The Wrangler Horse and Rodeo News

In his youth, the sentiment was somewhat lost on him, but it ultimately became the driver of Buckeye Acre. "The depth of it never came to me until the last 10-15 years. At the time, I knew I could be honest, but what did 'the true facts' mean? If you cover something up, sooner or later, that is going to surface. Be honest and lay the true facts out there, in the long run it will pay o«." "My first out of state sale was in North Carolina, around 1997. The owner of the sale was local in Ohio and he told me he could use some help. He has a sale twice a year, the Dixie Classic. When we got home, he asked me to buy some horses to bring to his next sale. He literally financed me for the first couple sales. At the second sale, someone in Florida bought one of the horses. At the third sale, she came back. I didn't have a phone. You literally had to write a letter to get in contact with me. She was so excited, they loved the horse. She wanted me to bring her a load of draft horses." Using a pay phone down the road from his home, Yoder planned the trip to Florida. The Carolinas and Florida became Yoder's first large base of clientele, with hundreds of horses selling over the next several years. During his years going to Florida, Yoder was contacted by SeaWorld for a Christmas photo shoot. He provided horses for guests to be photographed with and Yoder even met Shamu the killer whale. "In 2005, I started dating my wife, Miriam. We got married in 2007 and she is the backbone to it all. We have a great team of people working with us, but she was my first partner, so to speak. We started doing more riding horses and got away from the draft horses. That was when it really took o«." During the economic downturn of 2008-2009, Yoder felt the need for more financial stability, "I got a job at a local tourist attraction. Food trucks weren't that big then, but the owner thought we could sell food there. Long story short, I was a chef for ten years, from May through October. October through April, I did the horses full time." While Yoder was living a double life as chef and horse trainer, a neighbor knocked on his door. The boy liked horses and although Yoder couldn't a«ord to pay him much, young Willis' father wanted him to have a job for the summer. Willis would not only work through that summer, but through several years as a full time employee and is now a lifelong friend of Buckeye Acre. With their homemade recipes, the food truck grew substantially. "I could see I was going to have to give up one or the other. To step away from that consistent cash flow, I thought I couldn't do that." But in the end, Yoder chose horses. In 2018, Buckeye made their first trip west to sell horses. "I was invited to Diamonds in the Desert in Las Vegas. We didn't have access to much marketing. So we sent pictures and videos and they wanted us to bring all three horses." As Buckeye and Yoder's family grew, their children were a«ected by the horse bug, like their father. Geneva, Gabriel, Kyle, Lyndon, Rebecca, and Micah are not required to participate with the horses, but Yoder is grateful they share his passion. "The safety of the children is first and foremost. But when they come home from school, I don't get to ask how school was. They're like "what horse can I ride today?" They're involved and they want to be involved." As for the future, Yoder just wants to continue his philosophy, "The market has really changed over the years, but one thing that has never changed is that people are always looking for a good minded horse. We want to produce horses that are safe for the entire family. I don't want to forget where we come from and where it started. Having high sellers at elite sales is rewarding, but I don't want the glory. Working with celebrity families like the Springsteens, professional athletes, and our great team at Buckeye is just a blessing. All honor and glory to God." Be sure to check out the Cowgirl Cadillacs sale June 14-15 in Sheridan, Wyoming, where Buckeye Acre Farms will be o«ering three exceptional horses. Geneva Yoder & a 5-year-old gelding named "Golden"

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