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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
Steve Fishburn and I go back a great many years. I was a great friend of his mother and father, Athleen and Noble, and recall how Fishburn Travel, which ultimately became part of Morris Travel, was started nearly 50 years ago in Ogden, Utah.
It was fun for me to sit and visit with Steve and reminisce about his great experience and success in the travel agency business. We talked about the changes in how travel agencies have to generate revenue now that the airlines have cut back so drastically on commissions. But, I was more interested to talk about his present vocation and the very successful Heritage Farms.
When Steve sold his travel agency business eight years ago, he bought a cattle ranch 15 miles outside of Cody, Wyoming. That venture led him into the horse business and Farr West, Utah became the home of Heritage Farms.
The horse farm is in the business of breeding, raising, training and boarding fine pleasure and performance horses. The organization has two prize stallions for breeding purposes and a herd of fine brood mares. Their babies and yearlings are in such high demand that many times people will buy the new foals even before they are born.
One of their prize stallions is Whiskey Zipped, the last son of The Great Zippo Pine Bar, an all-time leading quarter horse champion. Genealogy and genetics are very important in horse breeding and because the gestation period for horses is lengthy, Steve told me that science has entered the picture and now embryo transplants are becoming common to generate additional offspring for the great brood mares and stallions.
The Fishburn family was noted for their expertise in putting people on planes and ships for travel. Now, they specialize in getting customers to travel on horseback.
As we speak, the Fishburns are at the American Quarterhorse Association World Championships and are well on their way to winning another world championship.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
