Red Top Ranch

Welcome to Clark's Red Top Ranch

Please browse our website and enjoy our information and our horses. Note we have Shire babies occasionally for Sale, we are standing our multi-champion Shire stallion, Red Brae Marshall by Trelow Commodore out of Parsonage Rosemary. Our ranch is a historical headquarters from 1916 and is our hobby, we enjoy visitors and each year we open our ranch up to the public during the Draft Horse Days event.

Draft Horse Days - Save the date! April 12, 13 & 14, 2013

Clark's Red Top Draft Horse Days is held in April of each year, usually the second weekend of April unless that weekend is Easter. If so, then we hold it the following weekend after Easter. Red Top Draft Horse Days will be held April 12-14, 2013. We hope to see you there.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
Sargent Equestrian Center will hold its regular monthly Friday Social at Red Top again this year. Dinner Friday night (something spectacular prepared by Susan and Jeanne and Peggy) and lecture on something relevant to Drafts (TBD). No charge for the dinner or the social. RSVP will be appreciated but not necessary.

ALSO BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Lessons will be offered by Sargent Equestrian Center, Lonnie and Vernon , on all things equine. JUNIORS WELCOME! Use your own horse and equipment or use theirs. Only $50 for an hour's lesson. Buy several in a row if you want. Please contact Jeanne Williams by email at jeanne@sargentequest.com or Susan Lyons at susanlyons25@msn.com to reserve your spot sometime on Saturday, April 13th or Sunday, April 14th.

History of the Ranch

This beautiful ranch is filled with history, beginning as a working cattle ranch of 40,000 acres in the late 1800's. The headquarters located here were built in 1916. The original headquarters were located two miles North on Road 4. The ranch was originally called the Chowchilla Land and Cattle Company, belonging to Swift Cattle Company, one of the largest cattle companies in the nation.

The large trees you will find around the ranch were planted in 1916. The tank house was one of the tallest in the area, tall enough to provide water pressure for the upstairs bunk-house, which was one of the first in the Valley to have indoor plumbing. The eight beams that support the 65 foot tank house are 12" x 12" redwood that reach all the way from the ground to the roof and were probably brought in by barge on the San Joaquin River. The horse barn was used to house the horses in tie stalls.

The ranch had to be sold in 1948 to satisfy estate taxes when some of the principals of Swift & Co. died. At that time Ray Flanagan bought this headquarters site and about 10,000 acres of the original ranch, Allan Clark has owned the headquarters since 1982.

Clark's Red Top Shires

Clark’s Red Top Shires began with Allan Clark and a team of Shires. Allan has had his Shires in the Rose Parade three times and continues to enjoy public rides at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA every year, a trek through history with fifth graders from Dos Palos, and several weddings, demonstrations and displays. Allan has a collection of road building equipment which he occasionally demonstrates utilizing three teams. Allan began a breeding program in the early nineties and was joined by Susan in the late nineties with her imported mare Molly.

Over more than a decade, the herd has improved, beautiful babies have been produced and our beautiful stallion was imported in 2004. This stallion, affectionately called Cruiser, has made his mark on our program and produced many beautiful foals out of our mares and outside mares.