Stan Mickle

The Developer's StoryWes Mickle, an experienced, successful horsebreeder in Phoenix, Arizona, acquiredCanyon West ranch in the mid-1970's toescape the onslaught of developmentsurrounding his family's ranches in Arizona.It is his generous vision that the integrity ofTexas land be preserved, and the vision iscarried on by his son, Stan Mickle. They setout to design and build the premier golf andequestrian ranch in Texas, and havecommitted countless hours and years of hard

work to doing just that. Stan Mickle has been at the forefront and intimately involved in theplanning and development of every aspect of the golf course, club, and the surrounding residentialdevelopment. He will continue as a partner in the expanded development as well as the on-sitemanager of operations and development. As an avid golfer, he designed, built, and maintained thegolf course, club, and golf shop, as well as ran all of the operations for every segment of the project.

For many members, Canyon West will be defined by its Equestrian Center. Here, the care andcomfort of the horses is foremost and members experience the pure joy of riding at all levels. TheCenter is distinguished by its renowned director, Stan Mickle, who oversees day -to-day operationsand the Center's competitive and horse breeding programs - and by his vision of developing anexceptional equestrian center in Canyon West. Stan's expertise is recognized within the equestriancommunity, and in fact, is so highly regarded that his advise is frequently sought by equineveterinarians. In addition, he frequently teaches courses specifically designed for veterinarians atcolleges across Texas. His inclusion of a high-quality equestrian program at Canyon West leads theway - and sets the standard - for this community development incorporating equestrian amenities.

Equestrian and Golf PursuitsWith a firmly established reputation as a breeder of champion horses, Wes Mickle has also beenwinning golf tournaments in his native state of Arizona since he was 13 years old. It was only naturalthat his talented son, Stan Mickle, would follow in his father's footsteps in both fields. At the ripeage of eight, Stan won his first tournament, and he and his father have been playing golf togetherever since. Moving to Weatherford, Texas in the mid -1960's with more than 60 head of horses, theyworked side-by-side to transform their ranch in the "Cutting Horse Capital of the World" into aworld-class equestrian breeding center of international renown.

In their slack time, they played golf, and as an outgrowth of their joy in playing together and withmore than 80 years of quality golf playing years between them, they designed and built Canyon WestGolf Club as an addition to their equestrian operations. It has evolved into a high -end, resort-stylesemi-private course that prides itself on friendly, down -home service. "I loved being outdoors," Stansaid. "And then there's the architectural process where you put something on paper, or in our case,got on the bulldozer and sculpted, and then see golfers out there enjoying what you've built."

Golf courses - forget the pros when it comes to designBefore 2003, less than two handfuls of players on the PGA TOUR averaged over 300 yards perdrive. The number of power players in the professional ranks increases every year, with televisionproviding ready proof of pros transforming respected courses into pitch and putt playgrounds. Theresult is ever-lengthening tournament venues that only power players can win.

The long ball situation will be addressed by the Tour in whatever way it feels is best, but what shouldgolf course owners, club committees, and architects do about it?

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The answer is "Carryon," and build the best course possible for the given site, which is exactly thecreed followed by Stan Mickle of Canyon West Golf Club.

The professional game has little relevance to how the game is played by the overwhelming majorityof golfers. The percentage of players that can overpower a golf course or ever have reason tocomplain that courses aren't long or challenging enough is tiny. If an owner wants to build a golfcourse that caters specifically to the professional game, that's fine. Considering that 6,500 yards ismore than enough course for the majority of the golfing public, the focus should be on owners anddesigners capable of building natural, intelligent, and challenging golf courses.Fixation with how the long, accomplished player might dismantle their course can influence a club topush for wholesale green redesigns and bunker renovations in desperation, a process that risksruining the charm, nuance, and strategies that made the course great in the first place.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to playa Tiger Woods' designed course, but much like innormal architecture, the real work gets done behind the scenes, by people with names that youprobably don't recognize - ones who can relate to the duffer in all of us, and who do it for the love ofthe art and the game. "Most players are just average," Stan says. "It's always a great experience tofind out about shot values and some of the intricate things golfers of a certain level look for. Butcertainly one of the biggest things we strive for is playability, because I think designers have gottenaway from it. We try and make our course a fun experience."

Obviously, clubs and owners have a right to do what they wish with their clubs. Stan's advice: doyour best to adapt, and then be satisfied with what you have. Forget the pros, and stay playerfriendly.

Canyon West Golf offers an enticing round of golf for every level of player. Because golfers designedthe course, it is player-friendly, allowing golfers to enjoy every round while still feeling challenged.Native hill country terrain and a western flair add to the experience. Texas Monthly Magazine hasrecognized canyon West Golf as a "Must Play" course.

World Class Equestrian FacilitiesWith decades of multi-generational family involvement, Wes and Stan continue their acclaimedequestrian breeding and training programs. After years of apprenticing under Wes' careful tutelage,Stan went on to receive a degree in agricultural production and agricultural business, and has beeninvolved with his father in building and managing these programs and facilities, while working withThoroughbred and Quarter Horse Legends such as Rebel Cause, two time world champion racehorse and all time leading sire of racing horse winners, including World Champion, Reserve WorldChampion, AQHA Champion, Race Champion, Superior Halter, Performance; AAA and 27 Race;17 ROM Performance, and 361 ROM Race Offspring; sire of 32 Stakes Winners; sire of Race MoneyEarners totaling $2,913,243; sire of NCHA Money Earners; sire of Performance Point (927.5 TotalPoints) and Halter Point (219 Total Points) Earners; son of Top Deck.

Another horse of note is the great cutting horse sire,Peppy San Badger, of the famous King Ranch inTexas. Known by many as "Little Peppy," the 31­year-old stallion was by the ranch's great cuttingstallion Mr San Peppy and out of Sugar Badger byGrey Badger II. Little Peppy began his cuttingcareer by winning the 1977 NCHA Futurity. He waschampion of the 1978 NCHA Derby as well as the1979 NCHA reserve world champion. He also wonthe 1981 NCHA World Finals. The NCHA Chatterreported his last public appearance was in 2004during King Ranch's 150th anniversary celebration.After his competitive career, Little Peppy went intothe breeding shed and was soon the top choice formany mare owners. He sired 2,323 foals, including

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1,202 performers in mostly cutting, reined cow horse and remmg. Of his 19 years of offspringregistered, the last in 1996, 173 horses went on to receive their AQHA Register of Merit awards. Inthe National Cutting Horse Association, his offspring earned almost $21 million. Little Peppy'sbloodline remains predominant among the King Ranch's horses. Other remarkable horses andthoroughbreds that the Mickle's have worked with include Mito, Little Request, and Red Charmer,Vanny Bar, Tippy Canoe, Cool Frenchy, and Duel Pep among many others.

International Business PursuitsStan has spent a number of years living abroad in Central America and Belize, working with variousministers of agriculture to negotiate import and export regulations related to international agri­businesses, supplying pork products to Belize, as well as establishing and managing citrus orchardsfor the export of citrus products to the United States and agricultural by-products to Great Britain.Having traveled to more than 30 countries, it is his intimate knowledge of the Caribbean and Spanishcultures and business etiquette, plus his fluency in Spanish, that have been essential components forsuccessful ventures in this region. He has also designed incentive marketing programs and strategiesto promote rapid sales by creating urgency for prospective buyers.

Hands On ApproachWhen it comes to getting a job done perfectly, Stan knows it takes a hands-on approach, and isalways willing to do whatever it takes. In the process, he has become a seasoned pro in golf coursedesign and construction, as well as residential and commercial development - from site analysis,planning, and design layout from inception through all phases of development; to the creation offinancial projections and budgets; to the management of construction timelines and on-siteconstruction operations (including familiarity with all heavy equipment operations); while possessingthe sophistication and ability to work closely with government officials and other professionals suchas engineers and architects to ensure every project's success.

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