Artist: Richard Stewart Halstead (born 1947)
Bennett R. Houston
HOUSTON, BENNETT R. (1929–2016), inducted 2002
As a young child, Ben R. Houston first showed cattle with his father at the 1938 National Western Stock Show. Raised on a Colorado ranch, he established Aristocrat Angus Ranch in Platteville, Colorado, in 1965. The ranch grew to a 2,500 head feed lot with an embryo transplant center and supporting croplands. In 1973, Houston exhibited the Grand Champion Angus Bull and Grand Champion Charolais Bull and Female at the National Western. In 1992, Aristocrat Angus became the first organization to ship live animals to Ukraine and has since exported cattle, semen, and embryos to countries on four continents. Houston was named a director of the National Western in 1972, served as its president from 1985 to 1991, and was subsequently Chairman Emeritus. He was named Citizen of the West by the National Western in 1995 and was honored by the American Angus Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame in 2001.
Source: Saddle & Sirloin Guidebook 2026, p. 114