The Missouri Horse Trainer Darrell Bereuter Rope 'n Tie Ranch 8633 Byrnesville Road, Cedar Hill, MO 63016

		A few words about the background of Darrell Bereuter, the Missouri Horse Trainer and his wife, Donna Grace Bereuter. It’s not often that a man gets a career that spans his lifetime, but for Darrell Bereuter, that’s been the fact. He says he’d be hard put to remember a time when he couldn’t ride a horse. Darrell was born in St. Louis and grew up at the Bar X ranch on Lindbergh Blvd., before the migration from the city overran that, once semi-rural, area. As a youth he competed in ranch type events, claiming the AQHA Missouri State Roping Championship when he was eighteen. That year also afforded him the opportunity to compete in the Missouri State Rodeo and take home the Championships in the Calf Roping and Cutting Horse classes. Life took Darrell South, to Texas, where he showed some great Paint horses, winning Championships and Reserves in Western Pleasure, Western Riding, Roping and Halter. AQHA horses took him to Top Ten World Show finishes in Calf Roping and Heading and Heeling in ‘81 and ‘82. Along with competition, Darrell found time to manage a Quarter Horse/Paint breeding operation, consisting of a broodmare band of one hundred, plus six stallions. His breeding program became an early adopter of AI breeding techniques. During this time frame he rode the winning horse in the Wisconsin Super Horse Contest, besting other contestants in a combination of events consisting of Barrels, Breakaway Roping, Heading, and Heeling. Took home a nice trophy saddle from that deal. In 1986, Darrell rode the National Champion Appaloosa Cutting Horse, in Indianapolis, IN. and through the years he has had the pleasure of winning numerous saddles in team roping competitions. In conjunction with these activities, he has always seen himself primarily as a trainer, training his own stock and training winning horses, professionally, for others. It amounts to forty plus years of effort, experience and gratifying success. Now, Darrell has retired, enjoying competitions with his AQHA barrel racing horses, Elliott, Easio and Dinero. Donna was one of those horse crazy girls in a 'non-horsey' family. She took riding lessons at eleven years of age and was guiding trail rides at Valley Mount Ranch at the age of twelve. Though her family thought her horse obsession would fade, it didn't. Her first horse came at the age of fifteen. At seventeen, Donna received a weanling colt. She named him Bandit. It was a lifelong partnership, with Donna and Bandit competing locally in western  pleasure, English pleasure and trail classes and finding time to participate in parades in St. Louis and Farmington. Having enjoyed the experience of the show ring, the duo switched focus to trail riding across the region, sometimes for a week at a time in the Ozark Hills. But the lure of competition is strong, and in her thirties, Donna returned to the arena, competing in barrel racing, roping and goat tying. A trophy saddle and numerous buckles, including an "All Around" are testament to her success. Bandit's influence was profound. She credits him with helping her not only to win in competition, but with helping her to learn how to train horses and give lessons to kids and adults. When he died, at age thirty three, he was buried in the front yard of the ranch. Her work with Darrell Bereuter has lent the polish of advanced horsemanship to her resume. With his guidance she has learned to fine tune and finish a horse. If you ask Donna how she feels about her life with horses she'll tell you "I truly believe this is not a hobby, but a life-style. A life style I chose and I love it".