Horse Roundup 2026 | Where dreams take shape: Bar E North carries on and builds a Colorado legacy 

A question echoed across Colorado horse country when Premier Breeding founder Brad Ray made the decision to relocate closer to family in the Four Corners area: “Where do we go now?” 

Julian and Laura Ellis were asking this same question. 

As horse owners launching their own breeding program, the Ellises immediately recognized the void Ray and Premier Breeding Services’ departure would create in the eastern Colorado community. There were no other equine reproduction-management facilities within a two-hour radius offering comparable services. Rather than see that resource disappear, the Ellises purchased the breeding facilities in spring 2025. That was the start of Bar E North.   

“That shared sense of need made the decision feel less like a business opportunity and more like a calling,” Julian Ellis said.  

Beyond the practical reality, the facilities themselves spoke to the family. 

“This property was purpose-built to be a breeding barn, and every detail reflects that intention,” Laura Ellis said. “We simply could not imagine it being anything else.” 

Ray, who holds a master’s degree in equine reproductive physiology from Colorado State University, spent decades helping advance the science of horse breeding while building one of the region’s most respected reproductive-management programs. During his career, he bred more than 5,000 mares on the property and established a reputation that extended far beyond eastern Colorado. Today, Bar E North continues to build from that platform.  

“We feel genuinely fortunate to carry forward the legacy of a place with such deep roots in Colorado’s equine reproduction community,” Julian said. “We are committed to honoring everything Brad built here while writing the next chapter with the same standard of excellence.” 

While reproductive-management services remain the foundation, Bar E North also offers veterinary expertise and specialized weaning and foal-socialization services. The operation also manages a growing stallion program, continuing one of the facility’s longstanding strengths and attracting stallions that include A Tale of The Cat, a son of High Brow Cat and Autumn Boon, a son of One Time Pepto (Awesome Ottis), among others. 

“What makes Bar E North special is the combination of things that are genuinely difficult to find under one roof,” Laura said. 

But for the Ellises, the people and horses behind these services are what make Bar E North truly special and a place where dreams take shape. 

“Every mare that arrives here represents something deeply personal to the owner,” Julian said. “A bloodline they have spent years building, a foal they have been imagining, a goal they have been working toward.” 

Clients arrive with vastly different goals, and the Ellises understand that breeding is rarely just about producing a foal. Some clients are developing the next generation of show horses. Others are preserving and carrying on proven ranch-horse bloodlines or simply growing their families in a way that feels meaningful to them.  

“This breeding barn is not transactional, and we never want it to be,” Laura said. “It is a place where people trust us with something that matters enormously to them, and we carry that responsibility seriously.” 

The center of that breeding expertise is resident veterinarian Dr. Brody Ann Klinglesmith, whose training at Colorado State University’s Equine Reproduction Center brings advanced reproductive technologies and scientific expertise to the program. 

Dr. Klinglesmith said that she never intended to build a career in equine reproduction. 

“I had my sights set on bovine reproduction for 10 years by the time I graduated from vet school,” she said. 

An internship at CSU’s Equine Reproduction Center changed those plans. 

“I was shocked at how much I enjoyed equine reproduction considering how different cattle and horses are,” Dr. Klinglesmith said. “But just like with cattle, it is a discipline that rewards precision and patience in equal measure.” 

During its first breeding season under the Ellises’ ownership, Bar E North bred more than 200 mares and foaled out 24. During peak season, 40 to 60 horses may be under management on the property at any given time.  

For Dr. Klinglesmith, some of the most rewarding moments have come when difficult cases require the team to think beyond standard protocols. 

“We’ve had cases that pushed us, that required us to reach beyond our walls and collaborate with experts across the country to find answers,” she said. “We found those answers and are proud of what we have been able to send home as a result.” 

In one case from the operation’s first breeding season, a family brought an accomplished show mare to Bar E North with hopes of producing embryos after the mare had spent more than eight years away from a breeding program while competing at a high level in National Reined Cow Horse Association events. 

When the mare arrived in February 2026, the team developed a comprehensive plan that included breeding and flush schedules, recipient mare management and stallion research tailored to the mare and her owners’ goals. 

Despite the preparation, fertility challenges emerged and the mare missed on her first cycles. 

Rather than accept that outcome, the Bar E North team expanded the effort. 

Working alongside the owners, they consulted specialists and researchers from Colorado to Missouri, evaluating every available option and exploring every possible path forward. 

That persistence paid off. By the end of the breeding season, three embryos had been successfully produced. 

For the Ellises, this case represents exactly what Bar E North stands for.  

Horse breeding can produce the highest highs and the lowest lows, sometimes within the same season. The Ellises know that reality well, and it shapes how they approach relationships with clients. 

“We believe that how you treat a horse when no one is watching, how you communicate with a client when the news is hard and how hard you fight for an outcome when things do not go according to plan says more about this program than any accolade,” Julian said. “It is not just about following a protocol. It is about refusing to give up on a client’s dream, calling in every resource available and doing whatever it takes to get the outcome that horse and that owner deserve.” 

This collaborative, full-service approach is integrated throughout every part of Bar E North’s breeding and foal programs. Dr. Klinglesmith oversees breeding management and medical care. Alongside her is a seasoned staff that manages every facet of breeding. 

“Collaboration is an operational necessity, and one we take seriously at every phase of the program,” Laura said. “Coordinating breeding schedules, veterinary care, feeding, stalling, turnout and the full scope of daily horse care at that scale demands a team that works in lockstep where communication is constant and every role is understood.” 

The result is a team of specialists all working toward the same outcome for each horse and each client.  

“It may sound simple, but our clients and their horses are our one and only focus, and that principle drives every decision we make across every part of the program,” Julian said. 

The goal is for every client to leave more knowledgeable than when they arrived and to feel supported regardless of the outcome. 

“Ultimately, we hope people leave with the feeling that they found something rare: a program that genuinely cares about their horses and their individual goals,” Laura said.  

After all, every horse that comes through the gate at Bar E North arrives carrying someone’s dream.