ExclusiveFrom Gold Rush to Arabian Champions: The Incredible Story of Jack Tone Ranch

Peace doesn't come to nations, it comes to individuals. It changes through individuals' hearts. But when they learn about the Arabian horse and Amir and they see him, you know, seeing is believing. And animals always have a way of touching our hearts more so than a person. Amir is a thing of beauty and nobility and authenticity. And he carries a very important, impactful message. Welcome back to Silicon Valley Front Row. Today we're talking to Kathleen Tone Hammer. She's been on this Jack Tone Ranch all her life. The ranch has been around for 177 years. It's probably the oldest ranch in the U.S. Started around the Gold Rush in California. It's the oldest continuously horse breeding ranch in America, I believe. Maybe only in California, but I think in America. Started in 1849 by John Tone. He came from New York when the discovery of gold was shouted around the world. But he found it was better to pack supplies to the miners than it was to go into the mountains and dig for himself. As small oaks grew until they towered over the Calaveras River beside Tone's property. So it was founded around the same time as the Gold Rush, right? Before the Gold Rush. He came here for the Gold Rush. He came in 1849. And this is the Calaveras River right here. He followed the river from San Francisco. And then when they got right about opposite us, they say we better camp here because it's too cold to go up to the mountains. So they camped there and planted their potatoes. And the next year they took the potatoes and went up and found a gold mine. I mean they staked out a gold mine. And they stayed there and got gold? Yeah, he had a gold mine up there. But in the beginning he would come back here every winter. They would come back here. So they didn't have to deal with the snow and the cold up in the mountains. So this is your great-grandfather. Yes. Great-grandfather. And again, we have the road named by him. Yes, he laid out the road. Oh, he laid out the road. Yes, he laid out the road. And also, I don't know if you can tell, but this goes up to the river. He made a bank all the way along his property. So it floods above us and below us. It floods, but we've never flooded. He was a smart man. Wow. So now you were born here and you grew up here and so did the other generations pretty much. Since him, everyone is local here. Yes, everyone has lived here. Someone in the family has lived here and farmed and bred horses. We have up in our trophy room, we have a plaque that he won in 1867 with his stallion. Then my mother started breeding Arabian horses in 1952. She chose her stallion and her mare and bred them together. And the mare, when she died, she was the leading living dam of champions in America. And the stallion was the leading living sire of champions in America. Wow. And then we had the famed Fajur, right? Fajur. When was he around? She chose him. He was born in 1952. Wow. And she chose him. He was 10 months old. She brought him home and he was here ever since. Wow. So how do you think this whole area changed since you remember as a kid? Did it change much or did it stay the same? This, our ranch? Yes. Well, Fajur built all of this horse facility. The big arena barn and these paddocks and this barn. He paid everything. Sometimes he saved the ranch because the farming would go down and my mother would have to put the horse money into the bank and save the ranch. And sometimes the ranch saved the horses. I mean, you know, it's a family ranch. But things did not change much overall as far as the looks or the culture or, you know, the neighbors. Mostly the traffic on the road. Mostly the traffic, okay. Mostly because I used to walk to school and ride my bike to school and now I wouldn't let the kids go out on the road. So what is your message for the future generations? What do you hope will happen with the ranch? That they will trust and rely on each other like we trusted and relied on our parents and they on their parents and they on their parents. The love, my father loved the land. He would say, I like to fertilize the field with my shadow. And he loved the ranch and my mother loved the ranch, but she always loved horses. She said, when I grow up, I will marry a farmer with a big barn. That's what she did. We'll show you the big barn. How does it feel to have such famed horses as Amir or Fajur in the past? Oh, very proud. Very proud. It makes us want to clap and they know it. They feel it. They feel we like it when they show off and they show off more. Kathleen, thank you so much for your time. Oh, you're welcome. I appreciate it. Thank you. So right now we're headed into the barn that's built in 1850. This is where Fajur resided and he's buried near the barn. And Amir was born right in the foaling station here. This is all original, all authentic. And this is where Amir was born, right in this little stall here. Here's this, Jack Tone Ranch 18, the horse barn out there. We'll go right in this room here. Take a look. This is all Fajur's. Look at this. And there's a whole other one, too. It's even bigger. Can you believe this? I mean, unbelievable. On the time. It goes on and on. What is that? This is one of his announcements that this is all his. It was all about Fajur back then. He was 16 in that picture. Look at that. And he was reserve national champion at 16. National champion. It goes on and on. Even when he was older, he still won all the classes. He was still performing, still making babies. He was an incredible horse. It was an Arab saddle, Arabian. These are the ribbons that he won from different shows. And there's a ton of them here. They go on and on. And back real far. Quite a showcase. Yes. Yeah. This is from the Black Stallion guy. Oh, they filmed the movie The Black Stallion with one of Fajur's progeny. And this is from the producer of it. A letter from that. Lots of famous celebrities enjoyed Fajur's progeny. This is my mother and Fajur. Okay, we've got another museum to look at right next door. So we'll take a couple steps and walk over there. There's just so much in here. You'd have to spend about three weeks in here looking at each little thing. And it's fun to walk in here when Kathleen Tonehammer is here because she sharply recalls all this. She has such a crystalline mind that she can remember it like it was yesterday. This is my grandfather's saddle. It was brand new in 1900. And this is a picture of him on his horse Blackie on Jack Tone Road in front of the brick house that his father built in 1870, I believe. That picture there is of our foaling stall. Like Anne was telling you, that's where Amir was born. And so that is Saki. She was the leading dam of champions of the breed. And then that's all the grandkids up there looking to see the new foal. My children are there and my sister's children. And then that's Fajr looking from his stall. One of Kathleen's visions and dreams that she had when I first met her, she said she would like Fajr's line to go back over into the Middle East. And I caught on to that dream. I hopped on to that dream, and I hopped on to that vision, not knowing how Amir would turn out. And he turned out a fantastic color and confirmation, personality, empathy, everything. He turned out like a mini Fajr, and that's his middle name. But the goal is for him to become the peace ambassador, have a much wider influence and impact on the world, bringing all this history here, all of it, Kathleen's life, her mother's life, everything, to focus into these days where peace is needed. What's the most important thing? Peace. And peace doesn't come to nations. It comes to individuals. It changes through individuals' hearts. But when they learn about the Arabian horse and Amir and they see him, you know, seeing is believing. And animals always have a way of touching our hearts more so than a person. We gravitate more towards animals. You know, we love dogs, we love cats, we love horses. And Amir is a thing of beauty and nobility and authenticity. And he carries a very important, impactful message. Thank you for watching another episode of Silicon Valley Front Row. Please put your comments below about your thoughts about the Jacktaw Ranch and about horses in general. And if there's anything you would like to know more about the ranch, please let us know in your comments below. See you next time.