{"id":13491,"date":"2026-02-15T13:41:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T20:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/2026-cattlewoman-and-stockman-of-the-year-reflect-montezuma-ranching-legacy\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:37:43","slug":"2026-cattlewoman-and-stockman-of-the-year-reflect-montezuma-ranching-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/2026-cattlewoman-and-stockman-of-the-year-reflect-montezuma-ranching-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Cattlewoman and Stockman of the Year reflect Montezuma ranching legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Attendees
Attendees of the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association\u2019s annual banquet included ranchers, farmers and politicians. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Ranchers, farmers and politicians attended the auction, dinner and presentation of the Cowbelle and Stockman of the Year awards at the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association\u2019s annual gathering on Saturday.<\/p>\n

State Sen. Cleave Simpson, Rep. Larry Don Suckla and Montezuma County Commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer attended the evening festivities.<\/p>\n

Eighty-eight-year-old Moeita Bauer received warm applause from the audience when she took home the Cowbelle of the Year award. Her historic ties to the founding of Mancos and deep roots in its ranching community were the focal points of the presentation.<\/p>\n

\"Moeita
Moeita Bauer accepts the 2026 Cowbelle of the Year award, expressing gratitude for the ranching life in her acceptance speech. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI would like to say to all the young men and young women, this is a great life,\u201d Bauer said in her acceptance speech.<\/p>\n

After moving around New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, Bauer settled in Mancos, marrying the great-grandson of the town\u2019s first mayor. In 1960, despite her wishes to stay in Mancos and avoid the ranching lifestyle, she and her husband began running cattle at Taylor Mesa and at the Goodman Point ranches, the latter of which she still runs with her son today.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the best place in the world to raise your kids,\u201d Bauer said, despite the financial hardships.<\/p>\n

Now she is grateful for the ranching life and hopes to keep the ranch for her four children, 10 grandchildren and their 20 children.<\/p>\n

\"Patrons
Patrons of the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association's annual banquet enjoy a dinner of steak, baked potatoes, corn, salad and bread rolls. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Bauer is a lifetime member of the Southwestern Cowbelles, having joined more than 50 years ago, and the local Philanthropic Educational Organization. She was formerly a Bridge Club member and contributed to projects at her church.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe often comments that she and her husband could have made more money somewhere else, doing something else, but money can never take the place of a ranching life with your children and grandchildren,\u201d said Cowbelle Beverly Scott before handing Bauer a bouquet of flowers.<\/p>\n

The Cowbelles and Cattlewomen also recognized lifetime member and former Southwest Cowbelles President Mary Ellen McComb for her devotion to the group. She helped assemble dozens of their brand quilts and worked many agriculture events for the organization.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Southwestern Cowbelles and Cattlewomen assemble a quilt every year as a raffle item for the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association banquet. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cShe is now a lifetime member and yet, she still pays her dues every single year,\u201d Scott said before presenting McComb with her flowers. \u201cHer love for this organization runs so deep that the Cowbelle symbol will forever be part of her legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Stockman of the Year, Mancos rancher Vance Koppenhafer, received a similarly warm and enthusiastic reception from attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to be up here and receive this,\u201d Koppenhafer said. \u201cI thank the board for everything they do and for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vance
Vance Koppenhafer (left) accepts 2026 Stockman of the Year, thanking the board members of the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Koppenhafer grew up on his father\u2019s ranch in Mancos and became a diesel mechanic before starting a cow herd and buying his ranch in Mancos Canyon.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the understanding to learn from those around him to better himself and the industry, no matter their age or experience,\u201d said Joe Lanier, vice president of the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association, who presented the award. \u201cHe never takes life too seriously and enjoys a good cup of coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Couples
Couples dance to the country music of the Vanishing Breed, shuffling their boots on the floor and smiling at each other as the evening draws to a close. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

His three grandchildren enjoy the ranch with him, going for rides on the horses, tractors and four-wheelers on the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has incredible love and patience for the animals and people around him,\u201d Lanier said. \u201cHe also has a true cattleman\u2019s humility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the evening, attendees bid on handcrafted items, gift cards to local businesses and experiences, with proceeds supporting scholarships for graduating seniors. The Southwestern Cowbelles and Cattlewomen raffled off their brand quilt among other prizes.<\/p>\n

Lynelle Brumley, secretary and treasurer for the Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association, said more than 360 tickets were sold for the banquet.<\/p>\n

Dancing to the country music of the Vanishing Breed closed out the evening, with patrons smiling and holding each other arm in arm.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ranching tradition alive and well at lively Southwestern Colorado Livestock Association\u2019s annual banquet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13491"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20666,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491\/revisions\/20666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13491"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}