Road Cycling - The Durango Herald

Daring Alaphilippe ‘unplugged brain’ to cling to Tour de France yellow

French rider fighting to keep lead in the Alps

DATE: Jul 25, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

2 riders kicked out of Tour de France after altercation

Team Ineos, Jumbo-Visma say penalty is too harsh

DATE: Jul 24, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Alaphilippe, Thomas prepare for intriguing Tour de France finish

Five riders in hunt for mouthwatering finish

DATE: Jul 24, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Heat wave engulfs Tour de France

NIMES, France – Crashing is becoming a bad habit for defending Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas. After hitting the ground twice over the past two weeks, the Welshman fell of...

DATE: Jul 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Tantalizingly poised Tour de France saving best for last

NIMES, France – A Tour de France jam-packed with unexpected plot twists is saving its biggest surprise for last. With six riders within reach of the podium heading into the toughe...

DATE: Jul 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Pinot strikes again in Pyrenees at Tour de France

FOIX, France – When one French rider starts to fade, another comes to the fore. One way or the other, France may still be on course for its first Tour de France winner since 1985. ...

DATE: Jul 21, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Struggling champ Geraint Thomas no longer touching sky at Tour de France

LA MONGIE, France – When the team of Geraint Thomas was in its pomp at the Tour de France, a time trial followed by a big mountain stage would have been playgrounds for Sky – now in new colo...

DATE: Jul 21, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic wants community input for 50th anniversary events

Return of the ‘Roostmaster’ or BMX? You can help decide

DATE: Jul 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Alaphilippe stuns Tour de France rivals

Time-trial win builds race lead

DATE: Jul 19, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

A bizarre drop for Rohan Dennis at Tour de France

BAGNERES-DE-BIGORRE, France – In 116 years of racing at the Tour de France, riders have done all sorts of bizarre things, from jumping on trains to fighting with fans at mountain stops. ...

DATE: Jul 18, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Ewan posts first Tour de France stage win

TOULOUSE, France – A bit more than a year ago, Caleb Ewan was devastated to be left out of the Tour de France. The Australian sprinter had to watch cycling’s biggest race on TV af...

DATE: Jul 17, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Technology beating romanticism at Tour de France

Breakaway rides now rarely rewarded in time of power meters and ear pieces

DATE: Jul 16, 2019 | CATEGORY: Professional Sports

Photos: Durango High School boys golf competes at stateDemons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Demons finished 14th after two rounds at Fox Hill Club in Longmont

Photos: Cowboy Gathering Social and Parade

Photos: High County Cattle Auction

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