Twenty-first century King Ranch maintains the tradition of meticulous upbreeding that has distinguished the Ranch through many generations. The sale of bulls and seed stock are important components of the Ranch’s contemporary business.

King’s vision for a great cattle ranch began to take shape. The 1860s were busy, challenging years for Richard King and his new bride Henrietta, the refined daughter of a Presbyterian minister from back East.

King Ranch Santa Cruz, crossbred cattle, is developed to meet modern consumer's beef expectations. 1994 Cattle sorting facility using air pressure to sort 500 head of cattle per hour is invented on the Ranch.

Over the course of over 160 years, King Ranch led some of the first cattle drives, developed the Santa Gertrudis and Santa Cruz breeds of cattle, bred the finest Quarter Horses, and produced champion Thoroughbreds—all under its iconic Running W® brand.

Already expert stockmen and horsemen, these resilient denizens of the rugged Mexican range became known as Los Kineños – the King’s people. They and many generations of their descendants would go on to weave a large portion of the historical tapestry of King Ranch.

Visit the King Ranch Museum to experience how King Ranch Quarter Horses are an integral part of King Ranch’s heritage, the Cutting Horse industry and the American Quarter Horse Association alike in the special exhibit, From OLD SORREL to the Present: The History of the King Ranch Quarter Horses.

In 1916, Bob Kleberg (King’s grandson), bought OLD SORREL, a colt who became the foundation sire that made King Ranch famous as a breeder of champion Quarter Horses. Every horse on King Ranch is still descendant of OLD SORREL. View our current King Ranch Stallion Pedigrees.

To accomplish this goal, King Ranch breeding experts selectively crossed Indian Brahman cattle with British Shorthorns to develop an animal that is 5/8ths Shorthorn and 3/8ths Brahman. In 1920, many years of experimentation culminated with the birth of Monkey, a deep red bull calf.

King Ranch entered the Thoroughbred industry in 1934 with the purchase of CHICARO, who was acquired to add his genetic qualities to the Ranch’s Quarter Horse line.

Today, King Ranch sprawls across 825,000 acres of South Texas land, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. As the home of 35,000 cattle and over 200 Quarter Horses, King Ranch is one of the largest ranches in the world today.