Terry Stuart Forst to receive the National Golden Spur Award
Terry Stuart Forst of the 7S Stuart Ranch near Waurika, Oklahoma, has been selected to receive the National Golden Spur Award for her contributions to the ranching and livestock industries. The award will be presented during the annual National Golden Spur Award Honors in Lubbock, Texas.
The award is presented annually through a joint effort of six state and national ranching and livestock organizations: the American Quarter Horse Association, National Cattlemen’s Foundation, Ranching Heritage Association, Texas Cattle Feeders Association, Texas Farm Bureau, and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
A life’s work
Forst is a fifth-generation rancher and has managed the 45,000-acre Stuart Ranch since 1992. Established in 1868, the ranch is the oldest continuously family-operated ranch in Oklahoma.
Forst earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Oklahoma State University in 1976. Her father, R. T. “Bob” Stuart Jr., later offered her the manager position at the family ranch. He began the ranch’s Quarter Horse division in 1949 and died in 2001.
Forst went on to become the first woman elected president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association and the first woman named Oklahoma Cattleman of the Year.
She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 2007, the American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2024.
The Stuart Ranch has also received recognition during Forst’s tenure, including the American Quarter Horse Association’s Best Remuda Award in 1995. The ranch was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2012, and two horses bred by Forst have been named American Quarter Horse Association World Show Superhorses.
An honor from her peers
Forst said she was overwhelmed to be selected to receive the 2026 National Golden Spur Award, particularly because it comes from people within the ranching and livestock industries.
“I am truly humbled. It’s an incredible honor,” she said. “It’s the biggest award I’ve ever received because you’re being honored by the people in the industry who you work with. It’s so very special.”
Pam Minick, a world champion rodeo competitor and rodeo commentator, nominated Forst for the award. Although she is grateful for the recognition she has received throughout her career, Forst said being in the spotlight has never been her objective.
“I’ve never tried to be a person that was given awards,” she explained. “I just want to do my job and do it to the very best of my ability and create something that I can leave behind for my children and grandchildren, and the generations that follow behind them.
“I feel my first and foremost obligation is to God, because I am a steward of His creation, and I feel like I am a steward of His resources,” she said. “But the next obligation is to my family and to this ranch, and that’s my life: God, family, and this ranch.”
A legacy to uphold
Forst credited her father and earlier generations of her family for establishing the foundation she has worked to carry forward.
“I think my daddy would have been really proud to see the legacy that he was a big part of,” she said. “I just felt like the legacy I had been given was one I wanted to build and make stronger, and I feel like if I can leave it in a place where the next generations are capable and willing to do that, I will have succeeded.”
Forst said many people have invested in her throughout her career. She specifically thanked the late Robert Totusek, a former department head of animal science at Oklahoma State University, and John Merrill, former director of the Texas Christian University Ranch Management program, for their support and encouragement.
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
PHOTO: Terry Stuart Forst. (Photo courtesy Aaron Davis.)
