Could you talk a bit about some of the non-glamourous aspects of ranch work—the daily maintenance between cattle work and horseback rides that typically makes up a majority of your time? 

We talk about this through our social media outlets, how the images and videos of people on horseback at sunrise moving large herds of cattle or modeling products made in our leather shop do not give an accurate or representative picture of what our daily priorities look like. There are times of the year, namely spring and summer, from calving through the end of the plant’s growing season, that we spend more time horseback due to the nature of moving cows with their younger calves and the advantages of being horseback while checking our first-calf heifers.

The reality of our day-to-day routines is that we spend most of our time maintaining aging fencing and water infrastructure and keeping vehicles and equipment that lead tough lives on our rough landscapes without smooth roads up and running. We spend so much time learning how to solve electrical, plumbing, and mechanical, issues and become somewhat proficient at a wide range of different skills. This is one of my favorite parts about living and working here: the exposure to countless jobs and the freedom to explore various ideas and skill sets.

Time spent on horseback represents a smaller portion of our work days on Chico, though this does differ across the ranches. The mornings our entire team rides out horseback in the dark to go move or sort cattle always feel special, and with them comes a unique type of joy that only comes from navigating across open landscapes with your two and four-legged coworkers who have become family.

What types of challenges do you face with fence infrastructure, water systems, and general creative problem solving working in remote landscapes?

Different areas of the Chico come with their own sets of challenges related to the fencing and water infrastructure. I oversee the eastern part of the ranch, where the deep, sandy soil causes infrastructure changes over shorter periods. Buried or uprooted fence lines, altered soil depth (and thus how far buried pipelines are), and erosion around stock tanks are the most common challenges. I’m grateful that most of the internal fence on this part of the ranch is electric, with a single strand of high tensile wire subdividing a once 22,000-acre pasture into nine smaller ones, making the frequent improvements more manageable. As apprentices, we are given the freedom to be creative in our problem-solving when dealing with infrastructure challenges. 

What is your favorite and least favorite thing about a bike as a ranch tool?

For specific tasks, like checking water or running fences, the bike is the best tool. It’s the most fuel, time, and cost-efficient type of vehicle we use and has less of an impact than a truck or 4-wheeler. There are tasks that the bike is not the best tool for, such as trailing cattle for longer distances. Given how much time you spend idling or moving around slowly in first gear for prolonged periods, the wear and tear are more demanding on the bikes.

The flip side to how efficient a dirt-bike can be is that I tend to notice less when I’m riding one. This is an important reason why we use different modes of transportation for different things. Riding a dirt bike, riding a horse, walking on foot, even driving in a truck, each gives you a different perspective as you navigate the ranch. When horseback or on foot, the slower paces give me the ability to more closely examine my surroundings, whereas when riding a dirt-bike, I have to remind myself to slow down and sometimes take a different route so that I’m able to see different parts of pastures.

How do you feel about your role now as an apprentice versus how you felt as a new intern on the Chico?

The most significant change is an increased sense of responsibility as time passes and my understanding of the Chico deepens. I started my internship two and a half years ago, and I remember feeling so out of my element. I didn't have the first clue about anything mechanical and lacked common sense about electrical and plumbing issues. For the first couple of months I was glued to an apprentice most days as I learned the ropes. But as time went on, I was entrusted to figure things out with less guidance and now have more confidence in my ability to problem solve and help guide others who are starting their internship or apprenticeship.

What have been some of the most challenging learning curves for you personally? What do you feel has come most naturally to you?

Nothing has felt like it came naturally to me. Even riding horses in this context felt very different when I started my internship, despite growing up with them. The saddles were uncomfortable, and I didn't know the cues some of these horses understood. That being said, I came in with the ability to ride, which was an advantage whenever we used horses for cattle work. I also lived on the Chico for a year before starting my internship, and being generally familiar helped me navigate when first sent out to do tasks alone. I still looked at my map whenever I arrived at a fork in the road or gate, but I knew roughly where I was and how to get back. 

My list of things that have not come naturally is much, much longer than the list of things that have! My most significant learning curve is being more flexible and comfortable with an ever-changing schedule. My concepts of efficiency and success are challenged in essential ways working and living here, and I have evolved a lot as a person as a result. Earlier in my internship and apprenticeship, I was easily frustrated when I wouldn't accomplish a task as quickly and "correctly" as possible. I use quotation marks because it is often the case that there is more than one way of doing something and that a "perfect" outcome is a too rigid way of explaining things. My self-confidence suffered at first, until I could shift how I thought about productivity. It's something I continually work on, but I've been able to redefine success for myself and enjoy the process of doing things wrong, learning from them, and improving upon them the next time. How you move forward through challenges and process mistakes, always thinking about how you can do it differently or better the next time, is a critical part of life here and something I only fully grasped when I was well into my apprenticeship.

What's your favorite time of year on the ranch?

Most people would probably say spring, and I’m no different! There is so much new life as the weather starts giving tastes of warmer temperatures and summer excitement that will soon follow. It’s a busier time of year and is, without a doubt, the most emotionally draining. I associate calving heifers with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. The decisions you make have very real, immediate consequences that can mean life or death for an animal or pair of animals, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility. It’s a special time of year because it’s also an opportunity to get to know a group of animals on a very intimate level throughout these two months, then continue to know these individuals over the years as they join our seed stock herd.

Tied for my favorite time of year on the ranch is fall, specifically the two or three weeks when things begin to slow down as the days grow shorter. No matter where I’ve lived, fall has always been my favorite season. It’s the short period of time before the cold winter winds hit, when riding the bike becomes an exercise in mental toughness. On the Chico, I enjoy the slowing pace as we wrap up a busy and hot summer, signaling the start of winter project mode. I’ve become a very fair-weather person, which I hate to admit. I don’t love the hot and I don’t love the cold, though I’d choose adding layers over feeling no solution or hope in cooling my body down when temperatures hover about 100 for a few weeks in the summer. This transition period is short, however, because soon after this two to three-week lull, Bison Works sets in, and we dash to the San Luis Valley to start preparing for our annual fall gathering and processing of the bison herd.