WINNEMUCCA —Last weekend, Ross Zimmerman was honored as the 2020 “Ranch Hand of the Year” during the event’s 31st anniversary.
It’s a worthy tribute for the longtime northern Nevada resident, veterinarian, cowboy, rancher, hunter and more, according to Agricultural District No. 3 President Kent Maher.
“Ross Zimmerman has been an important figure in the ranching communities in Humboldt County,” said Maher. “He deserves this honor and the chance to stand alongside our other greats who have strengthened our local ranching heritage.”
Ross Evan Zimmerman was born was born May 3, 1945, to Evan and Tillie Zimmerman, in Petaluma, California.
The family moved to Nevada and the Disaster Peak Ranch when he was five years old. As the oldest of five boys, he learned to play, tease, and work hard.
Ross attended the one room schoolhouse, which is now the McDermitt Library for four years.
His mother and the boys lived in McDermitt during the school year, going home on the weekends to help on the ranch.
He was then homeschooled on the ranch through middle school. Buckarooing, haying, fencing, irrigating, and all the jobs on a working ranch rounded out his education.
When Ross started high school, his mother and brothers moved to Winnemucca for the school year.
Ross played sports and enjoyed his friends, but always went home to Disaster Peak after games and on the weekends.
Upon graduating, he attended Oregon State in Coravallis to study veterinary medicine. He worked in the college dairy barn and resided in a room above it.
His girlfriend, Dodie McErquiaga, would visit on occasion, and stay with friends to see Ross. On her first visit, the dairy barn burned to the ground, and Ross had to rush out to rescue all the animals, which he did.
Ross went on to veterinary school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins after marrying Dodie in August of 1967.
There, Ross worked and studied hard. He and Dodie welcomed their first child, Bonnie, and then their second child, Ann. They kept busy.
Upon finishing veterinary school, the family moved back to Orovada, Nevada, and stayed on the River Ranch, where Ross worked and practiced his vet skills around the area. Bonnie learned to ride on the River Ranch and followed her dad around whenever she could.
In 1972, Ross and his young family moved to the RO Ranch in Round Mountain, Nevada, with Ross’s parents.
They ran cattle on the Toiyabe mountain range. The desert went on for miles, and it was quite a challenge.
Ross, Dodie, and the girls lived in cattle camps, and sometimes Ross would camp out farther with the hired men and his brothers.
He was always on horseback, chasing wild steers and roping bulls, sometimes even working in snow up to the horse’s belly.
Ross was able to practice his vet work on the ranch, and for other ranchers in the valley. This, along with haying, breaking horses, and feeding cows, made for a big job, but Ross always got the job done.
He and Dodie welcomed their third child, Karen, in 1974 in Tonopah, Nevada. When Ross heard the news, he came in from cow camp in Indian Valley to be with Dodie for the birth.
On his way home, after seeing his new daughter, his truck broke down halfway home, and he spent the night in the pickup with the hired man.
Ross moved his growing family back to the Disaster Peak Ranch, where he worked the ranch and continued his veterinary work. He and Dodie welcomed their fourth child, John Ross, in 1977 at the hospital in Elko.
The kids were homeschooled at Disaster Peak for a couple years, where they could all help on the ranch.
They loved working with their dad. Eventually, Dodie and the kids moved to McDermitt during the school year, and Ross was alone all week at the ranch, holding down the fort and attending to his vet work.
It was a crazy time for everyone, with all the back and forth from McDermitt to the ranch, but there were many good times, and Bonnie and Ann graduated with honors.
The family moved to Winnemucca in 1991. Karen and John finished their schooling there and went on to college. Ross continued his vet work, traveling all over the area. It was lots and lots of miles, but he enjoyed it.
He made friends everywhere he went, and always loved to see his ranching friends. They would put Ross on a horse to help rope cattle that had cut and run.
He was a good roper, and everyone bragged on his south paw roping. They enjoyed watching Ross wrestle heifers that escaped the chute.
There were many tricks pulled, jokes, and teasing among his friends as they shared a lunch and a visit.
One time, on a vet call, the ranch manager’s two-year-old son was standing in the back of Ross’ pickup, watching the vet work. When all was done, the little boy said to his dad, “Why does Ross call all those cows Fred?”
Julian MarCuerquiaga was Ross’s sidekick and traveled around with him, enjoying the country and the company. The family helped Grandma Grace at the River Ranch through the years too. Ross judged the Ranch Hand Rodeo in McDermitt for many years and volunteered for 4-H for the last 40 years. It was always a fun-filled time!
In 1996, Ross bought Dr. Cannon’s veterinary practice in Winnemucca. Bonnie graduated veterinary school in 1997 and joined him at the Zimmerman Veterinary Clinic.
Since then, it's been over 20 good years of veterinary and ranch work. Working together as a family, whether branding, driving cattle, or working at the clinic, has been the fun part.
Ross loves old cars and wheeling and dealing on them. He is an accomplished hunter and enjoys hunting in Nevada and around the world. His Wildlife Museum at J&J Feed Store is a visual diary of his travels and trophies. Each animal tells a great story.
These days Ross has lots of extra hands to help, with his own children, their spouses and grandkids—some already married —the family just keeps growing! They have all learned to love the ranching way of life through Ross, and that hard work can be fun.
The “Ranch Hand of the Year” award is sponsored by the Agricultural District No. 3 as a way to recognize those men and women who make their living in the ranching industry.
Past recipients include Frank Loveland, Loui Cerri, Harold Chapin, John and Tim DeLong, Buster Dufurrena, Jane Angus, Larry Hill, Louie and Frank Bidart, Sammye and Dan Ugalde, John Falen, Lilla and Woodie Bell, Garley Amos, Buck Tipton and Jack Warn.
“We wish to recognize the outstanding people who have contributed so much, not only to the ranching community, but to cowboy heritage itself,” said Agricultural Director No. 3 Director Kim Petersen.
Zimmerman was presented with the 2020 “Ranch Hand of the Year” award on Saturday, February 29, before the kickoff of the 31st annual Ranch Hand Rodeo.
