A Passion for Family and Cattle

Jared and Lacey Standridge purchased their ‘dream’ property and began a ranch 

Jared and Lacey Standridge are living a fulfilled vision of living on the 604-acre Standridge Ranch.

Even when they were dating and Jared hunted the property with his future in-laws, he had a vision of owning the property that stretches along Hartsugg Creek in Van Burn County, Ark., and operating a cattle farm.

The first part of the vision came true when the property came up for sale 12 years ago. The Standridges bought the property and began building their dream.

The Standridge Ranch operates under the name Hartsugg Cattle Company. The company’s herd currently consists of 150 head of Corriente/Longhorn cattle, which are leased to rodeos, stock contractors and roping clubs throughout the country, 75 head of beef cattle and 40 head of show cattle.

“We have had as many as 400 head of rodeo lease cattle,” Jared said. “But we are down to about 150 head this year.”

Having strong connections to the rodeo circuit is a natural for Jared. In 2007 he was part of the team that won the International Finals Rodeo team roping championship. Being 11 years removed from that championship, Jared has stepped away from rodeo competition to focus on family, farming and the insurance business.

In addition to Hartsugg Cattle Company, Jared and Lacy own S & P Insurance, which has offices in Clinton, Greenbrier and Mount Ida in Arkansas.

The thrill of competition rodeo lives on in the three Standridge children: Sydney 13, Sam, 11, and Shelby 9. All three are active in showing cattle and various rodeo activities.

The Standridges have been successful on the local, state and national level with their cattle. A large show barn on the ranch is used by local FFA chapters to train for livestock competitions. Ranch manager Trenton Toah is also a trained collegiate livestock judge and provides assistance to the show cattle competitors.

“Everything we do, especially on the ranch, is family oriented,” said Lacey. “From day one, our vision was to build around family. The insurance business, the ranch, showing cattle, it is all about family. When we are not at the office, or doing community work, we are here, as family.”

The Hartsugg Cattle Company is not just about rodeo and show cattle. The commercial herd consists of about 100 head used primarily in the ranch’s embryo program to produce calves for market.

The ranch works closely with Lacey’s father and brother (Danny and Wes Newland respectively) in developing programs such as AI, embryo transplants and fostering cattle for superior quality beef cattle. The cattle company utilizes four main outlets to market their cattle: (1) Local livestock markets (2) Private treaty (3) Internet social media and (4) Livestock shows. One of the main goals is to have production sales and live auctions on site via the Internet.

“Having live sales and auctions was one of the main reasons we built the large modern show barn,” Jared explained. “Its not just for show, but we wanted it to be functional for future live auctions.”

In addition to being named Van Buren County Farm Family of the Year, the Standridges have excelled in many areas of show cattle. Most recently their show cattle have won awards at the 2017 Arkansas State Fair, as well as national titles at cattle shows in Denver and Fort Worth. Sydney was the Arkansas Junior Cattleman’s High Point Overall Showman last year. All three children are active on the farm and are contributing more each day. They feed and water the cattle, gather eggs, clean stalls, wash and care for the show cattle, and they are learning to check cattle during calving season.

Community involvement is a priority for entire Standridge Family. Jared serves on several county level boards, including Clinton FFA Foundation Board. Lacey is a member of the Clinton School Board and on the Youth Committee of the First Baptist Church. They are members of several associations at the local to the national level.