( HOLIDAYS )


the yard, our evening's spent watching back to back episodes of Lonesome Dove. One night, I even learnt to fight my way through a bunch of yearlings who had decided to congregate on my porch, the occasional squeal or snort finding its way into my cabin.


The accommodations are rustic but comfortable with a private bathroom, bath, double bed, and not forgetting the essential lassos, old cowboy boots and spurs adorning the walls. Alternatively, there is a bunkhouse that sleeps eight, with a shared bathroom - the room heated by a central wood fire stove.


On the drive you will have a chance to experience riding different mounts. One of my horses had a good tactic for keeping the herd in line and would bite the cows if they got too close, while another was obsessed with racing to the front of the melee and kicking up the dust. The real cowboys also give you good instruction on where to station yourself – leading at the front, capturing strays at the side and keeping the calves in line at the back. But for the city slicker, a lesson in how to take photos on a moving horse will be worth it’s weight in gold!


So, after a week out West, you may well ask me if my cowgirl status is now approved. Well, if turning sharp corners and rounding up 250 cattle is anything to go by – we definitely made it, or at least we thought we did. If you want to take on the challenge, cattle drives are offered at Dryhead Working Ranch in the spring and autumn, or if you’re feeling the need for speed you can take on a Horse Drive – horses covering the same ground in half the time of cows.


Six-nights at the Dryhead Ranch with Ranch Rider costs from £1,529pp (no single supplement) including, accom- modation, meals, most ranch activities and taxes. Excludes transfers of £90, gratuities left to discretion and return flight from £839pp. Departures from 08 April to 13 October 2019. Ranch Rider (01509 618811; ranchrider.com) ATOL PROTECTED No 4660 ABTA 96395/V9150.


200 cows being driven from Wyoming to Dryhead Ranch beneath snow-capped Bighorn and Pryor Mountains (c) Jane Wynyard


One of the real-life cowboys who acccompanies guest riders on cattle drives. (c) Jane Wynyard


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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019


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