The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.
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FA L L 2 0 1 6 | The LandReport 61 LANDREPORT.COM That changed in 1993 when Paul Fireman assumed the reins of the Winecup Gamble Ranch. Like unique and one-of-a-kind, the term visionary is misapplied all too often. Not in Fireman's case. In 1979, the Massa- chusetts native snapped up the US rights to distribute a niche British product. You know the Reebok name now, but you probably didn't until Fireman came along. He eventually became chairman and CEO of Reebok International. In 2006, he sold Reebok to Adidas for $3.8 billion. That's what I mean by visionary. In 2009, Fireman looked into his crystal ball and saw another vision: a robust ranch in the heart of Thousand Springs Valley. The time had come to reinvigorate the Winecup Gamble. Fireman's first step was to engage Clay Worden, a nationally known partner in the agribusiness practice at RSM LLP. Worden brought on board Dykes Everett and Keith Holcomb at Dykes Everett & Company in Orlando to assist with the implementation of the turnaround. Worden's next step was to convince a Wyoming rancher he had befriended named James Rogers to take over the cattle operation. Some will no doubt attribute the successes of this cadre to luck. I will gladly second that notion as long as luck is defined as follows: when preparation meets opportunity. In the years that followed, a disastrous multi-year drought clobbered many cattle producers. So did record corn prices. In short order, the US cattle herd shrank to its smallest size since 1952. Meanwhile, demand stayed robust. The result? A startling run of record beef prices. As profits poured in, Fireman took the long view and plowed them back into his ranch. Over the last seven years, $19 million has been reinvested in livestock, fencing, barns, corrals, employee housing, irrigation, wells, water infrastructure, and more. ABOVE: In addition to Thousand Springs Creek, which winds its way some 75 miles through the ranch, the Winecup Gamble is blessed with 8 additional live creeks, 2 reservoirs, 43 ponds, and 49 springs. OPPOSITE: Many of the seeps and springs that water the Winecup Gamble were snapped up by enterprising cowmen more than a century ago. DAVID PACKER