ABOUT US

When John “Pete” Bonds ’75 (’73 RM) was 2, his father died, leaving behind a 5,000-acre ranch in North Texas. At 16, Bonds bought his first pen of cattle. At 18, he started at TCU while continuing to oversee operations at Bonds Ranch. Armed five years later with a bachelor’s degree in business along with a certificate in ranch management, Bonds began an unrelenting pursuit of business success that would span more than four decades. Along the way, he gained a reputation as one of the nation’s savviest cattlemen. While candid in most instances, Bonds keeps certain financial figures private. For example, he wouldn’t reveal how many cattle his business runs each year: “That’s like asking how much money I have in the bank.” However, Bonds owns and leases acreage in more than two dozen counties in Texas as well as in seven other states. Public records indicate that his property in northeast New Mexico exceeds 30,000 acres. “This business has been very good to me,” Bonds said. Others agree. Of late, Bonds seems to pick up some sort of lifetime achievement award on an annual basis. Among them, he received the Foy Proctor Memorial Cowman’s Award of Honor in 2016. In early 2017, he was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and also received the W.A. “Bill” King Award for Excellence in Agriculture from the Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club. The accolades and acclaim might make some men think of hanging up their spurs or starting new chapters in life, but Bonds shakes his head at any mention of retirement. 

Bob Loomis, quite simply, is a reining icon, a universally recognized master in the world of precision riding. The 1982 president of the National Reining Horse Association, Bob has won six NRHA Open Futurity championships, more than any other trainer.  In addition, he has won the NRHA Derby and Superstakes, and trained and showed numerous AQHA and NRHA world champions.  He also wrote several horse training books, including “Reining: The Art of Performance in Horses,” and was inducted into the NRHA Hall of Fame in 1992. Bob began training reining horses professionally in 1966.  He earned his first public notice as a reining trainer in 1972 when he was co-reserve champion at the NRHA Futurity on Britton Princess. He began his breeding program in 1974 and four years later bought Topsail Cody to cross on his Boss’ Nowata Star mares.  He trained and showed the stallion to win the NRHA Futurity in 1980 and be the AQHA World Champion in junior reining the following year.   Originally from Nebraska, Bob lives on his Loomis Ranch at Marietta, Oklahoma, where he raises horses and Texas Longhorn cattle.   Bob Loomis was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2012. 

Tom Johnson-The 87 Ranch headquarters encompasses 1,500 acres, as well as other leased land. The Johnsons run a cow-calf operation of about 250 head. Johnson Cattle Marketing annually sells 7,000 to 10,000 head of replacement females and 500 to 750 breeding age bulls. This is all done through auction or private treaty. Their customer base stretches from Arizona to Florida and from Missouri to Mexico. The Johnsons work together to keep Johnson Cattle Marketing running. Tom travels extensively, meeting with other ranchers interested in selling or buying cattle. Tom worked for The Cattleman in Fort Worth for 15 years. The Cattleman is a livestock publication of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. Our dream had been to move to the ranch. In 1991, with the help of faxes and other means of communication, we were able to move. Tom would go to the office once a month at deadline, and thus it allowed more time to become involved with ranching and the marketing end of our business. Soon this was our business and we loved it. So, after 17 years with The Cattleman magazine, Tom left and we became a fulltime ranching family.