The Diamond A Ranch, also known as The Big Boquillas, is the largest cattle ranch in Arizona. Owned by the Navajo Nation, the ranch covers 750,000 acres and stretches 75 miles beginning at the town of Seligman and ending at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. In 1982 Harvey Dietrich and then partner Richard Rudnick took over the Diamond A Ranch operations from Victorio Cattle Company. They operated under the name Cholla Livestock and in 1995 Rudnick sold out to Dietrich. For the next 22 years Harvey Dietrich operated Cholla Livestock and the Diamond A Ranch and in 2018 at the age of 83, Dietrich took on a new partner at Cholla Livestock with Rick Kieckhefer of the K4 Ranch, deeply rooting Cholla Livestock’s operation of the Diamond A ranch for years to come. In 2021, with Harvey’s sudden passing, his remaining 50 percent interest was purchased by Rick and Sarah Kieckhefer. The merging of Cholla Livestock to the Kieckhefer family’s existing operations has created the largest ranching operation in the Southwest. There are ten full time camp cowboys employed by the ranch to look after the seven ranch camps. Most pastures on the Diamond A are larger than your average ranch so the importance of strong working horses is a high priority. The size of the pastures of the ranch and their remote locations demand the use of horses that are both athletic and tough enough to be able to withstand the rigors of a typical day of work. These horses are used to brand calves, gather cattle, Diamond A Ranch
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