Love of horses drives UL Ranch breeder

By BRENDA TENBOER
When Mine That Bird closed from last to win the Kentucky Derby by nearly seven lengths and at 50:1 odds, the horse’s breeder felt like the luckiest man alive. David Butz of Greybull knows the excitement of breeding a winning horse, in fact he lives for it.
“Racing is something I do to prove I raise good horses,” said Butz.
Butz’ pride and joy is an 18-year-old Paint named Lady Bugs Moon.
If one were to follow Lady Bugs Moon’s family tree back to the 1960s, it would become evident that the 18-year-old Paint standing at stud at the UL Ranch has a very famous grand sire to thank for good genes.
The famous quarter horse Lady Bugs Moon of Ladybug Stallion Station of Oklahoma fame is the horse’s grand sire and his genetics have produced many word champions.
The original Lady Bugs Moon, now deceased, still holds the number 20 spot for all time leading broodmare sires with his lead colt having earned nearly $1.8 million, according to Butz.
“I did raise Chief (a nickname for Lady Bugs Moon) but I’ve known him since he was a baby and he is smarter than most people,” Butz said.
First Lady Wrangler, a mare sired by “Chief” won the Wyoming Downes in 2008 with a speed of 17.92 for 350 yards capturing a $2,000 purse.
Wine and Moonlight, another prize mare bred at the UL, has raced at the Yellowstone and Energy Downes and the Metra Park in Billings, Mont.
Butz said he knew from about the time he could toddle that he was a horseman at heart.
“The love of horses is greater than anything,” he said with a chuckle when asked why he does what he does. “I sold my first horse at fourteen and went straight to the Co-op and bought shoeing supplies.”
He first worked as a ranch hand for Randy and Darrold Shores, the previous owners of the UL Ranch located on U.S. Highway 14 about three miles south of Greybull.
His desire to breed horses and his love for Chief pushed Butz to buy the ranch about eight years ago. Since then he has hired a horse trainer, Ron Cook of Casper.
A poor economy has slowed the horseracing world and narrowed the opportunity in Wyoming so Butz has added out-of-state racing.
“Watch for a Form of Wyoming Wino” in Louisiana in the Built Ford Tough Challenge for 2-year-olds,” he said.
Currently the Butz’ herd is a manageable 14 horses with assorted guests on the 17-acre ranch.
Butz has worked at Wyo-Ben Inc. for 11 years but expects to get some ranch help soon in the form of his brother who is relocating to this area in June.
Family members also pitch in to help including wife Shannon, daughters Lachrisha, 13, Brittany, 11, and Kimberly, 6, and son Newton, 8.
Daughter Brittany is tough as nails having been in some pretty serious horse wrecks and got right back up.
“She has a no-quit spirit,” he said.
Son Newt loves the ranch life and once showed a 2-year-old colt in the Big Horn County Fair.
“I only let him because they had a special bond and dad was showing stallions at the same time,” he said.