Tongue River Ranch Quarter Horses have helped the ranch rodeo team qualify for 14 Working Ranch Cowboys Association Ranch Rodeo Finals, including a win this year at the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, where TRRIMGONNABEGREYT (CR TUFF BE GREYT) was awarded Top Horse. TRR horses have earned top honors during those additional ranch rodeos as well. They've also received Champion and Reserve Champion titles at the RHAA National Finals held in Abilene, Texas. TRR horses have been recognized for their achievements including TRR MS PEPCID OLENA, named the 2016 AQHA Leading NRCHA Dam of the Year. Tongue River touts an award winning mare line including PEPTOS STYLISH SUE who won the 2008 National Cutting Horse Association Summer Spectacular Open Derby Champion.
Ranch History
Among the rolling hills of West Texas Plains, Tongue River Ranch headquarters sits atop a vantage point of green pastures, red dirt bluffs, wildlife, and fine horses. Much of the Dumont, Texas, ranch and its practices are like that of 100 years ago, with advancements in cattle and equine genetics.
The ranch's history dates back to 1898 when Eric and Albin Swenson purchased the 79,000-acre Scab 8 ranch of King, Cottle, Motley and Dickens counties in Texas. The brothers named it Tongue River Ranch because of its location on the Tongue (South Pease) River. "Tongue" was a reference to black tongue, a 19th century disease that wiped out many buffalo in the region. Different Native tribes in the area called the river "River of Many Tongues," which was later shortened to Tongue River, according to regional folklore.
In 1997, Millard Morris purchased the ranch at its current size of 89,000 acres. Morris has kept the old west, historical feel of the ranch with twisted timber porches, traditional cattle working/cowboying practices, and has added modern facilities.
Tongue River continues to boast its fine horse program, focused on raising horses that can be used from the show pen, to the rodeo, to a full day of ranch work. After the passing of the esteemed stallion PEPCID in 2024, Tongue River continues to build on his legacy, with his offspring's LTE nearing the $1.2 million mark.
In May 2025, Tongue River debuted TRR Full THROTTLE, now a 5-year-old stallion by PEPCID in the show pen. TRR FULL THROTTLE (PEPCID x TRR PLAYGUN SHOWGIRL) was named reserve champion at the Ranch Horse Association of America's National Finals in the Ranch Hand class in Abilene, Texas. He was named Top Horse in June 2026 at the Archer County Ranch Rodeo.
At the Celebration of Champions in Fort Worth in January 2025, Tongue River Horse Trainer Cooper McCleskey won the Cowboy Class during the National Reined Cow Horse Association horse show with Tongue River stallion SOUTH WICHITA (BET HESA CAT x GINS LAST, by TANQUERY GIN).
In 2011, Tongue River earned the AQHA Best of Remada. The ranch's horse program has continued to advance since then with many Tongue River Ranch horses earning top awards from ranch rodeos, to ranch horse competitions to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Tongue River Ranch horses and teams have been competed in ranch rodeos for 25 years.
The Ranch has received an exemplary number of Top Hand Awards in the three largest and most recognized Ranch Rodeos in Texas: the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Ranch Roundup in Wichita Falls, and the Western Heritage Classic in Abilene.
Tongue River Ranch horses and horses sired by our stallions have had much success in recent years as well. This year, TRR stallion RIDIN A METALLIC was Reserve Champion at the Run FOR A Million Cowboy Heritage Ranch Class. In 2023, stallion CR TUFF BE GREYT was The Run For A Million Cowboy Invitational Reserve Champion. TRR FRECKLES HOLIDOC (sired by PEPCID) and PRCA heeler Logan Medlin won the Top Horse award at the Bob Feist Invitational in 2025. The pair also found success at the NFR. At the 2023 NFR, TRR BIG HUSTLER (sired by TRR BIG IRON) made his debut with heeler Paul Eaves.
Tongue River Ranch takes great pride in preserving the land for future generations so they can continue to cowboy the traditional way on our legacy bloodline quarter horses. Continuing tradition and preserving history while advancing in horse breeding, cattle genetics, and land conversation is the way of lifetime at Tongue River.