The Perfect Thank You
Sadler’s story inspires a scholarship in ‘Doc’ Pollard’s honor.
March 13, 2026
Brent Sadler, of Sadler Ranches, was desperate. His wife, Mandy, had been sick for a half a dozen years, and with every new doctor or medication, she seemed to be getting worse instead of better.
She was doctoring for rheumatoid arthritis, but when the specialists told them to be patient in treatments that would take some time to work, it felt like a death sentence. Looking at his school-age kids, Brent thought, “It’s going to kill her before she ever gets to see them graduate from high school.”
At the same time, he was juggling a large ranch with 1,600 cows and two production sales a year. The stress was getting to be too much.
“Just like every other rancher — it’s a hard pill to swallow — but I seem to probably put my cows and everything ahead of my family sometimes,” Brent says.
Then, a good friend lost his wife, and it was the hard reset he needed in his own story.
Brent was desperate for answers. He sold his ranch, dispersed his herd and reached out to fellow Angus breeder, Barry “Doc” Pollard for answers.
A call for help
In any other business, you might say the men were simply business associates who crossed paths from time to time; not the kind of person you might ask for a favor. But knowing Barry Pollard’s reputation both as a neurosurgeon and the kind of guy who might help, Brent figured he had nothing to lose. He picked up the phone.
“I said, ‘Dr. Pollard, I know this isn’t your expertise medically on exactly what we got going on here, but do you know anybody in the seven continents of the world that I need to go see, because I’ve got to do something because this just isn’t working,’” Brent says.
The response?
“Let me give it some thought, and I’ll get back with you.”
Sadler wasn’t convinced much would come from that, “but I should have known better, because it was Dr. Pollard,” he admits now.
Shortly thereafter Pollard connected the family with one of the leading rheumatology doctors in the United States, and she stopped the endless cycles of trial and error.
“After six years of struggling with an illness of getting worse every day for six years, we actually got some answers,” Brent says, labeling it a complete turnaround in his family’s situation.
There’s nothing that I could do in this world to thank him that even remotely can express my gratitude on how much that I appreciate that he just took the time to make those phone calls.” — brent sadler
Hope for health
The debilitating inflammation, tiredness and pain that had gone misdiagnosed for so long led to powerful medications that were hurting instead of helping. As the new doctor took blood panels, asked questions and did genetic testing, the pieces came together.
Their house was killing them. They’d built in 2018, and their air conditioning unit was putting out too much humidity. Inside the walls, black mold grew undetected.
“It was the type that has zero smell — you can’t smell it, you can’t see it,” Brent said. “We didn’t have a clue it was there.”
Some people, like Mandy and their eldest daughter, are genetically predisposed to having major adverse reactions to the mold. After treatment for mycotoxin poisoning, they started making major improvements.
Pollard’s referral is what got them in, and according to Brent, was their saving grace. That got him to thinking of how to repay the favor.
“There’s nothing that I could do in this world to thank him that even remotely can express my gratitude on how much that I appreciate that he just took the time to make those phone calls,” Brent says.
Honoring a man who has been as successful in his own right as Pollard could’ve been a difficult task, but with some help from sale manager Dave Mullins and Angus Foundation Executive Director Jaclyn Boester, an idea was born.
Sadler Ranch kick-started a fund to create a scholarship bearing Pollard’s name. In January they donated Sadler Rito Lady 5004 to lead off the Foundation Angus Sale at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo. Pollard was in the stands and got to hear Brent’s introduction.
“Most of you know him as a cattle breeder and fellow friend, but when it comes to the medical field and helping families across the country … there’s not going to be anybody who has been more help to countless numbers of families across the country than Dr. Pollard,” Brent said from the block. “It’s an honor to help start his scholarship fund.”
When the gavel dropped, the heifer had sold for $40,000 to Spruce Mountain Ranch, Ingram Angus and Stellpflug Cattle Company.
The proceeds from the heifer are earmarked for the Angus Fund and the Pollard Scholarship fund. Although the foundation is still working on the details, it will likely start benefiting students in the very near future.
Brent is quick to deflect any credit for his generosity right back to Pollard.
“He’s helped so, so many people, and he’s taken everything he’s been able to do and put it to good for everybody,” Sadler says. “We appreciate everybody’s support.”
Editor’s note: For more information on contributing to a scholarship fund, visit www.Angus.org/Foundation.
Topics: Association News , Events , Human Health , Member Center Featured News
Publication: Angus Journal
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