88 Ranch Performance Horses
Douglas, Wyoming
307-358-5941
What began in 1878 as a stage stop, supplying horses for stage changes, has morphed into the modern 88 Ranch Performance Horses, a Douglas, Wyoming-based program committed to breeding top-level horses that can effortlessly transition between heading, heeling, breakaway, barrels, cow horse and just about any desired event.
Nurturing a lineage that excels in the arena, the 88 Ranch’s stallions, Casino Heist and new addition, Sheik Jean Fly HTT, are the heart of their operation.
Purchased in 2024, Sheik offers the ultimate outcross in barrel racing, a sire who is still successfully competing with lifetime earnings of over $80,000 while passing on his exceptional speed and remarkable disposition.
INCENTIVES, Sheik Jean Fly HTT: Royal Crown, Colorado Classic, Future Fortunes, The Diamond Classic, Legendary Stakes, Pink Buckle, Riata Championship, Ruby Buckle, Solo Stallion Incentive
With a pedigree well-proven in barrel racing, it’s Sheik’s potential beyond that discipline that has the 88 Ranch excited.
“We wanted to make an impactful change and move the needle forward on building elite bloodlines,” Garret Henry, the fifth generation now running the 88, said. “We needed our horses to be suitable for barrel racing and for roping.”
Sheik was just what the Henrys were looking for: a stallion with an established brand and eligible for a slate of incentives, including the Pink Buckle, Solo Stallion Stakes and his own bonus program, the Triple Buckle.
“It’s for the first Sheik babies to win any money in all three Buckles [Pink, Ruby and Riata] and we have $100,000 prize money,” Henry said. “It’s a huge thing that Keith Nielson did with Sheik, and we’re continuing, as a crossover … to see a horse show the ability to in multiple events at a high level.”
Standing at Solo Select Horses in Texas has given Sheik the opportunity to cross on Solo’s elite band of roping mares and prove himself outside of barrel racing.
“He’s very low to the ground and can really move and fly,” Henry noted. “He will definitely be able to produce rope horses.”
With Sheik representing the future, Casino Heist continues to fill the present with winners for the 88 Ranch. The Frenchmans Guy son has progeny earnings exceeding $182,000 in everything from reined cow horse to ranch versatility to every timed event in rodeo.
INCENTIVES, Casino Heist: 5 State Breeders Futurity, Colorado Classic, Cowboy State Stallion Incentive, Future Fortunes, Glacier Chaser, Gridiron, Homegrown Classic, Royal Crown, Southwest Desert Classic, The Diamond Classic, Triple Crown 100, VGBRA, World’s Richest Breakaway, Cornhusker
In 2024, Casino’s progeny qualified for multiple ProRodeo circuit finals rodeos from the Mountain States to the Wilderness Circuit, claiming both average and year-end titles in team roping, tie-down and breakaway.
“Casino continues to make his mark producing standout timed event horses,” Henry said.
In addition to Bugzees Heist in 75, the 2023 Reserve Montana Circuit Champion in breakaway; Summer Colada, a futurity winner and ProRodeo winner; Clear Creek Canyon, a ProRodeo barrel racing money earner; and Dunn Good Girl, a winner in reined cow horse and ProRodeo tie-down roping, Casino Heist has also sired Sagebrush Cantina and Hair Trigger Ophelia, an up-and-coming steer wrestling team for NFR qualifier Stetson Jorgensen.
With each stallion carefully chosen for their exceptional traits, 88 Ranch continues to sculpt a future in which their horses are athletes ready to perform in the arena, on the ranch and anything in between.
Looking to the future, 88 Ranch Performance Horses has a son of Epic Leader out of Brittany Diaz’s NFR mare, Rootie. The up-and-coming stallion is anticipated to excel in both barrels and roping. While not yet a sire, the 3-year-old stallion is the ranch’s rising star. Brimming with potential, he represents 88 Ranch Performance Horse’s forward-thinking vision of creating the next generation of rodeo horses by preparing to infuse the next generation with his genetics.
With each stallion carefully chosen for their exceptional traits, 88 Ranch continues to sculpt a future in which their horses are athletes ready to go into the arena or the pasture as good, using horses on the ranch, and anything in between.
“We’re trying to breed some horses that’ll be competitive in the futurities, open rodeos, ProRodeos, and just out on the ranch,” Garrett said. “A lot of our horses already kind of fit the mold of our vision, but we’re trying to push that maybe even a little further.”
