ABOUT US
Welcome to Donohue Quarter Horses. We are Steve and Laurie Donohue, raising quality, working AQHA horses, with an emphasis on rope horses, barrel horses and ranch horses.
The dream of raising and producing quarter horses began many years ago when Steve, as a young boy, had a dream. He dreamed of owning and raising Quarter Horses, but did not have an opportunity to pursue that dream. Having never had a horse of his own, he began working for a neighbor, Nancy Anderson, an accomplished horsewoman, mucking stalls and learning about horses. Nancy introduced him to Dave Hunt, a roper and a man that became a mentor to a young boy with a dream.
At the age of 16, Steve, while helping to support his family, was finally able to buy a quarter horse mare of his own. Brandy, a well-bred grade Quarter Horse mare, was the beginning.
A couple of years later, Dave Hunt bred this mare to his AQHA Stallion, River Charge. By this time Steve had met, fell in love with and married a farm girl named Laurie, who grew up with horses and ranching. Laurie was raised on a ranch in Fruitland, Washington and loves nothing more than working the ground and growing crops. So began another part of their journey together.
Through the next few years in the 1980 and 90’s, we began slowly building our herd of brood mares and stallions. Building around the qualities of the mare Brandy and the stallion River Charge, a Depth Charge great grandson, produced three exceptional geldings, Nic, Rio and Ranger.
These horses proved themselves as rope horses with the athleticism that is needed in the arena, on the professional level for team roping, calf roping, steer wrestling, working cattle, team penning and raising kids. Brandy and these three horses enabled our two sets of twin boys, Scott and Keith, Ben and Adam, and our daughter Heidi to grow up on the back of horses and to compete in junior rodeo and on to PRCA competition, along with Steve.
Our journey has taken us to a breeding program that includes foundation blood lines, Doc Bar, Poco Bueno, Depth Charge, Peppy San Badger and many others, to our current breeding program that incorporates cow sense and speed for barrel horses and rope horses. We are currently standing three studs and a brood mare herd of about 12 mares. We raise a few longhorns to train rope horses. With about 50 head of horses, our training program includes training horses for steer wrestling, barrel racing, calf roping, team roping horses and ranch work. Donohue Quarter Horses is a busy place. We recently relocated back to Fruitland, WA about 4 miles from where Laurie grew up and where the dream of raising horses put down deep roots over 45 years ago. A young boy with a dream and a farm girl, together with their kids, grandkids, a faith in God and the blessings that He has given us, that’s what Donohue Quarter Horses, is all about.
If you are looking for strong, competitive horses with foundation and proven blood lines, strength, speed and good minds, Donohue Quarter Horses is the place. We take pride in our family ranch that includes our son Scott and our daughter Heidi, with help from the rest of our family. Steve and Laurie’s horses have the SL5 brand and Heidi’s horses have the Lazy Diamond H brand.
