Saddled with success

Doug Kuschel has been a rancher his whole life. It’s in his blood, passed down through several generations. Kuschel and his family run their beef cattle ranch the old-fashioned way — the cowboy way — on horseback. “Part of our job here, being in the cattle business, is to ride horses. That’s basically, I believe, the only way to handle cattle,” Doug said. “It’s been done for 100 years and I’d like to continue on with the tradition.” That tradition, however, posed a small inconvenience for Doug, as either he was spending too much time fixing his saddles or the saddle he used didn’t fit right. The solution he came up with was to take matters into his own hands — literally — and it spawned a new business, 33 Ranch and Saddlery in rural Backus. “It was riding inferior saddles, basically. I thought I could do better, make a saddle that I could ride all day,” Doug said. “That’s where I got into it.” Over the years, while continuing the cattle operation, Kuschel worked to perfect his leather craft and his family. Wife Paula, daughter Jennifer, son Levi and daughter-in-law RoseAnna joined together to operate 33 Ranch and Saddlery with a customer base that’s now nationwide. And a true family affair it is. Levi and RoseAnna run the ranch, with Doug helping out when he’s needed. Doug and Jennifer run the saddle shop. Paula handles bookkeeping for both operations. “We’ve got a close family, we’re diversified in cattle and leather, and we’re pretty much going to keep it that way,” Doug said. “It’s worked out for us.”...more