Erick at six in First Grade in 1955 |
 Erick on October 23, 2000 |
 Erick in August, 1973 |
and Phone Numbers Link
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Erick's Early Years in Southeastern Colorado
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Jessie Frank Conard was born in 1892. |
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 Erick Conard, September, 1950 One year ten months |
Until he was seven, Erick lived on his family's three section
ranch 35 miles south of Holly (a town with ~2,500 population) in
southeastern Colorado near an intersection designated Lycan, Colorado,
on the map. The nearby ranching families called this intersection
Buckeye since Buckeye General Store was at the intersection. The General Store
got its name because the building was moved from Buckeye, Illinois. Erick's
Grandmother, Frank's mother, once owned and operated this General Store and Post Office
(you can see pictures of this store and "Mom" taken about 1940 at
"Iva Hazel Henry Conard's page,"
Erick's Grandmother ). She moved to Wyoming around the time Erick was
born. The only other building at this intersection was Buckeye School, a one room
schoolhouse with out houses for rest rooms. Erick attended the
first grade there with 19 other students from the first through the eighth
grades. |
 Erick in Colorado in 1952 when three. |
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First Grader Erick Conard (first row, middle) and Second Grader Frank
Conard II (second row, second from left) at Buckeye School in 1955.
Buckeye school was a one room school house in Lycan, Colorado with one
teacher and students from the first through the eighth grades and
two outhouses.
 First Grader Erick Conard (first row, middle) and Second Grader Frank Conard II (second row, second from left) at Buckeye School in 1955. Buckeye school was a one room school house in Lycan, Colorado with one teacher and students from the first through the eighth grades and two outhouses. |
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The ranch at Buckeye was a traditional dryland farming/ranching operation; in addition to dryland farming (mostly wheat) we raised Herford cattle, Quarter horses, pigs, and chickens. We also had a large and productive garden. |
 Erick Conard, Colorado, 1954 Five years old. |
"Santa" brought Erick
his first horse, a Silver Dappled shetland pony mare, when Erick was four.
When he was six, he began calling a special sorrel Quarter mare, Miss
Glory, "his" mare. |
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This picture was taken in 1928, probably in far Western Kansas near the Colorado border. Riding the cow are Erick's father, Frank W A Conard, in back and Frank's cousin, Gerald McKeeman, in front. Frank Conard was born May 27, 1920, at his parents home in the country about seven miles from town in Western Kansas not far from the Colorado border. | ||
Billie Faye Waller Conard Pictures  |
At left is Erick's father, Frank Conard, with Erick's mother, Billie Faye
Waller Conard, not long after they moved to the ranch in Southeastern
Colorado in 1947. On the right is a picture of Erick (right), his older brother Frankie (left), and their Dad, Frank Conard in their yard at the ranch on April 17, 1951. CLICK HERE to Link to the LIFE STORY of Frank and Billie Faye  This is a picture of Billie Faye Waller Conard in September, 1930, when she was four years, 10 months old. |
Frank W A Conard Pictures  |
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From Dryland Ranch near Lycan, Colorado to Irrigated Farm outside Holly, Colorado |
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When Erick was seven, his Dad opened a donut shop in addition to the farming operation and Erick moved with his family to a small irrigated farm closer to town (eight miles Northwest of Holly, Colorado, about a mile from Hartman, Colorado). This was an irrigated farm raising alfalfa and wheat or other grains. The farm had a wonderful two story house which was remodled by Erick's parents. Erick and his brother lived in a huge bedroom in the converted attic on the second floor and his sister lived on the other side of the bath in her bedroom. This was a terrific space for a kids! On cool summer nights Erick opened the window, crawled out, and sat on the roof. Behind the two story house was a huge two story barn. Erick, his brother Frankie, and their sister Brenda played in that barn all year round. It was a fantastic barn! With their horses, the barn, and the beautiful irrigated property, this farm was a great playground for Erick and his siblings. |
Vernon, Texas |
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Erick's mother, a true Texan, was from Grand Prairie, Texas, and always wanted to return to Texas. So after a quick and unexpected farm sale, the family packed up everything and drove to Vernon, Texas on October 31, 1959. Erick's dad opened a spudnut shop/hamburger joint and later two different Texaco service stations, one in Vernon and one near the Red River north of Vernon. The family lived on 20 acres a couple of miles SW of town where they had 270 peach trees and 80 pear trees and about 12 horses. By this time, horseback riding was Erick's main interest. His sorrel quarter horse mare had been bred to a racing Arabian stallion Erick's dad had leased and she foaled on March 23, 1960. Erick named his new colt Lightening. This colt was the first of many horses Erick eventually trained. Without any knowledge of horse training, he imprinted the colt ... not because he knew the benefits of imprinting but because he loved interacting with the young colt. |
The Move to Colorado City, Texas |
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After Erick's parents made some quick trips to West Texas, on May 27, 1963 Erick's family moved to Colorado City,Texas. Erick's father had become the Texaco consignee there. He also opened a Texaco station on the east side of town, a Texaco truck stop and restaurant on the west side of town, and later he added a downtown restaurant and two full service stations, including one station that also performed auto repairs, in Colorado City. Although they leased acerage just outside of town for the horses, and later purchased 40 acres about a mile north of town, Erick and his family lived in the city limits of Colorado City for the four years he lived there prior to attending college. On July 2, 1963, Erick's youngest sister, Anne Elizabeth, was born. |
College at Hardin Simmons, Abilene, Texas | ||
 Erick during his college years (1967-1971) |
Erick attended college at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene
and graduated in 1971. When he graduated he had $200.00 in cash. His
dad bought him $40.00 worth of can goods and he packed his car and drove
off in search of a job. He stopped in Austin, Texas, where he had friends
attending the University of Texas. After spending the week with his friends,
he realized he really liked Austin and decided to stay. Although Erick's father had offered him a job, he felt he needed to make his own way in the world and didn't return home to live off his family. Erick's low draft number greatly decreased his prospects of being hired but he refused to live off his parents. Eating only canned vegetables and canned soup for four months actually make a great diet. When Erick found a job in December, 1971, he weighed a very lean 135 pounds. With an income and exercise, he got his weight back to his normal 148 lean pounds and was able to maintain that weight until shortly after he was 50 years old. |
 Erick in 1969 in HSU Rodeo Club Picture |
Austin, Texas | |
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Erick secured a job as a Virologist with the Texas Department of Health. His area of expertise was rabies diagnostics. After approximately 12 years in the laboratory, he changed careers and became a health physicist.
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Health physics is involved with the health and safety aspects of radiation. Erick's
position as a health physicist was also with the State of Texas. | |
 Erick vacationing in Cancun, Mexico, October 1989 when he was 41 years old. |
Elgin House in Elgin, Texas |
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In 1984 Erick begin working on design ideas for a custom house. In 1987, he built the house eight miles north of Elgin at Conard Farms. To see pictures of both the outside and inside of the house, click on the below picture of Erick's completed house. 
Click to link to Erick Conard's Elgin Custom Home Page
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Discovery of Anatolian Shepherds | |
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Erick moved his animals, which included Barbadoe sheep and Nubian goats, to Conard farms in 1985. For the first few months all was well - then the killing began! Almost every other day Erick found a sheep had been killed by coyotes. He stayed home from work to shoot the coyotes responsible for his ongoing losses, but these coyotes were especially cleaver and he rarely ever saw one and never hit one. Finally, with pastures full of lush spring grass, he locked all his goats and sheep in the barn to save them. During this stessful time Erick was reading a goat magazine which had an article about a "new" kind of dog - a working guardian dog from Turkey - the Anatolian Shepherd Guardian dog. The article said Anatolians would bond to sheep and goats, live with them, and protect them from predators. Erick set down the magazine, picked up the phone, and called Marilyn Harned, an officer in the Anatolian Shepherd Club of America. She was friendly and informative and Erick asked her where he could obtain the best serious working Anatolian pup. Marilyn suggested several people, including Jean Ebeling of Marble Falls, Texas. Jean raised strictly working Anatolian Shepherds on her large ranch for the protection of her huge Angora herd. Amazingly, Jean had a litter of seven week old pups at the ranch but only one pup, a male, was still available. Erick purchased the pup over the phone, sight unseen, drove to Jean's ranch, and picked up his first Anatolian, which he named Ebeling's Kasif (Casy), who was resting among a small group of Angora the first time Erick ever saw him. Erick has owned and loved Anatolian Shepherds ever since! | |
 Erick in 1991 on a scuba diving trip at the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. |
 Erick at Conard Mountain Property in Colorado, July, 1993. |
 Erick in 1993 at Conard Farms in Elgin Texas. |
 Erick on his birthday in 1995 at Conard Farms in Elgin Texas. |
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In October, 1994, Erick decided to drive to Guadalupe State Park for a short vacation with a couple of his friends and his horse, Lady. This vacation was made in conjunction with a trip to nearby Del City, Texas, to purchase half a trailer of alfalfa. (Erick had to use the other half of the trailer for his horse!) | |
 Erick in October, 1994, at Guadalupe Peak with his Anglo Arabian, Lady. The saddle in this picture was hand made and hand tooled by his father, Frank W. Conard, specifically for him. | |
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During this trip, Erick rode to the top of Guadalupe Peak on his young Anglo-Arabian,
Lady! This trip was one of Lady's first trips off property and Erick discovered
that riding to the top of the Guadalupe Peak horseback was a great challenge -
far greater than Erick ever expected! | |
Erick in October, 1994, camping out at Guadalupe Peak. You can see Guadalupe Peak in the background (or is that El Capitan?). | |
 Erick in October, 1994, grooming Lady prior to riding at Guadalupe Peak. 
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 Erick in October, 1994, with Lady halfway to the top of Guadalupe Peak.  Erick in October, 1994, with Lady at the top of Guadalupe Peak. |
Additional Pictures of Erick | |
 Erick in 1999 at Lucky Hit Ranch with his Thoroughbred filly, Ziba. |
 Erick at Conard Farms in 1997. |
Purchase of Lucky Hit Ranch | |
After selling Conard Farms near Elgin in 1997, Erick purchased Lucky Hit Ranch. A few year later, on February 29, 2000, Erick retired from state work and began working on his ranch full time. |
 Link to Lucky Hit Ranch Pictures |
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Erick on December 31, 2009 (when 61 years old) at Lucky Hit Ranch with CHAMPION LUCKY HIT Bethany KAMIL when she was 8 weeks old. 
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Erick on April 10, 2011 (when 62 years old) at Lucky Hit Ranch" 
Erick continues to raise goats, llamas, ducks, geese, and Anatolians at his little ranch at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. He is especially proud of his accomplishments with his Anatolian Shepherds! |
 Erick at Lucky Hit Ranch on July 22, 2012 working with Anatolian puppy Lucky Hit DivaKiz RANA |
 Erick at Lucky Hit Ranch on July 22, 2012 working with Anatolian puppy Lucky Hit DivaKiz Asure (ASH) |
| ERICK JAMES CONARD FAMILY TREE | |
| FATHER | MOTHER |
| Frank William Abner Conard, Born May 27, 1920, Manter, Kansas |
Billie Faye Waller Conard, Born November 25, 1925, Grande Prairie, Texas |
| SIBLINGS | |
| FRANK WILLIAM CONARD II, Born January 9, 1948, Lamar, Colorado> |
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| BRENDA FAYE CONARD FEASTER WILSON Born February 28, 1953, Lamar, Colorado |
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| ANNE ELIZABETH CONARD VANDERSLICE Born July 2, 1963, Colorado City, Texas |
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| Lucky Hit Ranch | -------- Lucky Hit Homepage | 17 Apr 2005 |
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Ron Arroyo (Ronald Xavier Arroyo) in 1991 at Conard Farms |
Alvin Hall (Alvin Edward Hall) in 1994 at Conard Farms |
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Claire in 2000 at Lucky Hit Ranch |
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Entry to Erick's Poetry Page Link to Erick's Poetry Page by clicking here or clicking the Marigold (The Marigold was grown at Lucky Hit Ranch.)  To Link to Erick's father's poetry... Frank Conard Poetry Page Click Here
"DETALLES" - MY FAVORITE SONG My favorite song is "DETALLES," sung in Spanish by Roberto Carlos. Click my "DETALLES," link to see my English Translation with the Spanish words as I heard them. If you like the words you should hear the song... it is increcibly beautiful. I first heard it in the mid 1970's during a 3,000 mile road trip throughout Mexico in an MGB convertible. |
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Links to Fictional Stories Written by Erick Conard "Birth - Beginnings: A Fictional Account" "The Disc Harrow: A Fictional Account" "The Path at Goose Lake - Emotional Turmoil: A Fictional Account" "WAITING - Emotional Turmoil: Relationship Dissolution, A Fictional Account" |
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Anatolian Shepherds: Anatolian Main Page | Overview of my Dogs | Raising Working Pups | Training Tips | Working Traits in Pups | Purchase a Pup | Dog Coat Color Genetics | 2004 National Specialty | Mektup of Obruk Article | Anatolian List | Back Off Command | Same Sex Together | Emotional Control | AKC Reg Form - Coat Color | Working Behaviors | Anatolian vs Kangal | Maternal Instincts | Casy's Award | Birthing and Kids Llamas: Llama Main Page | Llama Sires | Llama Dams | Llamas For Sale Llamas SOLD Other Animals: Horses | Riding Lessons | Goats | Tonkinese Cats | Pilgrim Geese Contact Us: Contact Information | Guest Book | Lucky Hit Information: Lucky Hit Home Page | Elgin House Pictures | Erick's Life | Erick's Poetry |
Trip to Guadalupe Peak