“My heroes have always been cowboys.” So go the lyrics of Willie Nelson’s song of the same title, and so goes it for many men of my generation who watched Westerns as boys. John Wayne, Gary Cooper and even Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were the stuff of real men, and it was indeed the rare young male who could resist the call of the West.
However, time and life’s challenges buried many of these boyhood visions for me, but perhaps not completely. Reminders might surface when I saw a horse, or particularly when I was able to ride one, even on a controlled stable ride. Therefore, when I heard about The Great American Horse Drive while on a trail ride in Colorado, I was hooked.
In late April and early May, Sombrero Ranch of Northwestern Colorado, one of the largest owners of horses in the world, gather up horses who have been roaming freely in open range for over seven months, and drive them to the home ranch where they are ridden to quiet any winter wildness, wormed, vaccinated and outfitted with new shoes before they are shipped to the many stables, ranches and camps who lease them. This work of driving more than 600 horses nearly 60 miles is, of course, done by wranglers … cowboys by any definition. What grabbed my attention, however, was that Sombrero opened this epic event to experienced riders with a sense of adventure and, it turns out, for some, a haunting need.
Call it a bucket list; call it childhood dreams; call it love of horses; or call it crazy. Whatever you call it, I was going to Craig, Colorado, in late April.
The Great American Horse Drive
I met cowboys. I lived their hard life for five days. I felt the ancient bond with horses that is nothing short of mystical. I relished a glimpse into America Western history and culture that I never read in a history book. My body shouted out to me in response to the nearly 100 miles of riding. I got to know fellow riders, men and women (turns out my childhood dreams were shared by young women also), many who were there for powerful reasons … to deal with demons in their lives: demons of loss, demons of illness, demons of relationships. The total impact of this collection of experiences was enormous. I will never be quite the same.
But the wranglers, the embodiment of my childhood images of cowboys, also captivated me. Not only because of their colorful lives and extraordinary abilities and hardiness, but as models of what I have dedicated my professional life to propagate: What characteristics do we need to be healthy and remain all that we can be as we age?
Surely, the cowboy’s life is remarkably different from most, so what is it about them that reflects what research tells us is important to aging in a better way … to staying at highest level of functioning as possible for as long as possible?
Cowboy Wisdom
First of all, cowboys can take the bumps and setbacks of daily life and continue to function. If they are bucked off a horse, they’re back in that saddle immediately. Being able to weather life’s curve balls is resilience, and a key element to aging in a better way.
Cowboys move … a lot. Whether working on ground or riding (realize riding a horse, particularly at a trot, lope or gallop, is not like riding a car. It is WORK!), cowboys are physically active. We’ve discovered that being sedentary is a major risk factor for chronic disease and impairment.
Cowboys, despite some narratives that have them as loners, are big team players. To get 650 feisty horses to go where you want them to takes intense, well-coordinated teamwork. Working with others for a greater purpose is a key element of the social connection needed to age successfully.
And these wranglers were close to nature. Horses, weather and the very ground beneath them were not temporary diversions, but the entire world. This natural world can diminish stress and provide us with a peace, optimism and mindfulness that can keep us healthy as we age.
So this resilience, physical activity, social connection, sense of purpose, closeness to the natural world and a mindfulness that quiets a stress-mongering chattering mind … this is the stuff of cowboys, and a recipe for our own journey to health, wherever we are. But there was more…
By the Campfire, the Demons Left Us
At the end of this iconic event, in the evolutionary comfort of a campfire circle, I saw the dramatic effect of this unique experience on my fellow visitors. There were tears, lots of them, from both men and women, as each told what the five punishing but transformative days meant to them: pride, awe, renewal, respect, relief and catharsis. It was all there. And the wranglers were moved, pulling their large hat brims down over their watery eyes as they listened to the stories.
My father had always wanted to spend a few days on a dude ranch. He and I had made the plans. But the year we were to go, the year he was the same age as I am now, he died of melanoma. This one’s for you, Da
“My heroes have always been cowboys … and still are it seems.” I have to agree, Willie.
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Cowboys and Demons: Lessons About Healthy Aging originally appeared on usnews.com
