Cowboy Spirit Blog

Wranglers have it good—they live and work where others pay to go on vacation. Our writer rides for the brand at New Mexico’s Double E guest ranch to learn what it's like.

At dawn we lean against a pickup and make a list of the horses to be ridden today. The desert is damp and cool from last night’s rain, and with the first pangs of light, we set to the chores. Feed the current barn cat, the sole feline survivor of owl and coyote predation. Saddle a young horse that’s not yet settled into the routine. Load bales of alfalfa onto the trailer. Fill the wheelbarrow with grain. Sweep the tack-room floor. Half an hour later, the guests emerge from their cabins with mugs of coffee in their hands.

After a week in the saddle, some are walking better than others. Peter de Kort, from the Netherlands, is on his second cup of coffee and thinks every morning in the Gila River country is wonderful. Heino Hagge, from Germany, and his girlfriend, Vanessa Schmidt, are pursuing cowboy life with due German diligence and discipline. They’re clean and showered and never miss out on helping with chores.

The trio of flight nurses from California has shown no fear of wine this week and lingers in the barnyard rubbing eyes and yawning. A pair of middle-aged women from Australia aren’t sure they’ve got what it takes to be cowboys and stiffly hobble to the pasture to catch their horses. It’s a typical crew of guests that might show up at any dude ranch in America—eager and unfamiliar.