Y.O. Ranch Longhorn Games and Sale Set for September 19-20

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Fri Sep 5, 2008 9:01am EDT

  LAMPASAS, TX and MOUNTAIN HOME, TX, Sep 05 (MARKET
WIRE) -- 
The Y.O. Ranch, in partnership with The Texas Longhorn Marketing Alliance
(TLMA), announced today that its Y.O. Ranch Longhorn Games and Sale will
be held on September 19 and 20.

    "This year's Games and Sale promises to be a lot of fun as teams square
off for some lively competition on Friday and then gather round to sell
and buy more than 100 cattle," said Charles Schreiner IV, managing
partner of the Y.O. Ranch and great-grandson of former Texas Ranger and
Y.O. Ranch founder Charles Schreiner. "We invite the public to come out
to the ranch, enjoy the festivities and get a feel for what makes Texas
Longhorns so much a part of our Texas heritage."

    This annual event celebrates the Y.O. Ranch's Texas Longhorn cattle
heritage with an all-day team competition on Friday, followed by one of
the largest Texas Longhorn annual auctions on Saturday. While Friday is a
full day of fun --- from a biscuit cooking contest, tip-to-tip horn
guessing and team cactus pad races to a trail drive, chuckwagon meals,
live music, an exotic game tour and more --- Saturday's Texas Longhorn
Sale is where the big money will change hands when some of world's finest
cattle are sold.

    "The Y.O. Ranch Longhorn Games and Sale is one of the Texas Longhorn
industry's premier sales event and a great chance for the public to see
some of the finest representatives of the species up close," said Wes
Chancey, CEO of the TLMA. "It also gives the public a chance to be a part
of a growing hobby all across America: breeding and raising Texas
Longhorns."

    Gates open at 10 am on Saturday for Texas Longhorn sale and admission and
lunch is free. The sale begins at noon. More information is located at
www.yoranch.com or by calling 1-800-967-2624.

    More about Texas Longhorn Cattle

    The first cattle introduced to the New World by Spaniards in 1493,
longhorns are the only breed of cattle to evolve without human management.
They freely roamed West Texas for hundreds of years until American
settlers discovered them in 1830s. From 1866 until 1900, enterprising
cowboys rounded up an estimated 10 million of head of longhorn cattle and
drove them up the Chisholm Trail to railheads in Abilene and Dodge City.
Because other breeds of cattle gain weight faster and longhorn meat is
leaner, the breed was largely abandoned as a meat source in the early
1900s.

    By the 1920s, the Texas Longhorn breed was nearly depleted. The United
States Forest Service is credited with saving it by relocating a small
herd of breeding stock to a refuge in Oklahoma. A few years later, people
like J. Frank Dobie and others began gathering longhorns in Texas state
parks to preserve the breed and its place in Texas history. Today there
are 2,000 Texas Longhorn breeders in the U.S., including actors Matthew
McConaughey and Janine Turner, General Tommy Franks (Ret.), best-selling
author Oliver North and Texas entrepreneur and philanthropist Red
McCombs, and over 250,000 registered longhorns in North America and other
continents. Only the top five to ten percent of Texas Longhorns are
considered pedigreed. These cattle sell for tens of thousands of dollars,
with a few selling for over $100,000 and one bull bringing in $1 million.
A more detailed history of the breed is located on the TLMA website.

    About The Y.O. Ranch

    Founded in 1880 by Charles Schreiner, the historic 40,000 acre,
128-year-old ranch near Mountain Home in the heart of the Texas Hill
Country is famous for its exotic animal photo safaris and hunting,
horseback riding, and children's adventure and outdoor skills camps. A
popular tourist destination, it is home to over 60 species of animals from
Africa, Asia, Australia and South America and the largest herd of quality
Texas Longhorns in the world.

    About TLMA

    The Texas Longhorn Marketing Alliance was established in 2007 to promote
the dignity and integrity of Texas Longhorn cattle breed and to serve as
voluntary stewards of the Longhorn legacy. Headquartered in Lampasas,
Texas, TLMA's growing membership is comprised of hundreds of dedicated
Longhorn breeders. The organization sponsors several sales events each
year. More information about TLMA is located at
www.thelonghornalliance.com.

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Media Contact:
Debbie Herrington
512-331-0547
Email Contact

Company Contacts:
Wes Chancey
TLMA
512-556-0300 ext. 12
Email Contact

Charles Schreiner IV
Y.O. Ranch
830-640-3222
Email Contact

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