Kick Back Like a Cowboy

Round up cattle, see a horse whisperer, and enjoy the ride at this Missouri Ozarks ranch.

The black colt shines with fear and sweat. The cowboy whispers and turns his back. As the sun sinks low and the sky turns pink, the horse stops circling the tiny ring. Slowly, haltingly, he approaches the cowboy and nuzzles the back of the man's neck.

Horse whisperers call it the "join-up," the magic moment when a horse decides to trust a man. This colt has never known a saddle. Within the hour, Cecil "C" Huff has whispered his way onto the horse's back, no bucks or spurs involved. "You never raise your voice," he says. "You never strike the horse."

Watching C ride an unridden horse is the poignant highlight of a trip to Bucks and Spurs Guest Ranch near Ava, Missouri. C and his wife, Sonny, welcome you like family to their working cattle ranch, where you'll stay in a rustic log cabin they built from timber off their own land. (They'll stuff you like family, too, with Sonny's hearty ranch meals.)

The Huffs are horse people. They ride to church. And they'll win you over with scenic rambles across Ozarks foothills, through autumn woods, and across gin-clear streams. City slickers who've never set foot in a stirrup will receive gentle instruction and easy trail rides. Experts craving more can lope or join them on a cattle drive. If C bets you that he can make a horse lie down, get ready to lose $10. (It's worth it.)

Lunch is a picnic in a clearing by the creek. Sonny builds a fire for a weenie roast and hands you a perfect roasting stick. Wind rustles the falling leaves as she says grace under the clear blue sky.

-KlM CROSS

Bucks and Spurs Guest Ranch: www.bucks andspurs.com or (417) 683-2381.

above: Cecil uses a strap to guide the horse as he gently prepares it for a rider.

left: A first-time rider crosses a stream, comfortable in the saddle after an easy lesson.

Guest quarters are perfect for families, though you may have to share a bathroom.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Nov 2006
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