by Carol Mowdy Bond
In August 2025, Bob Funk’s Express Ranches held the 29th annual Big Event Production Sale on the north edge of Yukon in Canadian County. But just one month earlier, Funk died at his Yukon ranch home. He was 85.
Nevertheless, the two-day event went forward, marking a record-breaking achievement for Express Ranches, grossing $9,394,500. With some of the largest crowds ever attending, the cattle sale was the main attraction, featuring Angus genetics from one of America’s largest seedstock operations.
A Really Big Event
Every year, some of the ranchland’s rolling fields come to life with visitors from across the continent, transformed with an auction ring, dining room and temporary cattle pens for The Big Event cattle auction. Funk loved all things American West, so, of course, there’s even an onsite boot shine stand.
On Friday night, a high-tech band shell rose from the prairie grasses for an open-air, boot-scooting jamboree. Guests gathered on the dance floor or lounged on plush living room furniture on the lawn, while massive tents hovered over tables loaded with top-notch eats and drinks. Music erupted from the stage, carrying for miles across the prairie as country duo Big & Rich entertained the August 2025 crowd.
Despite the record-breaking event, a quiet sense of loss lingered. Funk, the giant cattleman behind it all, was gone.
Origins
Robert A. Funk, Sr., known affectionately as “Bob,” was born in 1940 in Duvall, Washington. He grew up in a modest home during lean times. At age 14, he began working on his cousin’s dairy farm. During high school, he was a member of the FFA. He not only earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration and theology but also became an ordained minister.
Funk and his partners purchased a personnel agency, which eventually became Express Employment Professionals. Founded in 1983, today the business has more than 800 franchises with almost 7,500 staff members in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Reaching sales of $3.7 billion in 2024, Express employed 560,000 people.
In the late 1980s, Funk started his Oklahoma cattle herd. For that purpose, he was expanding his Yukon ranch, and in the early 1990s, he bought the Briscoe Farm in Canadian County. The farm included a barn built in 1936.
The dilapidated barn was bending over with a roof in tatters, yet it remained a beloved location. During World War II, U.S. Army horses trained in the barn, and the community gathered for dances in the barn’s better days. Recognizing its history, Funk hired an Amish barn builder to restore the structure, giving it new life for the community.
Cattleman
By 2006, Funk’s cattle ranches had expanded to thousands of acres across four states and gained global prominence for their artificial insemination cattle operations. His massive Express Ranch near Yukon stretches across central Oklahoma’s hills and plains, and the historic Chisholm Trail runs directly through the property.
Funk’s cattle enterprises now participate in every phase of beef production. He was recognized among North America’s largest registered beef and Angus producers and ranked among the nation’s top landowners.
In 2006, Express Ranches acquired the historic UU Bar and Mora Ranches, encompassing about 180,000 acres in northeast New Mexico. Now a cattle ranch, Express UU Bar lands were originally part of a huge land grant connected to the 1848 establishment of the township and ranch settlement of Rayado (in the future New Mexico) on the Santa Fe Trail. Over time, the land passed through other hands, with a portion eventually becoming the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. The area is also home to one of North America’s largest native elk populations.
Clydesdales and Percherons
In the late 1990s, while promoting Express Ranches at the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Bob Funk was joined by then-Oklahoma City Blazers hockey coach Doug Sauter and Sauter’s cousin, Bill Aulie. As the three walked through the barns, Funk fell in love with the Clydesdales.
He bought eight Clydesdales, marking the beginning of an Oklahoma landmark, Express Clydesdales. Funk, Sauter and Aulie were the driving force behind the new equine venture, with Aulie training the horses and delivering them from Canada to Oklahoma.
Clydesdales weigh roughly 1 ton each. For protection from harsh Oklahoma winters, the Express Clydesdales live in the restored historic barn. In mild weather, they graze around the barn, surrounded by crisp white fences.
The Express Clydesdales began competing in 1999 and won numerous championships. They’ve helped raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and other charities, appeared in many parades and events, and even chauffeured British royalty in Canada.
Among draft horses, both Clydesdales and Percherons are known as “Gentle Giants.” But Percherons are more agile and have smaller feet than Clydesdales, and they can compete at higher levels. So Express Horses Manager Josh Minshull located a hitch of Percherons in Canada. In 2018, Express purchased the Percheron hitch. About that time, Express began showing Percherons. Minshull trained the Percherons and navigated their pairings for competitions. As a result, the Express Ranches Percherons won prestigious awards.
Both the Express Clydesdales and the Express Ranches Percherons worked together, representing Express Employment Professionals at draft horse shows and events across the continent. However, in 2025, the Express Ranches Percherons were sold.
A Global Legacy
In late 2000, Funk formed Express Sports to operate the Oklahoma City Blazers and other sports teams. He used the corporate entity to promote professional sports in Oklahoma and boost the economy. As a sports team owner, he was involved in hockey, baseball, tennis and more. He also signed and sponsored some of the top rodeo athletes in modern history.
The Express $1 million contribution toward Oklahoma’s long-awaited new State Capitol dome added another chapter to the building’s history. The dome, added in 2002, crowned the Capitol, which was originally completed in 1917.
As a cattleman, sports team owner and businessman, Funk served on numerous organizations’ governing boards, and he was honored with innumerable professional awards and accolades, including inductions into various halls of fame.
But he was also an active fundraiser, philanthropist and voice for many causes. He founded the Express Ranches Professional Junior Scholarship Program, which donated $5 million in scholarships. He was also a supporter of state and national FFA.
Additionally, Funk donated $6.5 million toward the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE), and Express Ranches donated $4 million for OYE scholarships. As the largest junior livestock show in the world, OYE features 7,000-plus exhibitors from all 77 Oklahoma counties, displaying 13,000-plus head of cattle, swine, sheep and goats.
Still open to the public, the Express Clydesdales Barn remains a popular location, sitting on Yukon’s northern edge. Thousands visit the barn annually, exploring a working ranch as part of the venue.
However, Funk’s global footprint reaches further than horses and livestock. He gave generously of his time and resources, donating millions and leaving a lasting impact through his business, community and development efforts. Known for his signature cowboy hat and boots, everything he did seemed bigger than all outdoors. He often said, “You’re only as successful as the last person you helped.”
Express Clydesdales Barn is open by appointment only, offering free self-guided and guided-for-a-fee tours. Express offers barn wedding and birthday packages and educational tours. It is located at 12701 Wilshire Blvd. in Yukon. Visit expressclydesdales.com to learn more.
