Some of the ranch land was acquired as part of Indian land grants to Choctaw descendants. Josiah Hamilton Dillard, my grandfather, married Vida Jackson producing two sons, James Houston Dillard and Jerry Hamilton Dillard. Upon Josiah's death on September 30, 1927, James and Jerry inherited the ranches. When the boys reached maturity and married they divided the ranches up in to the Rocking Diamond
(Jerry) and J-D, my father's ranch. James Houston Dillard, my father, passed away December 27, 1978 leaving his wife Jean and their 6 daughters to continue the ranch. Jerry Hamilton Dillard married LaVonia Faulkner on September 16, 1948 and to this union were born Donna and Jetty. Jetty did not survive a tragic car accident in 1978. Jerry's Rocking Diamond Ranch is still in operation today as he continues the day to day activities with the help of his daughter Donna, son-in-law Brad Butler and grand kids, Ty, Trey, Trent, Barrett and Bailey. Jerry runs a renowned cow/calf operation that consistently turns out some of the best Angus and Angus crosses anywhere in Oklahoma. My name is Seane Dillard Jones, the fifth of James and Jean's six daughters. My background includes growing up on the ranch assisting in every aspect of the daily ranching activities as a young girl. My parents also raised champion Quarter Horses, in which I became proficient in breaking, training and riding. I received a Bachelor of Science degree from William Woods University in 1982. While at William Woods, I was a member of the Equestrian Team, trap and s***t shooting team and was a Backgammon Champion. After William Woods I earned a Masters degree at Texas A&M University in Physiology and Nutrition. I worked on several research projects while at Texas A&M including embryo flushing, muscle fiber typing in equine athletes, optimal nutritional programs for equine athletes and interval training programs. In addition, I assisted with several of the AI breeding schools held at A&M and worked as a grad school assistant in the Kyle Stadium Human Performance Laboratory. From school I went to work for Nelson Bunker Hunt's Thoroughbred breaking and training operation in Roanoke, Texas as a race barn manager. Since that first exposure to Thoroughbred Racing I was hooked. I received an offer to train Thoroughbreds for an Ocala, Florida farm which took me from Texas to Ocala to Delaware Park in Wilmington, Delaware. Some offers to work for some of the greatest Thoroughbred trainers ever lured me away to such notable barns as Neil Howard (William Farrish - Lane's End), Woody Stephens, Wayne Lukas, and great horsemen such as Frank Gladd, Tom Warren and Tom Ebert. I met my husband, Tom, at Ak Sar Ben race track in Omaha, Nebraska. I was training and Tom was a free lance exercise rider and trainer. Together we made a formable force and on April 20, 1988 we married on a dark day (a non-racing day term) so we would not interfere with our barn's training regime. Our honeymoon was spent in Omaha at an Aggie Muster - Whoop! We stopped training in 1992 partly due to the economics of racing and because we were ready to raise a family. Our daughter, Sidney Houston Jones was born in December 1996 while we were both working for Geneva Pharmaceuticals in Denver, Colorado. Since Denver we have lived in Phoenix, Arizona, Seattle, Washington, Fort Worth, Texas and now Corvallis, Oregon all while working for various Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical companies Research and Development areas. It is with great pride that we now take over day to day operations of what is known as the J-D Claypool portion of the original Dillard Ranch operations. We hope to continue the traditions of raising superior commercial beef while addressing the consumer's needs. Our focus will be to provide the very best genetic source of Angus and Angus cross cattle raised in a natural stress free environment.
