Back in May when I mutually ended a 5-year relationship with my other half, I had to think of ways to keep busy and adapt to possibly one of the biggest changes in my short 24 years. I'd always been the sensible one out of my friends, the voice of reasoning and the one with the 'old head' on 'young shoulders', but for once I had a feeling that I didn't want to be the one that talked friends down from silly situations, I wanted to live and I had a strong urge to travel. With this in mind, my "65 things to do before I turn 30" bucket list was born. If you haven't read this you can find it here.
Of course one of the things I wanted to cross off was 'live like a cowgirl' and my saviour came in the form of Horseworks Ranch in Wyoming. The owner was looking for journalists to go and take part in their internship for 3-weeks and before I knew it my flights were booked and I was on the countdown until my plane took off from Heathrow.
Nestled deep in Grass Creek between Cody and Thermopolis, Wyoming near the beautiful Yellowstone National Park, HorseWorks is surrounded by 66,000 acres ranging from sage brush flats to expansive scrub pine mountains. If you want complete peace and tranquility then HorseWorks ticks both of those boxes.
Owners, Nate and MaeCile Brown have both invested not only money, but also several hours of their time and personal experiences to create a place that feels like a home away from home to all visitors and guests that drive through their gates. Their bubbly yet friendly and welcoming personalities shine through the moment you meet them and instantly you know you're going to have the trip of a lifetime.Born in Wyoming in 1921, Nate has ridden and cowboyed all his life. To those who know him - and even those who don't - Nate is a living legend and a true cowboy through and through. Although he can't ride as much as he used to, it doesn't mean to say he doesn't enjoy hearing all about what his horses have been up to and the twinkle that appears in his eye when you mention his favourite horse, Nicole is something you almost can't put into words.
MaeCile came to Wyoming in 1994 after living abroad for ten years to pursue her true loves: Nate and horses. With strong beliefs of correct horsemanship, years and years of knowledge and western tradition experience, MaeCile truly comes alive when showing interns the importance of groundwork and cowboy ways.
Whilst at Horseworks you'll bunk in rustic 12' x 16' log cabins with electricity and propane heat. Camp in homesteads dating from the late 1800s when the three Dickie boys came to Grass Creek from Scotland, immigrating into to this territory with their band of sheep, then built the area into one of the premier sheep, cattle and horse ranches in the country. You may also expect an overnight stay at Prospect Cow Camp.
Since the late 90's it has always been Nate and MaeCile's personal goal to "get off the grid" and live more like the way Nate lived as a young cowboy growing up in Wyoming in the 20's - immersed in nature, learning from the land and livestock.
Both Nate and MaeCile are firm believers that each guest is an individual and will do their very best to ensure they have the most magical time whilst at HorseWorks. MaeCile told me that Nate has always believed in matching horses to the guests personalities and both horse and rider almost pick one another, rather than the relationship between the two being forced.
Part 1:
I didn't make things easy for myself; the day I was due to leave for Heathrow I decided it would be a good idea to compete Ceaser near Luton which seemed like a good idea at the time, but all my thoughts were taken up with the apprehension of what was to come for the next three weeks and my attention was more on the prospect of living like a cowgirl. Ceaser went beautifully for me and I was pleased with our middle ground placing in the Dressage to Music Championships, but couldn't wait to be on my way home and leaving for Heathrow at midnight. It was all becoming real now and after months of counting down and October seeming like a lifetime away, it was finally here.The prospect of a 19-hour long journey to the ranch made me all the more excited. I had visions of what it would look like, what the people would be like and how much of a different way of life it would be to England. Flying into Cody airport at 8pm on the Sunday evening was one of the most magical experiences one can experience. It's hard to imagine we're still on earth when you see the scenery, it's simply beautiful.
We were met at the airport by head wrangler, Hannah and "Cowboy Paul" whom is Nate's Cousin. You'll learn much more about Paul as he went on to become one of my heroes. Once we'd all been introduced and said hello we headed to a Cowboy bar in Cody called Silver Dollar to grab some food and a much-needed drink!
I was in complete awe of this bar - I knew obviously that Cowboys and towns like this existed, but I never in a million years imagined I'd ever have the opportunity to experience it.
Before long we were all yawning away and ready to head to bed, but still full of anticipation of what the next 3 weeks would bring us all. On the hours drive back to the ranch it gave me a great opportunity to get to know both Kathrin, Hugh and of course Cowboy paul. Boy did he have some stories that I just couldn't wait to hear more of.Upon arriving back at the ranch Kathrin and I decided to share a cabin together as we both liked to be hot and agreed we could have the heating on the majority of time we were in our cabin! Phew - a girl after my own heart!
Kathrin and I both fell to sleep pretty quick that night, we were well and truly exhausted and more than ready for a decent nights sleep after spending 19 hours on several planes and sat waiting around in the airports. Home seemed like a world away at this point.
Monday
Waking up and opening the cabin door to the wilderness of Grass Creek was simply amazing and something I'll never be able to describe without being able to use the photos I took to help do the talking. It was peaceful, full of tranquility and the only noise I could hear was birds tweeting.
The day started off slow which gave us a good chance to look around and get to know where everything was and in my case try to learn peoples names (something I'm rather terrible at!).In the morning we had to take the trailer to fetch some horses which had escaped over the last few days. We sat in the back of the trailer to the field where they were; again, something that is just so foreign to us English people, but all part of the Wyoming experience.
It was at this point we got our first sense of what herding horses looks like. It's something I've always wanted to do after watching endless cowboy movies and programs but never thought I'd get the opportunity. How wrong could I be...
To be continued...
For more information on HorseWorks please visit their website
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