How Terry Bradshaw Built a Quarter Horse Empire and Then Walked Away From It All (Getty Images)
The four-time Super Bowl champion and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback-turned-Fox analyst quietly constructed a 744-acre working ranch in Thackerville, Oklahoma, near the Texas border. He called it home since 2001, breeding world-champion quarter horses and running cattle operations along the Red River. In November 2023, the ranch, valued at $22.5 million, finally sold after five years on the market, closing the chapter on one of sports’ more unexpected second acts. Bradshaw owned a 750-acre quarter horse ranch in Thackerville, Oklahoma, bordering the Red River just across the Texas state line, where he channelled the same competitive energy that made him a Hall of Famer into breeding and raising horses. He told Cowboys and Indians magazine that one dream remained on his bucket list: to own 100 good brood mares. What 744 acres actually looks like The scale of the Bradshaw ranch is worth pausing on. Located about five miles north of the Red River in Love County, the property sits between Oklahoma City, 125 miles to the north, and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, just 70 miles to the south. The state-of-the-art equine breeding facility, cattle operation, and recreational ranch covered 744 acres in Thackerville, including paved roads, an 8,600-square-foot home, and several stocked fishing lakes and ponds. A 1,000-square-foot outdoor patio area featured a full kitchen, bar, fireplace, hot sauna, and fire pit. The property included a 12-stall stallion barn, a 20-stall show barn, a 20-stall weaning barn, and a 50-stall mare barn complete with an office, a laboratory, and a breeding facility. The show ran for two seasons from 2020 to 2022, and it turned a working ranch into something of a public landmark. In October 2022, he publicly revealed that he had battled two separate cancers. On Fox NFL Sunday, the legendary quarterback disclosed that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer in November 2021 and later found a Merkel cell tumor, a rare and aggressive form of skin cancer, in his neck in March 2022. Who bought it, and what comes next The ranch sold in November 2023 to a joint venture involving Billy and Suzonne Franks from Cisco, Texas, along with Chad and Tiffany Beus, who relocated from Utah to lead the new operation. The sale price was listed at $22.5 million, though a final sale price was not disclosed by the parties involved. But the quarter horses, the breeding records, the 50-stall mare barn beside the Red River — that is what Bradshaw actually spent his adult life building when no cameras were rolling. Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news , check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule .
Because of its very central geographical position to all points within the region, especially central to Texas and Oklahoma, which is important for their clientele and expansion requirements, chad Beus stated they chose the location.
“I’m almost as enthusiastic about breeding and raising quarter horses as I was about winning my fourth Super Bowl ring,” he said. The horse facilities alone told the story of how serious Bradshaw was about the equestrian operation. The Oklahoma ranch was the filming location for the E! television series “The Bradshaw Bunch,” which gave viewers a rare look at life on the property. Icon Global’s Bernard Uechtritz said at the time: “Unfortunately, despite a series of contract extensions after repeated assurances and promises from the buyer, as well as his agents and other representatives, the buyer sadly failed to follow through, perform, fund, and close the transaction. “The decision-making process to finally selling has been a long and winding road,” he said. I’m cancer free, I’m feeling great,” Bradshaw said.
Terry Bradshaw spent more than two decades building something far removed from football. From the gridiron to the grasslands: Terry Bradshaw’s life after football Most fans know Terry Bradshaw through the lens of Super Bowls and studio desks. But the man himself had a different vision for his post-NFL life. This was a working cattle and equestrian operation that Bradshaw, a longtime breeder of quarter horses, built from the ground up. Not a vanity property. Not a celebrity retreat with a barn thrown in for aesthetics. This was a full-scale agricultural enterprise, and Bradshaw was involved in it the way he was involved in everything else — completely. That kind of dedication to a second career doesn’t happen by accident. It happens over twenty-plus years of building something brick by brick, stall by stall. The location was strategic. Close enough to the major markets of Texas, far enough from the noise of city life. Inside the main residence, the design matched the man. The palatial main house boasted four stone fireplaces, wood and tile flooring, and wood paneling. That is not a hobbyist’s setup. That is a serious, professionally-run breeding operation that punched well above typical ranch weight. The ranch became internationally recognized for breeding world champion halter-class quarter horses. The Bradshaw bunch and the Ranch’s double life At some point, the ranch took on a second identity. That visibility added an unusual layer to the eventual sale. The ranch wasn’t just a piece of land with a big asking price. It had a personality, a fanbase, and a documented history that most properties simply don’t carry. For buyers, that was either a feature or a complication, depending on what they wanted to do with it. Five years on the market, one failed deal, and a fresh start Getting the ranch sold turned out to be a lot harder than building it. The sale came after more than five years on the market and a previous deal that fell through. The first time around, a buyer got close and didn’t follow through. ” Bradshaw was candid about how long the decision to sell had taken. “Along the way, we have been presented with and considered many great offers, opportunities, and proposals. However, between my own schedule, the TV series, my family’s changing needs, our horse and cattle business, as well as many other commitments, neither timing nor opportunity was ever on our side or completely aligned. ” There was more to that admission than scheduling conflicts. Among the factors that pushed Bradshaw toward downsizing was a health scare, including a cancer diagnosis. He was treated at Yale and MD Anderson and declared cancer-free. “Folks, I may not look my old self, but I feel like my old self. That kind of perspective reframes why a man who built something from scratch over twenty years finally decides it’s time to let it go. The Bradshaw Ranch has been rebranded as Red River Equine. The new owners plan to build on the foundation Bradshaw laid. The facility is being re-developed as a large-scale, premier breeding, training, and sales preparation facility catering to several different aspects of the American Quarter Horse industry. The facility will stand a variety of specialty proven stallions for breeding and provide embryo transfer as well as other niche management and breeding practices focused on augmenting alternative breeder, trainer, and competitor needs. Bradshaw, meanwhile, hasn’t walked away from horses entirely. He and his wife Tammy have moved to a smaller ranch in Texas where they will continue to operate the Bradshaw Quarter Horse business. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines What the Ranch actually represents Terry Bradshaw’s Oklahoma property was never a typical celebrity real estate story. It wasn’t bought as an investment or a status symbol. It was built slowly, intentionally, over more than two decades by someone who genuinely wanted a different life after football. The four Super Bowls, the Hall of Fame induction, the Fox studio gig — all of that is the public resume. The ranch going to new owners who plan to take the equestrian operation even further is, in some ways, the most fitting ending possible. Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.
The Bradshaws had earlier moved to a smaller ranch near Saint Jo, Texas, where Bradshaw noted: “I loved this ranch so much, having built it from the ground up, so I was very tied to it. So as of today, the entire ranch is back on the market, and it’s now not a matter of if it will sell, but to whom.