EVANSTON — The Don and Claudia Proffit Family Ranch celebrated its 16th year of bringing horsemen from throughout northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming rich quarter horse bloodlines.  

“My dad does better with the horse’s genealogy than with his own” said Liberty Proffit Day of her father, Don Proffit. 

For nearly two decades the local ranch, nestled in the Bear River Valley, has hosted a yearly Labor Day Weekend Horse Sale. Having built a reputation of fine bloodlines, the yearly sale routinely sees returning buyers. 

“It’s a lot of people who come back year after year — people who know my dad and know the kind of work he puts in,” Tiko Proffit Heaps said of her father’s reputation in the equestrian community. 

Not only does the yearly sale offer buyers a place to bid on fine quarter horses, it has also turned into a community social event. Equestrian enthusiasts come from throughout the area to rub shoulders with other individuals in their market and to learn from experienced breeders. 

“It’s become a fall social,” said Claudia Proffit. This year, the vocal talents of Denise Lester entertained attendees. Pie and crafts were also sold.

Samantha Hakala, of Uinta County, is working on building up her breeding horse herd. She brought three horses to the sale, hoping to make a profit. 

She said of the opportunity to mingle with quarter horse breeders like Don Proffit, “I’ll never stop listening to him because every time I learn something new.”

Hanging on the wall at the sale was a board covered in flyers from 16 years of horse heritage the Proffits have built. Claudia Proffit remembered her doubts the first year of the sale saying, “I said, ‘Oh Don, it’ll never work...’ but it has. It’s been a huge job but it has worked.”

Keeping their corner of the Great American West alive for one more year, the Proffits routinely produce horses, cattle, sheep and grandkids.