The Van Norman Ranch in Tuscarora, Nevada has been a large cattle and ranch horse operation that was run by Bill Van Norman and his son Troy, both of who died recently. Bill’s other son Ty now runs the ranch with is wife Rhonda.
It was Bill’s father, Charlie, who put the ranches together. He and his wife, Della, bought a small homestead in Independence Valley, near Tuscarora, in 1945, and through the years they added to it. In later years, their sons, Bill and Robin, and their respective families, took over operation of the ranches. When Charlie died in 1996, and Della in 2000, the ranches were firmly established and continue to operate today.
The Van Norman Ranch received the American Quarter Horse Association Best Remuda award in 2001. The May 2010 edition of Western Horseman ranked the Van Norman Ranch as #3 on their list of “Top 20 Ranch Horse Programs but I’ve heard they are “reorganizing” and selling a lot of their stock. Hope everything is OK. There will be a major sale of their horses September 17-18 in Elko, Nevada.
Van Norman Ranches is a cow outfit. They run about 1,400 cows, calve in the spring, usually in April, and carry those calves throughout the winter. They also farm 10,000 acres for hay.