SEPTEMBER 2019 63
OPENING SPREAD: Valor Farm
in Pilot Point. LEFT: The mare
barn and a pasture at Valor
Farm. ABOVE, CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP LEFT: Yearlings at
Valor Farm; a farrier at Tom
McCutcheon Reining Horses
in Pilot Point; awards adorn
the office wall at Timberridge
Ranch; the stallion Too Much
Bling at Valor Farm.Good Dirt
Why does so much horsepower converge on
North Texas? “It’s all about the sandy loam.
The soil is good for their hooves,” Lodge
explains. “Between the soil and the climate,
this region is ideal for working horses.” As
the tour guides explain, sandy loam con-
sists of less than 7 percent clay, less than 50
percent silt, and between 43 and 50 percent
sand. There’s a great swath of it in North
Texas covering an area about 45 miles wide
and 90 miles long from the Red River to
south of Fort Worth. On the western fringes
of the sandy loam, Weatherford. On the
eastern edge, Sherman.
The well-drained, gently sloping land
and mild winters that allow for almost
year-round training started attracting horse
farms and professional horsemen in the
1970s. As the industry grew, so did the eco-
nomic impact and the area’s reputation for
equine excellence.