Getting Back in the Saddle - 2

Early to Rise and Ride

In the morning, the hungry, baby calves work me up around 6 a.m.—way earlier than I wanted to get up. I also wasn't thrilled about having to put on jeans and tennis shoes, because it was July in Kansas which means heat and humidity. Turns out, even the tennis shoes weren't enough. Nancy insisted I wear cowboy boots because, “it was better to ride horses with, my dear.” None of the pair she hauled down fit, but just when I thought I was going to get away with it, Nancy took off her own boots which happened to fit just right.

I have to admit that, unlike most people, I'm not a big fan of horseback riding. I blame it on Strawberry, the first horse I ever rode when I was 6 and with my mom at a ranch in Arizona. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't get Strawberry to move. All she wanted to do was eat trees, plants, anything green that she got close to. No matter what I did she wouldn't budge. So I wasn't looking forward to riding a horse.

Thankfully, the Moores gave me a refresher course after introducing me to Yancy, my horse for the day. They taught me how to make him go (I had to kick him—ouch!), how to make him stop and how to make him go in the direction I wanted. I learned that it was important to “be the boss” and to establish your authority early on.

After riding around the corral, I got the hang of it. The five of us—me and my mom and the three Moores—headed out to the pasture to drive the longhorns back to the corrals so they could be sorted for an upcoming cattle drive in Wichita's Cowtown.

Surprise, surprise, it was actually fun riding Yancy. Unlike most trail rides where your horse's nose is glued to the rear of the horse in front of you, I could ride wherever I wanted to. The Moore's prairie was wide-open. There wasn't a trail—just lots of sunflowers, Indian paintbrush and other wildflowers.

The Big Roundup

After finding the longhorns, we had to drive them back towards the corrals. At first I didn't know what to do, but I noticed Joe and Laramie and Nancy would yell “whoop” and “walk on” and “move along” and eventually the cows would get the idea. If there was one that wasn't moving, you would ride over, holler at it and it would run forward. Two of the dogs, Poppy and Rita, came with us. They nipped at the cow's heels to move forward, and I learned that's where the name heeler came from.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (I've always wanted to say that but never had the chance), we sorted the cows along with their calves.

Moore Ranch ended up being really fun. It was a real ranch and when we drove the cattle, it was because they really needed to be moved, not because they were trying to entertain us. But the biggest surprise is I actually enjoyed riding a horse.

Moore Ranch, 2933 CR E., Bucklin, Kansas. 67834; tel. 620-826-3649; www.longhorn-cattle.com. Rates: $145/night. Three meals daily, horses and equipment included.