The Ranch

On Friday we went to the Craig and Liza Jane's ranch. We got there and saw four dogs (three were cattle dogs) running all over the place, but at at a whistle from Craig, they all ran to his side and lay down. Then Craig and Liza Jane started telling us about the ranch, their cattle, and the history of the ranch. Pretty soon Craig asked us if we'd like to see the dogs work. He walked out into the the field called the dogs and told them to "bring em' up." The dogs were off like a shot and pretty soon the cows were in the pen.

Craig and Liza went to get the horses so they could show us how to rope. When they came back, Craig roped a heifer and let it jump around him for a while, then Liza threw a trap for it. She had to throw her rope right in front of the back legs so the heifer would step into the rope and then she pulled in her slack. Craig dismounted, instructed his horse to stay, and pulled the heifer down onto the ground. Then he demonstrated doctoring and how to tie the front and back feet together. He took off Liza Jane's rope and rocked the cow up and down until it relaxed, then he took both the ropes off and went over to his horse - he had time enough to get to his horse before the cow got back on its feet.


Next we went over to the outdoor arena. When we got there Craig and Liza told us a little bit about team roping. Then they showed us. It was awesome!


After that we got to chase cows. We got into pairs and stood in two boxes and someone let the cows out of a chute. The pairs had to chase the cows on foot into a chute at the other end of the arena. Once the cow was in the chute, one of us snuck up and opened the gate into a pen while the other stood behind and kept the cow in the chute. When we were finished we had to put up both our arms so they would stop the time. My team was second to last, but we both had fun.

Then we loaded up and went down the road to the indoor arena and barn. When we got there we were divided into two groups - one going to Sunrise Tractors and the other staying there. I was in the group that stayed. When the other group left my group was divided in half. One half went in to learn how to rope and my half watched Craig work with a horse that had never had anything done with it. It was amazing! He took off the halter and waving his arms made it go in a circle around him. He made it slow down, go faster, and turn around. After a while he stopped and the horse came into him. Craig said it was because the horse felt safe with him and wanted to be with him.

After half an hour we switched places and my group went in to rope dummies. Liza taught us the parts of the rope, how to swing it, and to throw it like you mean it or you won't catch it. Roping was really fun (and hard)!

Just as we finished roping the other group came back. Now we had to go to Sunrise Tractors. My group jumped in the van and left. When we got there Penny handed out cards that had descriptions of a tractor on them, we had to find our tractor and tell the rest of the group about it. When we finished we went over to the garage to see one of the first semis. That was cool!

Thanks for the pictures Penny!

Thank you for letting us come to your ranch Craig and Liza. It was the very best WREN I've ever done!