History of “Pot of Gold”

In 1990, five Gelbvieh breeders: Covington Gelbvieh, Bow K Ranch, Figure 3 Ranch, Indian Head Gelbvieh, and Mill Iron Lazy V Ranch got together to discuss the possibility of starting an annual bull sale. (Prior to this, all of the breeders were selling their bulls private treaty.) Our goal was (and still is) to breed the best quality and functional cattle possible and to stand behind what we sell.

The first “Pot of Gold” Gelbvieh Bull sale was held in February of 1991 in Montrose, Colorado. There has been a lot of give and take to make the sale a long-time success, as we are in our 33rd year together.

The first step our group took was to set up the criteria to evaluate bulls: birth weight, weaning weight, strong EPD’s, eye appeal, and average daily gain. Each of us look at cattle differently, but with a set of minimum standards in place it makes the culling process easier.

Every year we all work the bulls together — throughout the bull development test, sale day, and after the sale. All the bulls are co-mingled the first part of October and after a month we begin weighing the bulls and continually culling animals. Starting in December through February, all the testing begins — P.A.P., fertility, trich, Genomic-Enhanced EPDs and PI-BVD.

Each year we re-evaluate what our customers are looking for and how we can better meet their needs. Over the years we have implemented changes to be progressive and still keep our high quality standards. Again this year, we have tested all of our bulls for Genomic-Enhanced EPDs (GE EPDs). 

Just as important as a good bull is to the sale so are its consignors.  We have been selective in the Gelbvieh and Balancer consignors that we have brought on board so that our bull offering will continue to be of high quality. We believe we have a very honorable and honest set of consignors that have the same commitment to the sale as the original founders.  We value your opinions, so please let us know how we can better serve you.

Buyers checking out the bulls before the sale.