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C WFffi1i TIC WELL GOES DRY <br />Hello, <br />What a weekend! The weather was great. We <br />went riding on Sunday morning. It was just gor- <br />geous. I thought we should get done riding by <br />noon. That would leave the afternoon for golf, <br />fishing, or napping. Whichever a person chose to <br />do on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. <br />We had been riding a couple hours and were <br />headed for home. Shirley ran a wild cow through <br />the fence. She was crazy. Not Shirley, the cow. I <br />tied my horse up and was patching things to- <br />gether. One of those permanent temporary jobs. <br />It just so happened that we were alongside the <br />highway. I saw Ray coming with his pickup. I <br />should have known better than to be so close to <br />the highway on such a beautiful day. <br />We always enjoy having Ray stop and visit. <br />As we visited, I asked what Ray was up to that <br />afternoon. He said he and Jack were going to cut <br />a bunch of studs. Now, I don't know how old Ray <br />is. I suppose 70- something. And Jack is in his <br />mid to upper 80s. They had one cowboy along <br />that looked like a pretty good hand. But with 15 <br />or 20 big studs to cut, they looked a little short- <br />handed. They were looking for Paul. <br />Well, Paul was gone. So then they asked for <br />Shirley. Shirley was busy. Then they asked about <br />Will. Will was gone. That left me. They didn't <br />ask, so I volunteered. That was dumb. <br />I rode home, cried a little, jumped in the car <br />and headed for the bridge. That's where their <br />corrals are. I timed it just right. They had just run <br />the first one in the chute and were getting ready <br />to trip him. <br />As I surveyed the crew, my heart skipped a <br />beat. We had two guys with lots of experience, <br />Jack and Ray, but not a lot of weight. One real <br />cowboy who volunteered to be the dumb guy that <br />jumps on the stud's head. And one fat, out of shape <br />guy. I won't name any names. <br />The plan was simple. Run a stud in the chute. <br />Have one dumb guy stick his arm in the chute and <br />kind of weave a figure eight around the horse's <br />front feet. Then put a half hitch on top of that. Put <br />a halter on so the head man has a little handhold. <br />Run the rope from the front feet over the chute gate <br />and anchor it to a tire tied high on the chute gate. <br />Put the fat guy on the rope to kind of slow the horse <br />down till he hits the end. And throw the gate wide <br />open! <br />You know what! It worked! We castrated a whole <br />pen full of wild studs. Nobody got hurt. Well, <br />maybe the studs a little. And I had a chance to work <br />with real cowboys. Guys that had been doing things <br />on horseback for 80 years. And still do. When a lot <br />of people were sitting on the couch, sipping a beer. <br />Or floating down the river after the elusive walleye. <br />Or chasing a little white ball over the hill and down <br />the hole, these guys were ranching. <br />And as the wind blew a little dust through the <br />corral. And the horses stood over in the corner and <br />stomped at the flies. We sat down for a beer and a <br />sandwich when we were through. And I was glad <br />I wasn't fishing or golfing or taking a nap. Cause <br />these guys were cowboys! <br />Later, <br />24 North Dakota Water ■ May zuuo <br />