County Road 12: Longest longhorn around

Millerville, Ala. (WSFA) - Sometimes you just get lucky.

A man in Clay County Alabama always wanted a longhorn steer on his property. Just one, because he enjoyed looking at them. So, Jeral and MariAnn Pope bought one longhorn steer and brought it to their home in Millerville.

“Back in 2013 when we got him, his horns were just about six inches on both sides,” said Pope’s son-in-law Greg Jones. “Poncho is really just a big pet.”

As the years went by Poncho kept growing up, and out. That’s when they knew Poncho had something special.

“Two and a half years ago we started looking to see what the world record was. He was chasing it for a while.” Jones said.

Then it happened. A longhorn steer on a huge cattle ranch in Texas was passed up by a rural Alabama family who owned just one.

“For the record he holds, it’s measure tip to tip. So. you go from the tip of one horn and measure to the tip of the other horn. It was verified by the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s 127.44 inches.” Jones said.

But don’t let his size fool you, Poncho is just a gentle giant.

“It hasn’t all gone to his head now that he’s a star. He’s very kind and loves to be scratched and pet. People will stop by the fence and feed him marshmallows, carrots, and apples.” Jones said.

As you might imagine traffic has picked up along the dirt road past their home.

“We usually saw about 20 cars a week. Now it’s more like 100. I’ve had people tell me his horns are longer than their car.” Jones said.

There’s really only one drawback to having the longest longhorns around.

“If something gets on him or distracts him, he will turn his head, when he does those horns go with him. You’re looking at about four and a half feet swinging around.” Jones added.

So, if you go visit Poncho, keep your head on a swivel. It wouldn’t be on purpose, but if you’re not careful you could end up on the ground.

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