Three Women, Two Families, One Historic Ranch
RanchHERs Penny Kasun and Dani Jeanne Lawrence are ranchers to the core, raising their families side-by-side on the rugged 7 Up Ranch in Yavapai County, Arizona. Together with the ranch’s owner and matriarch, Kathy McCraine, these close friends manage the daily grind of ranch life while teaching their children the values of hard work and resilience.
Kathy McCraine
The 7 Up Ranch was homesteaded in the 1880s and is one of the oldest ranches in Yavapai County. The latest chapter on the iconic cattle ranch starts with Kathy and her late husband, Swayze. They’d owned other ranches in Louisiana and Mississippi, but they dreamed of moving back to Arizona and raising cattle. That dream was realized when they purchased the property in 1999.
The 7 Up is part of Camp Wood Cattle Company, which also includes The Kate and TT’s Ranch. Together, those three ranches span 185,000 acres of rangeland, where they run 1,200 cows, 1,000 stockers, and more than a dozen Quarter Horse broodmares and three studs.
After Swayze passed away, Kathy turned to KJ Kasun, a talented cowboy and cutting horse expert, to help her run the ranch in 2010, leaving behind a successful career in horse cutting.
“He gave up the cutting horse business and came to run the ranch,” Kathy explains. “He’s been the best thing that ever happened to the ranch.”
In addition to her role as the matriarch of the cattle operation, Kathy uses her skills as a RanchHER and a photojournalist to teach the world about the ranching lifestyle.
Penny Kasun
Since they met at a cutting horse futurity and fell in love, Penny and KJ Kasun have shared a dream similar to the McCraines’— to live, ranch, and raise a family in Arizona. So, when they got the offer from Kathy, they moved their family from Texas to the ranch and put down roots.
“There’s something about it that makes you love it here, and you don’t ever want to leave,” Penny says. “We’re all just so close. And all of our boys growing up together, they’re like brothers, really. I just love it here. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Penny and the other RanchHERs on the 7 Up work alongside the men and are just as tough. They help raise the cattle and take the reins when it comes to raising up the next generation of cowboys and cowgirls on the ranch.
“At 12 years old, you’re a man around here,” KJ says. “These kids hook up trailers and drive around trucks. If I’m not there to teach them, mom’s right there. The moms are just as tough as I am. They work all day. They’re taking care of the house, but they’re out there branding calves with us and riding whatever we put them on. I’m kind of a hard guy, and she’s just as tough. Maybe tougher.”
Dani Jeanne Lawrence
Dani, her husband, Tyler, and their three boys moved to the ranch in 2017.
“We call ourselves a ranch family,” Dani explains. “Obviously, not family by blood, but everybody has a part, and their part is no less or more important than anybody else’s part. It’s vital to the overall operation. It just works.”
Kathy owns and takes care of the property. Dani teaches homeschooling for the kids, utilizing her degree in education, and runs the business side of the operation. Penny cares for the horses and keeps up the daily routine.
“Penny, Kathy, and I are pretty much the glue that holds everything together,” Dani says.
Dani and Penny both grew up with a background in ranching, which serves them well in their current roles on the ranch. They also knew each other back in their rodeo days, so they’ve quickly gone from friends to sisters as they raise their families together on the remote ranch.
“At first, I didn’t think I was going to be happy living in the forest but come to find out, it really is amazing,” Dani says.” For me, it’s the tranquility. There’s something really special – I’m going to choke up – about this ranch. It’s home.”
Ways to Watch
Watch this episode of RanchHER featuring Penny Kasun and Dani Jeanne Lawrence when it premieres next Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 9:00 PM ET. Catch encores on Saturday at 11:30 AM and Sunday at 10:00 PM ET only on RFD-TV.
Binge all episodes and past seasons of FarmHER and RanchHER on-demand at any time with your annual subscription to RFD-TV Now.
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