Spotlight on Our Member!

Tom and Lile Filbin
Sonoma Livestock, Golconda, Nevada

Hello from out West.

Sonoma Livestock Company is so named for the picturesque Sonoma mountain range. This range of mountains lies mostly southwest of Winnemucca, Nevada on the southerly side of Interstate Highway 80. Our little town of Golconda is right on I-80 at about 4,400 feet elevation. Winters here can achieve –35 degrees F and summers up to 105 degrees F. This is a big, wide open, high desert country. It requires good horseflesh to cover this kind of country. It takes substance, bone, good structure and plenty of stamina. For about seventeen years of the past twenty we were partners in the 1.2 million acre IL Ranch operation. This included BLM, USFS, railroad lease and deeded lands. Our part of the ranch ran sheep, about 15,000 ewes. IL also has cattle.

Tom and Lile Filbin, the principals of Sonoma Livestock Co., have six children (we didn’t use to have television). Some of our kids live nearby but one lives in Texas and another in Australia.

Raising horses has been a part of our livestock business for 36 years. At present our horse operation includes about 50 mares, both AQHA and APHA. Nearly all have Shoemaker-Skipper W bloodlines.

One of our early stallions was Skip's Major (Skipador x Santa Maria by Plaudit), a ¾ brother to Skippers King. Spanish Nick died on our ranch in New Mexico. He never sired any foals for us. He was given to us to live out his life. His final resting place is on the banks of Salt Creek, north of Roswell, New Mexico. While living in New Mexico, we sent some of our mares to Skip A Barb (Skippers King x Barbara Star by Starduster) at Jack Kyle’s in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. From these breedings we kept a stallion by Skip A Barb to continue this bloodline. He is Tee Ex Skipper, now 28 years old and still breeding. We have retained a lot of his daughters as they have produced well for us.

When Premium Skip came west we took some mares to him. An APHA son of Premium Skip, Sir Skippalette (Premium Skip x Raleigh’s Mischief by Sir Raleigh) wound up as part of our operation. An older palomino son of Skippers Lad (by Skipper W), Skipping Stone, was used for a while with some of his daughters adding to the mare group.

Next was Skip’s Handycash (Sir Raleigh x Skiporelle Bar by Skip Or Bar), a really nice dark palomino horse that has continued this bloodline for us. He is now deceased, but we have kept some of his daughters.

The most recent additions to our stallion battery are AQHA St Mike (branded) a ’94 sorrel stallion by Skippa Staints out of St. O Leta by St Limit, and APHA Slipastreak (branded) a ’95 sorrel tobiano by Streaking On out of Skippa Return by Skippa Jet. Both of these young stallions are going to stand to a limited number of outside mares with preference to Shoemaker-Skipper W bloodline mares.

The pursuit of useful ranch-type horses with eye appeal is our general breeding objective. To reach this objective much emphasis has been placed on mare uniformity. We believe it is imperative to producing quality foals. Several of our mares are ¾ sisters, with the resulting foals being 7/8 brothers or sisters. Our mares include seven that are Wiescamp branded, both AQHA and APHA. The rest are mostly home raised.

Nevadans like rodeos. Beside ranchers, quite a few of our horses have gone to ropers and rodeo participants in our state. They have done well with them. We haven’t actively shown our horses but hope to in the near future, as we are not so far out as we used to be.

We bring in new genetics of this same bloodline by breeding to such fine stallions as St. Union owned by Highland Quarter Horses in Kersey, Colo., and to Skip and Bid standing at Taylor Creek Ranch in Moab, Utah. Also we have recently added a really nice buckskin daughter of Skip Snark that is out of a Skipper's Carbon mare. She is in foal to St Mike.

Our children have all played a role in helping with the ranch work. For this we are grateful and they have all been participants in the horse end. However, it seems some have a special knack for the horses. Our daughter Stacy Voges (and her husband, Thomas) are the driving force behind our horse business at present. They deserve much of the credit for carrying on what we started some 36 years ago.

Ours is a "plain vanilla" outfit, not a show place by any means. But no matter, visitors are welcome to stop by as we are easy to get to, just off I-80 in north central Nevada. Give us a ring anytime and stop in, if you can.

P.S. Just a "Thanks" to the officers and directors of Shoemaker-Skipper W Bloodlines, Inc. Your dedication and unselfish efforts make it a joy to meet and visit with you and the other members.

Tom and Lile Filbin
Thomas and Stacy Voges