Today's Gardner Ranch is carrying on the century old family tradition of producing premium quality, functional, modern livestock, and now providing custom services.
From pioneering the introduction of improved English type beef cattle to the region in the early 1900s; to the use of some of the first Brahman bulls, imported into the United States, to produce functional crossbred cattle suited to the climate of the Gulf Coast during the 1940s and 1950s; to the pioneering role in the development of the Louisiana foundation quarter horse business, by bringing the legendary foundation bloodlines of King P-234 to the area during the 1940s and 1950s and bringing legendary AQHA Champions Pudden Head, Flying Sugar, and Skipity Skip to Louisiana in the late 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s; today the Pudden Head bloodline is still sought after and recognized as a primary ranch foundation bloodline across the country; to the use of proven King Ranch quarter horse breeding in the form of the great producing son of Peppy San Badger, Little Solitario during the 1980s; to the production of functional Red Angus X Brahman composite beef cattle in the 1990s; to the present breeding program based on the Pudden Head X Peppy San Badger cross; The basis for the current Gardner Ranch Quarter horse breeding program is the cross of Little Solitario on Lewisburg Pudden (1975 daughter of Pudden Head, and steer wrestling mare with over $30,000 in earnings); this cross produced 2 mares(Little Puddina & Peepsee Pudden Peppy) and 1 stallion (Hero Pudden) that are the foundation of our breeding program; also, a daughter of Lewisburg Pudden(Lulu Dry Pudden Head) by Docs Reddy ( a King Ranch bred son of Dry Doc); to the use of Little Cody Sunshine by Black JB Cody out of a Three Chicks bred mare; to produce many of our outstanding young broodmares; and now with use of Bob Bar Bay (by Lightnings Parr Bar, a Zan Parr Bar son by a Lightning Bar Jr X Pudden Head mare) as our main AQHA herd sire.
     This family ranch is currently operated by the 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation descendents of the Boagni and Gardner families who founded the ranch on this land in the early 1900's.
     The ranch is on property that was originally the Northwestern portion of Edward M. Boagni's St. Joseph Plantation. The property became the Diamond Dot Ranch then the Donald S. Gardner Ranch beginning in the 1940's. During this period it was operated by Donald S. Gardner & Rosa Boagni Gardner; after the death of Donald S. Gardner in 1964 it was operated for several years by the Estate of Donald S. Gardner; In 1975, the year the last crop of Pudden Head was foaled, the Estate Livestock, consisting of approximately 500 head of beef cattle and 100 head of registered Quarter Horses was dispersed. After that time the property was operated by Donald S. Gardner Jr. into the early 1990s; In the mid and late 1990s the Estate of Rosa Boagni Gardner property was operated by Jane Gardner Aprill and Stuart and Francine Gardner; the Estate of R. B. Gardner was partitioned in the late 1990s; at this time the majority of the ranch acreage was inherited by J.G. Aprill. Today the property is operated by Gardner Aprill Farms and Stuart & Francine Gardner as the Gardner Ranch.
     Today's Gardner Ranch carries on this family tradition by implementing recommended grazing land stewardship practices and continuing with the current working quarter horse production and development, beef cattle production, meat goat production, grass/forage fed beef production, and custom grazing services.
     The Gardner Ranch operation is striving to carry on the families ranching heritage tradition!