Riding Horses, Broken Saddles, and Finding Cattle in the Backcountry

Hey everyone,

Welcome back to another newsletter.

If you're new here, my name is Connor McCauley, and I'm the guy writing these newsletters each week.

I want to quickly remind you what these are all about.

About five years ago, I married into this ranching family. Before that, I wasn't a rancher. I didn't grow up around cattle, horses, or life in the country. Now, I'm learning the ins and outs of ranching firsthand, one adventure—and one mistake—at a time.

These newsletters are my way of bringing you along for the journey. You'll get to see ranch life through my eyes as I figure out what it means to become a rancher.

This week was all about horses, cattle, and another trip deep into the backcountry of Palo Duro Canyon.

If you missed a few newsletters back, our ranch borders the state park. That's incredibly cool—and occasionally incredibly frustrating.

Recently, some of our cattle found their way into the park, and we've been working to bring them home ever since.

This week's adventure took us back into the canyon, and trust me, there were plenty of stories to tell.

Before we go any further, make sure you check out the video linked above or below this newsletter so you can watch all the action unfold. And if you haven't already, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The video is great, but there are always a few extra details that don't make the final cut.

Learning to Trust a Horse

Even though we were riding in the same area as our last trip, this journey felt completely different.

One thing I've been learning as a newer rider is just how incredible horses really are.

We rode steep, loose trails, crossed creek beds, and worked our way through terrain that honestly made me nervous.

It's amazing learning to trust a horse in situations like that.

Whether it's a steep climb or a rocky descent, they somehow know exactly where to put their feet.

I'm especially thankful for my horse, Dunn. He takes good care of me.

Bushwhacking Through Mesquite

After the trails came the bushwhacking.

We're talking mesquite trees with long thorns, cedar trees covered in pollen, and brush so thick you can barely see through it.

We've actually lost camera gear back there before.

This time, I nearly lost my microphone.

If you've watched our videos, you've probably noticed I clip a small microphone to my hat.

At some point while pushing through the brush, it disappeared.

We had already ridden a good ways before I realized it was gone, so we turned around to backtrack.

Thankfully, Aaron spotted it clipped to a tree branch.

That was a huge relief—and a great find on his part.

When Aaron's Saddle Broke

Then came the next challenge.

We were riding along when Aaron suddenly felt something break.

When we stopped to look, we realized one of his stirrups had broken clean off the saddle.

Not ideal when you're miles into the backcountry.

There wasn't really anything to fix, so Aaron had two options: walk or keep riding.

He chose to keep riding.

Watching him get back on his horse without a stirrup was worth the trip all by itself.

It was somewhere between a belly flop and a gymnastics routine.

We joked that he was riding half bareback, half cowboy.

Finding the Cattle

Eventually, we found the cattle.

Once we had them gathered up, we pushed them through creek beds, around thick brush, and back toward our fence line.

From there, we worked them down the fence, through the gate, and finally back onto our property.

Mission accomplished.

Or so we thought.

Nature's Highway

On the ride back, we decided to take advantage of the dry creek beds.

We're dealing with drought conditions right now, so most of them were dry.

Instead of fighting through more brush, we used the creek beds as nature's highway back home.

There was just one problem.

Yellow jackets.

Hundreds of them.

Thankfully, they weren't interested in us. They were mostly searching for water in the creek bed.

Still, riding through a cloud of yellow jackets isn't exactly relaxing.

Another challenge with riding creek beds is that every turn is a blind corner.

You never know what's waiting around the bend.

A hog? A deer? Another cow?

Turns out, this time it was a turkey.

We rounded a corner, the horses jumped, and Aaron's horse scrambled halfway up the steep bank.

My horse spun around and looked ready to head back the way we came.

All that excitement over one turkey.

The Three Holdouts

The YouTube video doesn't show everything.

We still had three cattle that weren't interested in coming home.

So the next day, we headed back into the canyon.

Aaron, Faith, and I spent hours looking for them.

One of the benefits of working with the state park is that we have permission to ride almost anywhere while we're gathering cattle.

That means we get to see some pretty incredible places, including areas around the Lighthouse.

Eventually, Aaron and Faith found the cattle near where we'd set up our trailer.

The plan was simple: push them down a park road toward our corrals and load them into the trailer.

Simple in theory, anyway.

In reality, it was tough.

They were struggling to move the cattle, and we kept saying, "If only we had a couple more cowboys."

Then something happened that still amazes me.

Two cowboys came riding down the road.

At first, we weren't sure if they were just out enjoying a ride or if they knew what they were doing.

But as soon as they saw what was happening, they jumped right in.

Together, they helped push the cattle into the corrals.

We got two of the three loaded up.

Call it coincidence if you want, but moments like that remind me that God has a way of providing exactly what you need at exactly the right time.

The Helicopter

But we still weren't done.

One cow remained.

So later on, we brought in a helicopter.

That's right—a helicopter.

The pilot found the last cow and pushed her back onto our property.

Sometimes, that's simply the best tool for the job.

Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos or video of it this time.

But don't worry—we use helicopters more often than you might think around here, so I'm sure there will be more stories coming.

Thanks for Following Along

Thanks for joining me on another adventure.

If you haven't watched the video yet, be sure to check it out.

And if you'd like to support our family ranch, consider trying our beef.

At TriTails, we raise pasture-raised, grain-finished Black Angus cattle, and we source from other American ranchers who raise cattle the same way we do.

Everything is 100% born, raised, processed, and shipped right here in the United States.

When you order from us, you're supporting a real ranch family—not a corporation.

From our ranch to your table.

Thanks for being here, and I'll see you next week.

—Connor