Blake Hortenstine

Just ask Blake and he'll tell you.  Time sure does fly when you're BUSY and having fun!  Blake Hortenstine, founder of Hortenstine Ranch Company in April of 2003, never could have imagined in his wildest dream that the business would grow to what it is today. From a one man show cold calling land owners from a single room office to now regularly closing over $100 million in sales volume each year, the journey has been incredible to say the least. Blake Hortenstine Wildlife & Fisheries Background Blake grew up in Dallas, Texas and enjoyed hunting and fishing even as a child.  In his teenage years, he assisted a wildlife manager on a Shackelford County ranch and it was here that he decided to develop his love of wildlife and fisheries management into a career.  After graduating from Highland Park High School, he attended Texas A&M University earning a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management.  Upon college graduation, Blake was hired as a hunting guide for Dresser Industries’ Mota Bonita hunting operation in south Texas. His next move was managing wildlife on the King Ranch in Brooks County where he also guided business executives on quail, deer, hog and turkey hunts. Blake then moved back to North Texas to pursue a career in real estate.  While building his real estate career, Blake became the game manager of a low fenced 14,000 acre hunting operation and wildlife management program in the eastern Rolling Plains west of Albany, Texas as well as an 11,000 acre property north of Breckenridge, Texas in Stephens County.  After 15 years of serving these two ranches, Blake resigned in 2013 to practice ranch real estate full time. Hortenstine Ranch Company Beginnings While managing ranches, Blake started his real estate career with Henry S. Miller Commercial Farm & Ranch Division where he focused on rural and recreational property sales from 1998-2003. During this time he grew tired of wearing a suit and tie to show ranches each day. As a result, in April of 2003, Blake decided to launch Hortenstine Ranch Company, LLC and has been wearing boots and jeans (or occasionally flips flops) ever since.  But if you know Blake, that's no surprise.  He's not in to frills but his knowledge of land and wildlife is second to none. He started Hortenstine Ranch Company by out hustling his competition. Any free time he had was spent at the local tax office gathering the name of land owners and cold calling. To this day, the strategy at Hortenstine Ranch Company is simply HARD WORK. 2011 proved to be a big year for Hortenstine Ranch Company and a turning point in the business as Blake formed a partnership with Cash McWhorter.  Like Blake, Cash's love for the outdoor lifestyle started way back as a child as he hunted and fished while growing up in east Texas. Cash is a graduate of Baylor University and started his career at Colliers International, the third largest global real estate firm. For ten years he worked in corporate real estate, representing numerous local businesses and fortune 500 companies. In June 2010, Cash left Colliers International to start Ranch Capital Group, a fund formed to purchase recreational ranches as an investment vehicle, all located within two hours of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. During that time, Cash was able to design and build multiple water features, enact several controlled burns of more than 700 acres, restore native grasses with land clearing and brush eradication practices, develop and enhance more than 260 acres of wetlands, work with NRCS on a number of projects, drill water wells and install irrigation piping to wetlands, establish wetland management programs, plant food plots, and construct new fences, roads, and homes. It is in this line of business that Cash crossed paths with Blake and the rest is history. Blake and Cash continue to successfully run the business and together they have grown the team to include Jack Fauntleroy, Wright Monning, Bret Polk, Casey Berley, Brandon Rutledge, and Stephen Schwartz.  Hortenstine Ranch Company as been named America's Best Brokerages by The Land Report from 2011-2017. Click to view full biography's of each associate:  About Us A Word from Hortenstine Ranch Company Partner Cash McWhorter "It is not often that you find a career doing what you love alongside a truly exceptional group of men and women and for that I am humbled. I would first give credit to God for leading me down the path of life that brought Blake and I together. Second to Blake for trusting me to be his business partner and allow me to help grow the business. Third to my wife for her understanding of our long but fun work days away from home (so fun that many days she accuses me of calling it work but thinks we really are playing). Fourth to Wright, Casey, Stephen, Jack, Bret, and Brandon for all their friendship and hard work that makes this a truly special company to be a part of. Finally to our clients that trust us with such a special moment in life. Seeing the excitement, joy, family memories, life dreams all coming true when we find the right ranch makes all the leg work well worth it. We have been honored to represent an amazing group of clients. We look forward to the next 15 years."   Happy 15th Anniversary Hortenstine Ranch Company!

History helps us understand change and how the society we live in came to be.   Many of us feel the almost poetic appeal of the past and have a passionate interest in finding out what really did happen long ago.  In fact, almost all the major tourist attractions in the world relate to the appeal of the past. Through understanding the history of a place we are able to gain an incredible perspective which in return, enhances our lives. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is Texas' agency for historic preservation. "Real places telling real stories" is their motto.  The commission works hard daily to authentically communicate such stories of historical significant in an effort to enhance the well-being of individuals and communities. Click here to read more about the Texas Historical Commission. Two of these important historical markers erected by the Texas Historical Commission can be found along Highway 380 near the gates of Comanche Crest Ranch.  The 10,298 acre Comanche Crest Ranch presents one of the best large acreage, cattle and recreational ranches in the Rolling Plains.  The historical markers displayed near the ranch share events that happened in this area over 150 years ago!  A time where Comanche Indians roamed the land and how explorers reached out and started sharing culture. The other dates back to 1841 and the story of Thomas Lambshead, the first colonist to venture this far west. Pictured below is Texas Historical Commission Marker 1 which commemorates a friendly meeting in 1849 between the men of Captain Randolph Marcy and Comanche Chief Senaco: “In 1849, U.S. Army Captain Randolph B. Marcy was charged with establishing an overland road from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Santa Fe, New Mexico for emigrants seeking gold in California. On October 20, a party of Comanches approached Marcy and his men while they were crossing through Throckmorton County on a southerly return route. Other Native Americans arrived and greeted the trailblazing party. Among those present was Senaco, a high ranking Comanche chief. Marcy and he spoke, and Senaco and others camped with the soldiers before the groups departed on their separate ways. Marcy and Senaco would meet again near here in 1854, while Marcy was on another expedition.” (2009) Texas Historical Commission Marker 2 explains how the earliest settlers of the area where able to buy land and settle in what is now a thriving Throckmorton County:   “In 1841, the Republic of Texas granted William S. Peters and others an empresario grant in north central Texas, including most of what is now Throckmorton County. The colony's western boundary was three miles east of the current Haskell County borderline. Thomas Lambshead was the only settler to venture this far west in the colony. By 1844, the Texas Emigration & Land Company (T.E. & L.) began to manage colony settlement. However, few settled the land and Peters Colony ended in failure. Still, it proved vital for Throckmorton County settlement. The T.E. & L. owned much of the county land and divided it amongst shareholders, many of whom were speculators who sold property to county's earliest settlers.” (2009) The old saying is true.  Everything IS bigger in Texas, even the history! Contact us today to tour Comanche Crest Ranch and see why this land was, is, and will always be a natural treasure in the Lone Star State. Experience the vastness and wonder of Comanche Crest Ranch and the surrounding Texas Historical Commission sites.

As any experienced rancher knows, rangeland requires regular maintenance, especially when it comes to controlling invasive species, such as Opuntia engelmannii var. lindheimeri, more commonly known as the Texas pricklypear. The cactus, native to the American Southwest, can be a particularly, uh, thorny problem. During drought, pricklypear grows when nothing else will and can quickly overtake an entire pasture. If you're finding massive stands of pricklypear where once tall grasses waved, it's time to get serious and call in the experts. Free advice Unless you're an experienced land manager and you know what you have to do, it's best to start with a phone call to the local USDA office. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service provides advice and assistance to landowners to restore wetlands, recover losses after wildfires, and control invasive species.  Federal grants to assist with the cost of brush removal and land restoration are available through the NCRS Environmental Quality Incentive Program. Each state has its own NCRS website with extensive information about available assistance, programs, and local conditions and NCRS agents can help on a one-on-one basis. Through its Brush Busters program, the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension Service also provides do-it-yourself instructions for pricklypear removal on its website. Proven methods of Pricklypear Removal There are two generally recommended ways to get rid of pricklypear: spraying or mechanical removal with a grubbing hoe (isolated plants) or a skid-loader (large stands). Occasionally, controlled burns can be used, but burning requires lots of ancillary dry brush (cactus don't burn easily) and fire isn't selective. Burn bans in place throughout much of the Southwestern U.S. also take this method off the table for most. Spraying and grubbing have distinct advantages and disadvantages, depending upon the size of the cactus growth and surrounding vegetation. Temperature and rainfall also can impact the success of your method. And cost can be an important consideration. 1. Grubbing or the top-removal method Digging up cactus with a skid-loader is generally considered the most effective, immediate, and ecologically friendly way to remove large stands of pricklypear.  It can, however, be costly, with rates for the equipment and operator reaching $80 to $100 an hour. Michael Dalrymple, a Mills County, Texas, contractor who specializes in brush removal, recommends a skid-loader equipped with a rock rake for attacking large stands of cactus. The tines of the rock rake permit dirt to fall back to the ground, thus reducing top soil loss and disposal weight. This process permits the operator to remove several inches of the root, enough to kill the plant. Dalrymple recommends trenching a pit and burying the uprooted cactus under 18" to 24" of dirt. (Unlike cedar which can be piled and burned, piled cactus will re-root and grow into an impenetrable mound.) It's also important to collect as many of the fallen pads as possible. Each pad left on the ground has the potential to root and form a new cactus. While mechanical removal can be done all year, fall and early winter are optimum to permit reseeding in time for the growing season. 2. Herbicides Spraying works best on individual plants and thin growths of pricklypear. Because pads and stems must to be thoroughly coated, it's virtually impossible eradicate a large, dense stand with ground-level spraying.  It's also important to avoid spraying near trees and mature vegetation, as their roots can take up the poison. Aerial spraying is occasionally recommended for large stands of cactus at a safe distance from trees and other desirable vegetation, which could be damaged or killed by the herbicide drift. While cactus can be sprayed year-round, most recommend using herbicides in warm weather when rainfall is expected, as moisture facilitates the uptake of the poison. It can take six to eight months to see results and more than one application is often required to kill the cactus. The Dow AgroSciences division of Dow Chemicals makes several effective herbicides, though two of the most well-known, Tordon 22K® and Surmount®, are federally restricted and require a license for use. Some ranchers recommend Dow's PastureGard® HL herbicide for spot maintenance, as it can be used without a license. The cost to hire a licensed applicator varies locally but can run upwards from $35 an hour plus the cost of the herbicide. Restoration after Pricklypear Removal Once the cactus is gone, it's important to reseed and restore the rangeland with a mix of native grasses, forbs (herbaceous flowering plants) and pollinators. Shop seed prices, as some native species can be very expensive. Follow up, Follow up, Follow up Invasive species management is never one and done. Spot spraying is the easiest way to remove isolated growths. Cactus growing near trees should be removed with a grubbing hoe to avoid damaging or killing the tree with heavy machinery or herbicides. It doesn't take long for little cactus plants to become a big nuisance. However, with regular maintenance, your eradication efforts will pay dividends for years to come. Download Printable eBook for this Article Helpful Resources for Pricklypear Removal Texas A&M University AgriLife Research and Extension Service National Resources Conservation Service Texas A&M AgriLife Brush Busters Program Author: Blake Hortenstine