About us
The Bell's
Eric and Kalli were both born and raised in the Yampa Valley. Eric grew up on a ranch in Hayden, Co working cows with his Dad and Grandad. Eric enjoyed team roping in high school, and during the summer before his senior year, he attended a cutting show in Steamboat Springs, Co, where Tom Lyons was showing. Eric was hooked! After graduating from High School, Eric got a job working for Tom and headed to Washington State to begin training cutting horses. After spending a year in Washington, Eric was hired at Bar H working for Paul and Winston Hansma, two of the top trainers in the cutting industry. He was fortunate to see many of the greats come through, Dual Pep and CD Olena topping the list. After spending a couple of years at Bar H, Eric was ready for a change of scenery and spent some time working in other industries. Almost 10 years after graduating, the ranch life called him back and he found himself back on his family ranch in Hayden.
Kalli grew up with horses and from an early age she had a passion for training and showing. She was a member of 4-H and Pony Club. Her mother, who was also very passionate about horses, took her to many clinics trying to expand her horsemanship skills. In high school, Kalli's love for reining horses developed and has never gone away! With a scholarship for the intercollegiate horse show team, Kalli attended LCCC in Cheyenne, Wy, and majored in Equine Science. After graduating LCCC she purchased a two-year-old mare, Cut From A Star, from Poplin Performance Horses and took a job saddling for them. She soaked up all she could about training while at Poplin's. She, and Cut From a Star, had success in the showpen and Kalli was now truly hooked! Eric and Kalli had returned to Hayden around the same time and met while riding at the local indoor arena. In 2015, Cut From a Star carried Kalli down the aisle, at the family ranch, where the two exchanged vows. They began raising foals out of Cut From a Star and some of their other mares. Producing one to two foals a year was max for their budget at the time. During this time the couple also started their own family welcoming their son, Bodie in 2017 and daughter, Macie in 2019. The couple started their family with the desire to raise their kids as they were raised, fully immersed in the Western lifestyle.
How We Met
Northwest Colorado is known for its incredible hunting. It has been called the "Elk Hunting Capital" and people come from far and wide to hunt here. Eric being an avid hunter, has guided rifle hunters for the past 15 years for a local outfitter. James, also an avid hunter, enjoys deer and elk hunting in Northwest Colorado. Out of all the outfitters he could have chosen, he picked the one that Eric worked for. Eric, always wearing a cowboy hat, caught James' attention. The two became fast friends and kept in touch during the rest of the year. When James moved his family to Sunol he purchased a few cows, and the next hunting season he began picking Eric's brain about cows and horses. After learning Eric used to train cutting horses he began watching videos of cutters. James was hooked and soon looked beyond "just a horse," and searched for a cutting horse. In the spring of 2020, James found Reyning Metallic, who had been shown as a 3 year old at the NCHA futurity, and made the non-pro finals. The gelding would come to the Bell's to learn the ins and outs of ranch life and be started in roping. In the summer of 2020, James brought his family to Colorado to meet the Bell's, and get his kids around horses. After seeing the horses and the program the Bell's had started, he wanted to be a part of it, and see their breeding program grow.
The two families joined forces and created Z Slash Performance Horses, LLC. By the fall of 2020, Z Slash Performance Horses had bought three mares all own daughters of top studs in the cutting/cowhorse industry. In the years to follow more mares have been added to the herd and breedings to top studs like Metallic Cat, Woody Be Tuff, A Vintage Smoke, Hashtags, and Smooth As A Cat have become a reality. In the fall of 2023, it was evident that Z Slash Performance Horses needed its own facility. A beautiful 52 acre ranch in Hayden was purchased and now is home to The Bell's and all the Z Slash Horses.
Where Z\ came from
In the late 1800's, brothers Fred Sears and Robert L Williams homesteaded what is now Eric's family's ranch. Robert registered the Z\ brand with the Colorado Brand Board, back in 1886. Fred's daughter and only surviving child of the family, Mildred James, inherited the ranch and the brand in the mid-1900's. Mildred hired Eric's grandfather, Bob Williams (of no relation to the original Robert Williams) to irrigate the place while he was in high school. After graduating, Bob served in the military and was told he had a job at the ranch when he returned home. Bob and Alice Williams were married in 1959 and began working for Mildred in 1960. After working for Mildred for 14 years, Bob began making payments to purchase the ranch. Mildred, not having any family of her own, considered Bob like family and in her passing she willed the remainder of the ranch and the Z\ brand to Bob. He branded his cattle with the Z\ for 40+ years. Bob, loved that his grandson had a desire to continue running the ranch, as he had for many years. In 2008, after Eric had returned home, Bob felt the brand should be his. At their wedding, in 2015, Eric and Kalli sealed their vows by branding a piece of hide with the Z\ during the ceremony. The brand has held a very special place in their hearts, it is a symbol of all the hard work and hours spent to get here. Each foal that is born and raised on the ranch will proudly wear it on their left hip.
The Lowder's
James and Deborah are California natives. Born and raised in San Jose, Ca, James grew up with a passion for hockey, cars, and aviation. He originally attended school to become a commercial pilot. James met Deborah at a church event, but at the time both were dating other people. After some time, they found themselves single and gave it a try. In 2002 the couple was married and started their journey together. In 2004, shortly after the birth of their first daughter, life intervened with the passing of James's father. James found himself taking over his father's HVAC company. Working hard, he took the company, from a small residential mom and pop shop, to a large commercial business. Over the years, the couple welcomed a total of five children into the world, three girls and two boys. In November of 2019, James moved the family out to the country, in Sunol, Ca. He always had a dream to have land and animals. He started by purchasing a few cows off of Craigslist. Then finding he may need assistance, he called the first cowboy that came to mind, Eric Bell. After purchasing his cows, he got excited about introducing his family to horses and wanted to purchase a first horse. The family made a trip to Colorado, and the rest is history. The Lowder's oldest son, Thomas, quickly showed a passion and natural talent with horses. Watching his boys find passion and talent for the Western lifestyle has brought James great joy. Both of their boys currently compete in High School Rodeo, excelling in team roping and chute dogging.
Deborah was raised, not far from James, in Milpitas, Ca. She grew up performing in Musical Theater and still dabbles in performing when time allows. Growing up in a big family, Deborah always wanted to have a family of her own. James loved the idea of Deborah being home with their kids and worked hard to support that. With her ability to manage chaos and adapt to new situations, she has found her own joys in each of James's big dreams and adventures. Her greatest passion is her children and supporting all their activities. She never dreamed of being a country girl or owning horses but has learned to love the cowboy way and the great lessons her boys are learning about hard work and resilience. Deborah now enjoys cheering her boys on and keeping track of the rodeo events and times.
James, Bodie, Mathew, and Thomas - 2023 Deer hunting in Rangly, Co
The Vision
When The Bell's started their small breeding program back in 2014, the vision was to raise horses that they enjoyed, and to show, rope, and ranch on them. The two both have a passion for starting and training horses. They found that when they raised and trained horses they enjoyed, there was a market for them, and the vision grew to begin selling a few. With the Lowders joining the program, the ability to raise more foals and breed to top studs in the industry was very exciting. The vision has always had an emphasis on quality over quantity. While we are growing and will continue to grow, the quality of our horses and the quality of our program IS the Vision. We really want to showcase our two year olds, so while we will sell weanlings and yearlings, we would like to keep them until they are two. We want to start them and then see them go into larger programs as two year olds. Raising top-end performance horses, with the majority being cowhorses, and seeing those horses at major events, is where we have set our goals.
