The Bulls
Sunchaser
Sunchaser is our oldest herd bull, born in 1994. We bought Sunchaser as a yearling in 1996 when he took a Bronze Trophy at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. The last time we recorded Sunchaser's weight was in November of 1999. At the time he was five and weighed 2,348 pounds. He could barely fit into the scale cage. He has grown since then - bison don't fully mature until they are eight -- so we can only guess at what he weighs. He certainly can't fit into the scale cage now!
Sunchaser's attributes include a six-foot height at the shoulder, a big thick body with straight top and bottom lines. Length is one of his better attributes and he carries himself well with a solid gait. His sons and daughters have gone on to win trophies at Denver and Rapid City, and more than once he has covered for inferior bulls. Beyond that, he is just a decent individual and all around nice guy. He has never demonstrated any aggressive or hostile behavior toward us -- even when we run him through the corral and load him into the trailer for his annual transport back to the "Boys Club" in the winter pasture.
Stillwater
In 1997 Stillwater won a Bronze Trophy in Denver at the GTSS. We were ecstatic! After spending days at the pens looking at the bison we were planning on bidding on, we just knew that he was going to win the Gold and the price would put him out of our reach. This was one case when we were glad that the judges' opinions differed from ours. As a result we were able to bring what we thought was the best yearling bull in the show home to Red Canyon Ranch. And has Stillwater ever proven himself. He comes from the Trails End River Bison in South Dakota, one of the world's premier bison breeders. The last weight we recorded for Stillwater was 2,267 pounds in November of 1999. He had to shoehorn himself into our scale cage. He was only four.
Today he stands a couple of inches over seven feet at the shoulder, taller than Sunchaser, and thick all the way through. His length is outstanding, the breadth and length of hip superb. His progeny have won trophies in Denver and Rapid City. Stillwater has a mild manner and doesn't raise much of a ruckus - except with Sunchaser. Boys will be boys.
Raven
Raven came to us from Bengstrom's Battle River Ranch in Alberta. We picked him out of the competition in the pens at the Canadian National Bison Show at Agribition in Regina. Not only did we like him, so did the judges. They chose Raven as the Canadian National Grand Champion in 1999. At the time, he weighed 1,215 pounds. As of June 2005, he weighed in at 2,468 pounds. Raven is way ahead of all of our other bulls on the growth curve.
Raven brings perfect confirmation to the Red Canyon bison herd. He just doesn't have any faults. His top line reminds you of a cantilever bridge. He carries himself like a prince despite freight-train length. Unlike the others he's a little shy, but displays a calm and easy going attitude. His first calf crop is on the ground, and we are waiting to see how they stack up.
Two Hearts
Silvertip
Photo © 2006 Michele Sherwood
Silvertip won the Silver trophy at the Canadian Bison Association in Regina. Silvertip might only have won a silver trophy, but we thought he was just the finest two year old bull we had ever seen. Silvertip comes from Lorne and Louise Miller's Silver Creek Bison Ranch in Binscarth, Manitoba, and is one of the last offspring of the legendary Ben.
Silvertip's offspring at Red Canyon Ranch have won Grand Champion trophies in Denver, Ogden and Rapid City.
Currently Silvertip stands seven foot six at the hump, and weights in at 2800 pounds.
