August 29, 1949
Richard (Dick) Dale Caulfield was born August 29, 1949,to James Michael and Betty Carroll (Pound) Caulfield in Valentine, NE. He had one sister, Ternie.
Dick’s childhood was spent on various ranches throughout the Sandhills where his dad worked. Through these years is where he learned to be a cowboy. His favorite childhood toy was a throw rope where he found the time to rope whatever he could, chickens or his sister or whatever might cross his path. Through growing up on these ranches he also learned the love of riding horses and the importance of a good using horse on a ranch. He loves to tell stories of riding his pony, Peanut, at an early age with the cowboys.
He attended rural schools across the sandhills, a lot of the time riding horseback to get to school. Through these years of school, he met lifelong cowboy friends. His freshman year of high school he was at Mission, SD when his dad was working on the Bobbie Carr Ranch. Then his family bought a ranch at Oconto, NE in 1964 and he attended his last three years of high school and graduated from Oconto High School in 1967. His favorite part of high school was playing football. He furthered his education by attending UNSTA in Curtis, NE in Production Ag. During his time in Curtis, he was the president of the Curtis College Rodeo Team, and he competed in tie down roping and bull riding. Dick helped put on the first UNSTA College Rodeo at Mill Park in Curtis. While attending school he also met a girl, Linda Covey. They were married in August of 1968. After they were married, Dick continued his education and worked on the school farm and Linda worked in the cafeteria. After graduating from college in 1969, they returned home to work the ranch with his dad in Oconto, but this was short lived as the draft notice arrived and he left for Fort Polk, Louisiana that fall where he took his basic training, AIT and leadership preparation course, which led to his next step, Company Headquarters in Bamberg, Germany. Dick was Honorably Discharged the summer of 1971 as Specialist E5. He and Linda returned home to Oconto with a plus 1, 4-month-old baby boy Gregory Michael. He returned to the ranch just in time for summer haying. At this time, he went back to rodeoing and he joined the Lexington Roping Club. He also worked for the Lexington Sale Barn to earn a little extra income. During this time he also started buying a couple young horses each fall to break, to build his horse herd.
Early 1973 the chance came up to sell the place in Oconto, so the search began for a place to go. Jim and Dick found a ranch near Springview, NE and moved two households, equipment, grain bins, livestock, tack, tools and finally the family on May 1, 1973. The purchase of this ranch was a lifelong partnership between his folks until the passing of Jim in 1999. June 1973 welcomed baby girls Jamie Dee and son, Joseph Ray, completed the family in December 1981.
Through the years the ranch has run cow/calf pairs, yearlings, hogs, sheep, take-in cattle and always horses. Throughout the years Dick has worked at local sale barns and drove truck for extra income. He continued to rodeo but gave up bull riding in 1973 but continued to tie down and team rope. Dick was one who helped organize and start the Norden Roping Club which later became Springview Roping Club. For 17 years, Dick was a member of the Keya Paha County AG Society, where he enjoyed and helped put on the county fair each year. He served on the School Board for District #17 from 1976-1998 when the country school closed. He is a Board of Director for the Nebraska Sandhills Cowboy Hall of Fame.
As the years changed and he gave up competing in rodeo himself to enjoy watching his kids compete. HE still enjoyed competing in team ropings with fun trips to the USTRC Finals with the kids and good friends. As the years passed, his next joy was watching his grandsons compete from the time they were little in area fun days on through today competing in the college ranks and PRCA. He was so excited the first time he was able to watch grandson, Sage, ride a saddle bronc on TV.
His love for angus cattle and good quarter horses showed over the 30+ years raising his cow herds and colts. He took pride in always buying good angus bulls to cross on his cows. One of his biggest joys was their trip to Fort Worth, TX to buy Dual Playin (LeRoy), through the purchase of this stud brought many new memories as they showed him in reined cowhorse, cutting, working ranch horse, heading and heeling. Dick’s goal was to raise good using horses that not only would excel in the rodeo arena and show pen but could make good ranch using horses, with good bone and cow sense. He was always on the search for good cow bred mares to cross on him. With the showing of LeRoy over the years it was not long and his offspring was making their showing as well as making his goal of raising good horses real. Everyone working on the ranch today rides home raised horses, one of his greatest joys is watching his kids and grandkids and anyone else compete on his horses that carry the quarter circle C quarter circle brand. With the passing of Duel Playin in 2021 brought the search for a new stud to the Caulfield Ranch Quarter Horse program, the choice CR WOODY BE DAINTY (Dutch), another outstanding bred stud to cross on the Dual Playin mares that the ranch has kept over the years. The legacy of raising good quarter horses will continue. Dick’s horse program is honored to be a member of the Ranching Heritage Program with the AQHA.
Not only was Dick a rodeo competitor but he is a big promoter of the sport of rodeo. He has always lived the cowboy way and has taught his kids and grandkids, cowboy etiquette both in the arena and everyday ranch work, especially roping in the branding pen. He is a lifelong rancher, a cowboy and will always be a cowboy.