Colorado’s Great American Horse Drive Captures the Spirit of the West

Behind the wheel of her pick-up, Misty Moravec watched as hundreds of horses stomped up the dirt road before her, kicking up hazy clouds of dust. Twelve years into her role as Sombrero Ranches’ horse drive coordinator, the sight still took her breath away. “There’s nothing more majestic,” she says. 

It was sunny but brisk the morning of Saturday, May 2, the start of the Great American Horse Drive. During this two-day event, wranglers and guests herd nearly 300 horses across sixty miles, traveling from the winter pasture through Maybell, a small community in rural northeast Colorado with zero stoplights and a population of 47. 

But there’s a crowd down main street and no vacancy at the one hotel in town when the annual drive comes around. Once the herd reaches ranch headquarters in Craig, the horses are transported to stables and kids’ camps across the West for summer trail rides. 

Sombrero Ranches has held this tradition since 1959, a year after brother-in-laws Rex Ross Walker and the late Pat Mantle, as well as the late Keith Hagler, established their horse rental business. Forty years ago, they opened the drive to guests.

Preparing for the Horse Drive

This year, five experienced riders received invites to join the twenty wranglers living in bunkhouses down in Browns Park, which is where the herd winters. Their job? To locate and round up all the horses spread out across 56,000 acres. Any wild mustangs that made their way into the herd were sorted out, and horses unfit for the drive were trailered to the ranch. 

Meanwhile, 22 guests arrived at the ranch on Tuesday to prepare for the weekend’s big event. Walker introduced himself that afternoon, shaking hands and greeting all like old friends. Moravec assigned everyone to teams, each with two leaders: the red group, the white group, the blue group and the stars and stripes. 

Following a campfire and family dinner of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, the guests settled into their bunks. Couples ambled to the red-roofed lodge, while the women took to the brown house and the men occupied the three outbuildings. “It’s rustic. It’s not like staying at the Four Seasons,” jokes Moravec. 

Sombrero is a true working ranch, and the work started the next morning — but not before a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and fluffy biscuits and gravy. Once properly fueled, the guests met at the corral to saddle up the horses they’d be riding on Saturday. 

“We get all different abilities of riding that sign up for this. Two years ago, in fact, we had two people sign up who had never ridden and started taking lessons a month before the drive,” recalls Moravec. “This year, we had an older crowd. I would say fifty and above was the average. I think Dwight [Singer] was our oldest, and he was in his mid-70s.” 

Everyone took to their horses quicker than usual, allowing the group to set out on a 25-mile ride across the ranch. The next day was equally successful. Guests rode what would be their Sunday horses for 10 miles that morning, followed by a 30-mile wildlife ride in the afternoon. 

Saddle-sore and sunbaked, the group was more than ready for the evening’s celebratory steak fry. Wearing her turquoise-studded cowgirl hat, this year’s Miss Rodeo Colorado, Lindsey Fancher-Rule, led the group in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The national anthem was sung, then plates were filled to their brims. 

Cake was served for dessert, honoring Dan Davidson’s upcoming retirement. He long served as the director of the Museum of Northwest Colorado in downtown Craig. His successor, Paul Knowles, shared an overview of Moffat County’s history while guests heated rods over the campfire, singeing the ranch’s sombrero-shaped brand onto their gloves and Stetson hats. 

Friday morning, Steve Mantle (Walker’s nephew and Pat Mantle’s son) and his daughter-in-law, Kate Mantle, led a seminar on horse training and riding styles, and offered one-on-one support to guests. With their free afternoon, some ventured to the local museum while others soaked in Steamboat’s natural hot springs before the big event.

In the Saddle for Sixty Miles

Restless with excitement, nearly everyone was up by sunrise on Saturday morning, and all were in their saddles by 8 a.m., with the wranglers at the front of the herd to set the pace. 

“The first five to six miles is the fastest part of the drive because the horses are ramped up; they’re ready to go,” Moravec says. At one point, she revved her truck up to twelve miles per hour to keep up with the herd’s confident gallop. 

Leaving Browns Park, the landscape is hilly and the road winds up and around. A river crossing appears not long into the journey and while most horses clomped along the bridge, five opted to splash through the cool, belly-deep water. 

On the other side of the river, the team held the herd to the side, allowing the horses to rest before continuing on their course. Still charged with energy, a few later broke away from the group, bolting up the hillside. “Four wranglers went after them and it took probably seven miles for them to catch up,” comments Moravec. 

But most horses were moving at a more mellow pace. It was nearly 5 p.m. by the time the procession reached the Boston Flats, its overnight pasture. The guests released their horses into the herd, tossed their saddles on a trailer and climbed aboard a school bus to head back to the ranch. 

Following dinner and a restful night’s sleep, they returned to the pasture the next morning, watching as the wranglers gathered up the horses to finish the ride. 

“The landscape is beautiful. This year, because there was a little bit of rain, it wasn’t dusty, so you really got to see the pure beauty of the horses in a natural environment,” says Moravec, recalling the valley’s sparkling creek and fragrant sagebrush. 

She followed the group for a short stretch on Sunday morning, but soon sped ahead into Maybell to section off the grassy area adjacent to the town’s general store. Spectators were already starting to gather, and the herd would need that space after its moment in the spotlight. 

Once preparations were complete, Moravec waited among the crowd. Their cheers didn’t at all mask the approaching thunder. “It’s a sound that is like no other. To hear that bump, bump, bump, bump, bump of the horses — it’s really amazing.”

Hundreds of quarter horses and draft crosses went trotting by, their chestnut and bay coats gleaming in the sun. Those on horseback flashed smiles and waved. Singer, the oldest of the guests, was at the front of the line, where he’d been through the entire drive. “He is truly a cowboy,” praises Moravec. “If there’s anybody that’s got stamina and grit, it’s him.”

The horses were corralled into the grassy spot and for the next 45 minutes, onlookers gathered along the fenceline to take photos and chat with the riders. “How do I sign up?” was asked countless times. 

After this break, the drive continued down Highway 40, traveling the remaining 25 miles to the Craig ranch. Wranglers held the herd to one side of the road, while the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office and State Patrol kept traffic moving. It was another long, eight-hour day when the group finally arrived, exhausted but exhilarated. 

“It was epic,” Moravec says. For her, this year’s drive was particularly meaningful; she recently submitted her resignation to Sombrero Ranch. 

Moravec believes that people would be surprised by the difficulty of this drive and how emotional and spiritual it is for everyone involved. “It’s life-changing,” she concludes. “The sheer Western culture, it brings you back to your roots — and maybe we all need more of that.”