Golf - The Durango Herald

Jon Rahm’s steady back nine paves way to U.S. Open title

Everyone who’s played it, from the late, great Ben Hogan to the guys you get paired with down at the local muni, has probably said it at one time or another: Golf is a game of misses. It als...

DATE: Jun 22, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Bland, Henley share U.S. Open lead heading into weekend

Plenty of headline names make moves on leaderboard Friday

DATE: Jun 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Henley has happy return to Torrey

Oosthuizen puts together evening round to match the lead

DATE: Jun 17, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

A return to Torrey Pines and prime time for the U.S. Open

SAN DIEGO – The USGA is starting to escape that reputation of an East Coast bias for the U.S. Open. The return to Torrey Pines for the 121st U.S. Open means another prime-time show along th...

DATE: Jun 16, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

DeChambeau and Koepka keep distance on US Open tee sheet

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Anyone clamoring for Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka to play in the same group to start the U.S. Open will have to wait for another tournament.

DATE: Jun 15, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Phil’s thrill: Mickelson becomes oldest major winner at PGA Championship

Lefty a two-shot winner after tough tournament at Kiawah

DATE: May 24, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Phil Mickelson 18 holes from history at PGA Championship

50-year-old leads at major going to final round

DATE: May 22, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Phil being Phil: Mickelson shares lead in PGA Championship

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The short jab with his left fist to celebrate birdies and even a few pars. A thumbs-up to the gallery. Phil Mickelson at times looked to be about the only one having fu...

DATE: May 21, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Conners keeps it as stress-free as possible for PGA lead

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Amid the wind and the havoc at Kiawah Island, there was a semblance of simplicity to the way Corey Conners navigated his way around the Ocean Course for a 5-under 67 and a two-shot lead Thursday in the PGA Championship.

DATE: May 20, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

State hopefuls get tuneup at Durango Hillcrest Open

Piedra Vista takes down Durango on home course

DATE: May 19, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

Piñon Hills Golf Course may undergo improvements

Clubhouse, cart paths and irrigation system need upgrades

DATE: May 19, 2021 | CATEGORY: New Mexico

Spieth in good place at PGA Championship

Back in form, star takes long view of career

DATE: May 18, 2021 | CATEGORY: Sports

High Country Cattle Auction brings top-notch stock and country charm to Southwest ColoradoFamily run, generational business dates back to 1940s

BREEN – The family-owned and operated High Country Cattle Auction is “in the bones” of the Cugnini family, said third-generation owner Chris Cugnini. The business was founded by Chris’ grandfather, Pat Cugnini, in the 1940s. Pat then passed the business down to his son, Duane Cugnini, who then turned the business over to daughters, Becky Hawkins and Chris Cugnini, whose daughters plan to take over the family business one day. The auction, which takes place once or twice a month from April to January at 13062 La Plata Highway (Colorado Highway 140) near Breen, attracts ranchers, farmers and those in the cattle industry from far and wide.

Former Durango resident Steve Greenburg has been attending the High Country Cattle auction for more than 40 years, and continues to travel to Breen all the way from Arizona, where he now lives. He attended the September auction last week, where around 1,200 animals were up for sale. Greenburg said effective bidding takes concentration and a practiced hand. “You want to make sure you don’t pay too much,” he said. “And if you do, you want to buy the business.” Amber Belvin, employee of 15 years and Chris’ operations “sidekick,” said bidders are most often looking for signs of good health in an animal, like a plump, filled-out body. If bidding on a herd, a look of uniformity among the animals is key to a good purchase, she said.

Despite Greenburg already having a handful of filled out bidding cards marking the cattle he had won within an hour of the Sept. 23 auction, he said the day was young. One sale day last year culminated in Greenburg taking home 22 semi-trucks worth of cattle, he said. Chris said Greenburg is one of the auction’s longest-term and most generous supporters. “(Greenburg) pays top-dollar,” Chris said. “And (that) makes me feel good, because we’re giving back to (the sellers). I know these people around here, and they’re the hardest working people on the planet. If I can get them 10 or 20 cents more per pound, then that makes us happy.”

Cattle auction prices have gone up in recent years, both at High Country and nationally, Chris said. This year, animals are going for $2,500 to $3,000 a head – double and triple the average prices from last year. The increase, Chris said, is in part because of a screw worm making the rounds in cattle in Mexico, which has lowered the number of cattle coming in from the south, along with people subdividing and selling cattle branches, and local cattle herd numbers diminishing, which has increased demand.

Chris called the price increase “good and bad.” “It’s great if you’re a seller, because there’s prices that you’ve never seen before,” she said. “Older men come in, (and they) can’t believe the prices. Some of them do this for a living, and they count on that, so they’re so happy.” Belvin said some smaller farmers opt to buy less cattle during price surges like this, but echoed Chris’ sentiment about sellers being ecstatic about the unprecedented profit.

Local cattle farmer Lawrence Martinez entered 59 steers and 95 heifers in the auction Tuesday. Martinez has been involved in the High Country Cattle Auction “pretty much forever,” but recent years have been especially fruitful for sales, he said. “These last few years, we’ve been coming here to sell, because this is the place to go,” he said. “I wouldn’t sell anywhere else. (The market here has) been so good.”The auction’s community roots and generational touch doesn’t stop at the Cugnini family: Shane Hatch, the auctioneer, took over the job after his father’s death, Belvin said.

The auction serves as an opportunity for community members to get together and bond, Belvin said. “When we do have an auction, it’s a great place where local farmers and ranchers can get together and talk,” she said. “They come to the cafe, and they talk about the hay, and the drought situation, and I think it’s a good connecting point.” Chris and Belvin both expressed feeling glad the auction can supply so much generational value to the local farming and ranching community. “I mean, what other business can you think of around here that’s the same, right?” Belvin said. “We’re fair, and we’re very meticulous at our jobs. We take it very seriously, because this is (some peoples’) livelihood.”

For the Cugninis – and long-term employees like Belvin, who have become an honorary part of the close-knit High Country Cattle Auction family – the heart of the business aligns with the heart of the local farming and ranching community. “We’re just good, hard working people – Americans – that want to make a good living, and live off this great land,” Belvin said. epond@durangoherald.com

Family run, generational business dates back to 1940s