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Ty S. is the youngest Workin Cowboy I’ve met in my travels. At age 23, he seems to have a good grasp of his chosen profession. When asked how he got into this, he told me that, as a kid growing up, he spent summers hanging out at the Sorrels Ranch, where he learned to rope & ride. After graduating High School, he signed on full time. The 11- L Ranch was his next stop, for a short time, till he landed the Head Wrangler job at the Hozoni Ranch. It is a remote Cattle Ranch, encompassing almost 30,000 acres of high desert terrain with majestic mountains and canyons, with numerous dry washes. They are raising Brangus Cattle, which are a cross between Angus and Brahma. Ty enjoys the early mornings, when the sun is just rising, to saddle up “Squirt”, his Quarter Horse, and head out with his companion Mutt, “Earl”, trailing behind. He can’t imagine doing anything else. The day I was supposed to stop by turned out to be an interesting trip. The turnoff from SR 89 has a sign that states, this is a “Primitive Road.”. It stretches almost 30 mile to the Hozoni. I was told to look for the Ranch sign at the 25 mile mark. At mile 26 I had still not found the sign, and the trail had become almost impossible to negotiate with “Redbird”, my Dodge Dually. It took me a while to find a place to turn around and head back. I got lucky and found Ty on horseback, with Earl, where the road turned to the Ranch. He told me someone had stolen the Hozoni Ranch sign two days ago, leaving behind the pole it was mounted on and the bolts used to attach it. From my perspective, it’s a good thing Ty didn’t catch the thief or the “Fool” would have paid dearly.
Updated Information
My return trip to meet with Ty S., at the Hozoni Ranch, was cut short when I stopped by to chat with Charlie J. at the El Oso. I was informed that both Cowboys had moved on to new challenges. I am disappointed I never got Photos of the Hozoni, because on my last trip, someone had stolen the Ranch sign, and it hasn’t been replaced yet. Ty hired on with the Eagle Rock Ranch in the Bradshaw Mountains. The Eagle Rock has 34 sections, with Range Cattle that can be classed as “Wild”. He enlisted his buddy Charlie to come work with him, to get the scattered herd accounted for. Rounding up wild cows usually is quite a task, because Cattle unattended for long periods get cantankerous, and in rough country like this, it can be dangerous. We did a combined Photo Shoot with both Ty & Charlie. Sorting out Range cows from a couple of really nasty Bulls at the holding corrals became a real “Crap Shoot”. Those Bulls had only one goal that afternoon:”Git the Guys with Hats On”. Both Ty & Charlie stayed close to the fences after entering the corrals, as the Bulls would stalk & charge them. They finally were able to cut a few cows out and into a large corral for our Photo Shoot. It was a great afternoon. Thanks Guys! Please keep yer guard up & stay safe.
