased horses from the sale because of the foundation and the horses’ smarts.
Rick said throughout his professional rodeo career, which also earned him a tie-down roping NFR qualification in 2002, he has built relationships and a reputation in the industry that have proven beneficial for the horse program, allowing their horses to remain on the professional rodeo stage for the past 25 years. Sarah has also been in barrel racing for the last 25 years with a long list of accomplishments, and her passion is having horses and the sale.
At their seventh annual sale, sales totaled $725,250 on 36 head, with an average of $20,145.83. Rick said at their sales, they try to have horses of all ages and one or two horses that he knows have what it takes to compete in professional rodeo and be very competitive.
The 5-year-old gelding, Cee My Credit Maxed, sold at the sale for $100,000 to Joseph Parsons of Marana, AZ, who is a fellow NFR tie-down roping qualifier.
“To watch that horse sell for $100,000 really drove home what we’re doing and the confidence people have in those horses,” Rick said. “I mean, that horse had been to town twice in his life, and to say that we can take a horse from the ranch and because of his genetics and of his training, to put him on that stage that people are willing to step up and give that much money for him, it’s just really special.”
Rick said he breeds horses that work well in the performance arena and on the ranch. The best ones they see in competition are also the best to get the job done on the ranch.
“Sarah and I and the guys take a lot of pride in it because it’s neat to watch one of those horses competing, and you remember halter breaking them,” Rick said. “That’s what drives me in business. If we do the right thing and we’ve done our job to this point, today’s going to be taken care of. I’m looking at tomorrow, the next year, 10 years, 20 years—that’s what drives me.”
In addition to the Legacy Ranch Horse Sale, in 2018, Rick and Sarah bought a half interest in Cholla Livestock—one of the largest cow-calf operations in Arizona with ranching operations also in California, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas—with Harvey Dietrich, and they were partners until Harvey passed away from COVID-19 in 2020. Rick said Harvey was an icon and a great partner in the three years they worked together, and he admired his enthusiasm for the business.
“He was learning every day and embracing everything and gathering information to make the best decision you can,” Rick said. “He was the epitome of passion and passionate about the industry. He loved every single minute of his life, and when you’re working with somebody that’s in their 80s and you see that enthusiasm and that passion, it really drives you and you learn from it.”
Using Harvey’s experience as co-owner and president of Sun Land Beef Company, the two started the beef business process. The idea came from the exposure in the cattle industry and dealing with meatpackers and the suppression they have in the marketplace.
The plan was to put some exposure into the boxed beef business and start two labels. After Harvey’s passing, Rick continued with the concept of Gourmet Beef, a direct-to-consumer brand, and Copper State Reserve, which works with a wholesaler that distributes to restaurants and businesses in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.
The idea was to create beef for consumers who value non-hormone treated, locally-produced cattle and the hard work that went into the product, he said. Rick said they try to differentiate their product from others that are selling direct, and it has been a challenge that he enjoys, and the business has gained momentum.
Rick added it has been a learning curve, and he learned from Harvey and Eric Brandt, CEO of One World Beef in Brawley, CA, who processes meat for Rick. Rick said he doesn’t know much about boxed beef, but he has hired the right people to help grow the business.
“The biggest thing for us, whether it’s Gourmet Beef, Cholla Livestock, our horse operation or the farming operation, I tell everybody that I am in the people business,” Rick said. “We just happen to handle cattle, but I’m in the people business. And so it’s all about people, and it’s all about relationships. Everybody has a lot of great ideas, but you only have so much time to get these ideas done. And if you want to do these ideas, you need to add team members, and it takes good ones. As we do any growth—whether it’s horse sale, whether it’s cattle, whether it’s boxed beef—we grow with people.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
