By Carol Mowdy Bond
Contributing Writer
Known to many as “Coach,” Doug Sauter now calls Yukon his home. Head coach of the Oklahoma City Blazers ice hockey team from 1995 to 2010, Sauter has a 40 year professional ice hockey coaching career under his belt. He’s enjoyed his share of awards and championships. And now he’s gone full circle back to the days of his youth.
Originally from Fairlight, Saskatchewan, Canada, Sauter said, “I have an agricultural background. I grew up on a farm in Canada. I’ve been around livestock all my life. My parents were farmers with about 1200 acres. We mainly had cattle, and we did grain farming. We didn’t raise horses, but we had them and just used them on the farm. We had a team of Clydesdales, and we also had saddle horses. I’m one of five children, and we did our share of farm chores.”
Christened as The Cowboy Place, Sauter’s 40 acre hobby ranch is peppered with 32 types of trees, has a Yukon address, and a menagerie of livestock plus a dog. “My animals are my hobby,” Sauter said. “They’re for my personal use. I do a lot of appearances with them. I like to put them on display in a lot of places at parades, fairs, and other. I sometimes take them to Canada, especially to the Calgary Stampede. There are usually about 250,000 people on the parade route. But it was canceled this year.”
Known as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the annual Calgary Stampede hosts visitors from around the globe in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1886, the event includes a rodeo, exhibition, festival and more, held every July.
“I rent another 160 acres,” Sauter said. “I take them out there and let them run wild. I let them be horses.”
“I’m done competing,” said Sauter. “I like to take my animals and display them to make people feel good. After 40 years of coaching, I don’t need a scoreboard. I found a home in Oklahoma.”
