It’s
5:00 am in Cody, Wyoming, a couple of hours before sunrise. Ted Harvey
is awake and ready for his first cup of strong, black coffee. He’ll go
through a half pot of coffee before noon. Ted is a handsome man and a
solid buckaroo; a seasoned rancher and wrangler. He wields the wrangler
stride, necessary mustache, Levis that fit in all the right places and a
wide smile. He has a solid history of skilled horsemanship, lasting
kindness and engaging friendship.
It’s
7:29 am now. The sun is up and trying to shine. On most days the
sunrise is golden, azure and gleaming in Cody. But today it is gray,
perse and rainy, a typical autumn morning in wrangler country; hard,
rugged and everything nature. A climate manipulated and defined by the
calloused hands and the sun-baked complexion of weathered wranglers. Ted
has just come in from the barn; pulling horseshoes and trimming
hooves. He reaches for another steaming cup of stiff, wrangler coffee.
In
1967 Ted came into this world in Seattle, Washington. His family moved
to Chapel Hill, North Carolina when he was five years old. At the age
eight, he was introduced to a horse for the first time while visiting
distant relatives in France. His encounter with the horse was exciting
and humbling. Ted remembers, “We were on a farm and there was a horse
there. My twin brother and I had gone out in the morning to pet the
horse. The farmer had just fed him his oats. I really wanted to pet the
horse. My brother kept telling me to leave him alone. The horse was
swishing his tail and laying his ears back. I really wanted to pet him.
After a bit, the horse had had enough, turned around, and kicked me
squarely in the butt. He kicked me clear over a fence. My brother is
still laughing about that one.” At
the age of fourteen, in 1981, Ted and his family traveled to Cody,
Wyoming for a dude ranch vacation. Arriving at Valley Ranch, a
sprawling ranch south of Cody, Ted became fascinated with the ranching
lifestyle. Staying at the ranch lodge, he became accustomed to the
aroma, feel and sensations of western living. The horseback riding was
exceptional; well-equipped for family vacations and novice riders. “Back
then, I don’t remember much in the way of instruction,” says Ted. “They
showed us how to go, stop and turn and that was about it. In the lodge
each evening at dinner there was a sign-up sheet for riding the next
day. You could choose between slow, intermediate or advance. I went on
every advanced ride for the two weeks we were there and I was hooked. I
knew then that dude ranching was what I wanted to do for the rest of my
life.” Ted’s experience at the ranch would set the course for his
future vocation and instill his love for horses.Returning
to North Carolina, Ted dreamed of being back in the mountains of
Wyoming, riding horses and meeting new people. “At that point in my
life I knew nothing of horses or dude ranching. I needed experience.
So, during high school, I worked shoveling manure at local stables. They
would let me ride from time to time. At seventeen, I returned to
Valley Ranch and enrolled in their Wrangler School. This was a six week
course and consisted of eight other wranglers. This was the real
beginning of my formal education as a wrangler; I was a boy of seventeen
from North Carolina chasing eighty horses across the Shoshone River at
5:30 in the morning with real cowboys who at the time I considered
legends.” While
attending Wrangler School, Ted had the opportunity to meet some real
western characters; famous wranglers, gracious hosts and lifelong
friends. “Everyone has people they have met who have had a profound
effect on their lives,” he says. “For me one of those people was a
woman I met at Valley Ranch named Irma Larom. Her husband, Larry,
started the ranch in 1914 with one of the Brooks Brothers as a partner.
By the time I got there in the 1980’s he had passed away. But she was
still there. She was about 140 years old. She wore full-length formal
dresses everyday. She liked to flirt with the wranglers and tell
stories about going to New York City in the 1920’s and staying at the
Waldorf Hotel. They would party in New York in the winter and invite
their friends to Wyoming for summer adventure. Irma said to me once, ‘A
well-run dude ranch is hospitality at its finest.’ That has always
stuck with me and I have tired to live up to it. Valley Ranch no longer
exists, but for me it is where everything began.” Ted’s journey to
becoming a world-class wrangler was becoming reality. His hard work and
dedication to his dream was coming to fruition. All he needed was a
good horse, fitted chaps and a wide-brim hat. Oh…and a good dog.Wrangler.
It’s a tough word, not for the weak of heart. Being a wrangler is hard
work, long days, extreme environments, great friends and the sweet
fragrance of horses - a lot of horses. Wranglers have an honorable place
in American history. Ted explains, “Historically, wranglers were
teenagers hired on the big cattle drives of the 1880’s – 1890’s to take
care of the string of horses the cowboys used to work the cattle herd.
Depending on the size of the herd, a cowboy might have as many as six to
eight horses. On most drives, the cowboys did not own the horses they
rode. They were owned by the cattle company. This was to prevent the
cowboys from quitting and riding off in the middle of a drive that
lasted for several months. During an average day, the cattle might only
move eight to ten miles, but the cowboys would ride three times that
and change mounts several times a day. It was the wranglers job to make
sure the horses were groomed, fed, shod and generally cared for so they
were ready for the cowboys. Today, wranglers are people who work for
outfits taking usually inexperienced riders on trail rides, cattle
drives and arena events.”After
Wrangler School at Valley Ranch, Ted attended college in Riverton,
Wyoming. He majored in horsemanship, a two-year program including
training in overall horsemanship; livestock feeding, colt breaking and
training, farrier science, ranch management, English riding etiquette,
and team roping. “What I really took away from this experience was a
little knowledge about many different equine areas, and it gave me an
experience base to land my first paying job as a wrangler,” he states.
“But, if I had known then what I know now, I would have majored in
business.”
Ted’s
first position as a wrangler was at Black Mountain Ranch in McCoy,
Colorado. It is at Black Mountain Ranch where he met Rowdy, a bay
Quarter Horse gelding. Rowdy’s dam was a Quarter Horse named Joker who
belonged to Sam, the manager at Black Mountain Ranch. Ted recalls his
years at Black Mountain. “I started there in 1987 as a wrangler. After
about a month into my first summer, the head wrangler was fired for
let’s say inappropriate behavior with a married female guest. The
manager came to me and said you are the head wrangler now. The
following summer we had a guest named Chuck. He was a wiry, cocky
twenty-three year old from Pennsylvania who, after being a guest like
me, wanted to live the dude ranch life. The manager and I agreed to
hire him. Chuck turned out to be the best wrangler I had ever known.
We only worked at Black Mountain for three years together and went our
separate ways. Chuck went to work as a hunting guide for an outfitter on
the western slope of Colorado. I went to Tumbling River Ranch near
Mount Evans, Colorado, and became the head wrangler there.” When Chuck
left for his new position in Colorado, he took Rowdy, the bay Quarter
Horse gelding, with him. Rowdy has been in Chuck’s family for nearly
twenty-three years now. Recently, Chuck was diagnosed with ALS (Lou
Gehrig’s Disease). Ted says, “Chuck and his family now live in Cody. I
am honored to keep his horse for him. My daughter, Wren, who is six
years old, is learning to run barrels on Rowdy. She won’t ride any
other horse.”
Ted’s
riding tack has grown throughout the years. He is not partial to a
particular saddle maker, but, through experience, prefers custom tack.
“The saddle I ride was built on a wade tree, with a big Mexican horn and
a five inch cantle. I have saddlebags that are actually permanently
attached to the saddle,” he says. “I also ride with a custom made
leather cantle bag. With the cantle bag, I don’t like saddles with
Cheyenne rolls. Working on dude ranches, I ride a lot of different
horses and find that the wade tree, with its high gullet, fits most
horses well.” A classic ‘wade tree’ saddle is designed for working
ranch horses. The tree defines the shape of the pommel and cantle.
Riding horses with diverse physics require a multi-fit saddle that the
rider is accustomed to and is appropriate for all horse types.
Between
1992 and 2001, Ted was hired as head wrangler for Tumbling River Ranch
in central Colorado. Located deep in the Colorado high country, this
ranch had an elevation of 9,200 feet. “We rode to 12,000 feet on
all-day rides every week during the summer. One of the rides was a
place called Rosalie. There is nothing quite like riding a good horse
above timberline with 14,000 foot mountain peaks all around you. This
was my church.” The Colorado Rocky Mountains. Beautiful, breathtaking
and a trail riders dream.
In
1994, while head wrangling at Tumbling River Ranch, Ted meet his
sidekick, Spur. “I think everyone is entitled to one great dog in their
lifetime. Mine was a black and tan coonhound named Spur,” Ted says,
remembering Spur. “He was a birthday present from my parents. He was the
runt of the litter. When they went to pick him up he was nine weeks
old, had pneumonia, was tied under a pickup truck and the breeder was
going to let him die. My parents got him for $50. I had Spur for
fifteen years. He spent most of his life on a dude ranch and went on
trail rides daily in the summer. Spur was truly my best friend. On my
30th birthday, I was on a working ranch in Roy, New Mexico. This was a
23,000 acre ranch and very remote. The closest neighbor was about 45
minutes away, if it wasn’t raining. On my birthday, I was the only
human on the ranch and I didn’t get a single phone call all day. But
Spur was there for me. In his later years he slept about 23 hours a
day. In the end, he died at the age of fifteen on his couch in his
sleep. He lived well and died well. I will never have another dog like
him.” No wrangler is complete without a well-loved dog. Spur was just
that and much more.
From
the Colorado high country, Ted moved to Whitefish, Montana. There he
was the general manager of the Bar W Guest Ranch. This was another
opportunity to meet more horses, more dude ranch vacationers and make
more friends. Ted says, “For my 40th birthday the staff gave me a pair
of custom boots. These were really high quality boots with my initials
on the uppers. During a cattle drive on the Blackfoot Reservation, a
man offered to take my duffle bag which had a leather vest, a pair of
Levis, gloves a fifth of Wild Turkey, and most importantly my custom
boots. I thought he meant he would take them to the truck, but
apparently he meant take-for-good. I miss those boots.”
After
leaving the Bar W Guest Ranch, Ted purchased Zeus, an almost-black
Appaloosa. Zeus had been stabled at Bar W for over five years. Zeus
was notorious for his disorderly disposition and bucking episodes. He
was originally purchased from Mouse, a Blackfoot Indian. Ted explains,
“Mouse is a horse trader in the truest sense of the word and has some
really great horses. The Blackfeet have always been known as the best
horseman of all the tribes. Zeus was the kind of horse that exploded
into everything he did. Because he loved to GO, the wranglers tended to
let him go. Unfortunately, this was not what Zeus needed. He needed a
consistent rider that would help him to calm down. He now lopes on a
loose rein and is a different horse. My four year old son rides with me
on Zeus.”
Ted
owns another horse, Comet, who also came from Mouse. Comet is a
fifteen year old Palomino gelding. “Comet was given to me as a gift by
the owner of Bar W Guest Ranch when we left there to move to Cody in
October of 2010,” Ted says. “At that point Comet was already my horse
since I had been, with a few exceptions, the only one to ride him. Comet
is my friend and really fun to ride. He is the kind of horse that will
run the barrels at a dead run and five minutes later walk around the
barrels with my four year old son, with his head down and a loose rein.
Comet has power steering, power breaks and cruise control. In my life I
have had several great horses, but Comet is the best. He will do just
about anything I ask; cross a deep river, go over the bridge, or jump
off a cliff. He is fun to ride.” Comet is 15.3 hh and 1,200 lbs. He
is Ted’s all-time favorite horse, friend and confidant.
Ted’s
favorite horse breed? A Quarter Horse, of course. American bred, with
the largest breed registry in the world, the Quarter Horse is a
wranglers dream. Quick, efficient, compact and smart, the Quarter Horse
is well-suited for American terrain. Ted expounds on his experience
with other horse breeds, “I am a believer that after each breed’s basic
characteristics, horses are a product of their environment. In high
school, I worked at a couple of Arabian Show barns mucking stalls. The
horses spent most of their time in a 12 x 12 stall and they were always
trying to kick, bite or stomp me. At the time, I hated those horses and
thought that was just the way Arabians were. Since then, I have had
numerous Arabs on dude ranches and while they generally are a little
more high strung, I have had some that were great dude horses. I have
known mountain trail riders who swear by various breeds, but in my
opinion, most of them can be turned into great trail horses if they are
treated and used right.”
Someday,
whether my son is riding the range or working in a bank, I hope he will
understand that his character and the choices he makes are what make
him a true cowboy.”
Ted
is currently a wrangler instructor and a dude ranch consultant in Cody.
“The thing I am spending the most time on these days is managing Turpin
Meadow Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming,” he says. “This ranch was foreclosed
and the bank hired me to run it until a new owner can be found. My
consulting includes caring for ranch horses, legal issues, horse program
development and long-term ranch management. Most likely I will be
involved with this ranch for some time, including finding a new string
of about sixty horses for the ranch.” Ted is a successful wrangler,
businessman, equestrian, family man and friend. If you are considering a
dude ranch vacation, give Ted a call. He’ll provide you with
accommodations befitting any want-to-be-wrangler; a quality horse, a
sturdy rope, a night under the stars and memories that will last
forever.
While
at Black Mountain Ranch, Ted had the opportunity to meet great
equestrians from around the world. “In 1988, a group of guys called the
Newfoundland Trail Riders came to Black Mountain Ranch. These guys all
owned horses and were good riders. They brought their own chaps, spurs
and saddles with sealskin saddlebags – packed with dried salted cod and
Screech rum!” Ted exclaims. “We took them on an all day ride everyday
they were there. We did a 3-day pack trip and really had a lot of fun
with these guys. At the end of the week, their president thanked me for
a great week. He said they wanted to have a pair of custom chaps made
for me to show their appreciation. They were really beautiful and
well-made, excellent leather, and stamped, ‘Thanks from Newfs, 1988’.
That was one of the nicest gifts I ever got.”
Ted’s
riding tack has grown throughout the years. He is not partial to a
particular saddle maker, but, through experience, prefers custom tack.
“The saddle I ride was built on a wade tree, with a big Mexican horn and
a five inch cantle. I have saddlebags that are actually permanently
attached to the saddle,” he says. “I also ride with a custom made
leather cantle bag. With the cantle bag, I don’t like saddles with
Cheyenne rolls. Working on dude ranches, I ride a lot of different
horses and find that the wade tree, with its high gullet, fits most
horses well.” A classic ‘wade tree’ saddle is designed for working
ranch horses. The tree defines the shape of the pommel and cantle.
Riding horses with diverse physics require a multi-fit saddle that the
rider is accustomed to and is appropriate for all horse types. Between
1992 and 2001, Ted was hired as head wrangler for Tumbling River Ranch
in central Colorado. Located deep in the Colorado high country, this
ranch had an elevation of 9,200 feet. “We rode to 12,000 feet on
all-day rides every week during the summer. One of the rides was a
place called Rosalie. There is nothing quite like riding a good horse
above timberline with 14,000 foot mountain peaks all around you. This
was my church.” The Colorado Rocky Mountains. Beautiful, breathtaking
and a trail riders dream. In
1994, while head wrangling at Tumbling River Ranch, Ted meet his
sidekick, Spur. “I think everyone is entitled to one great dog in their
lifetime. Mine was a black and tan coonhound named Spur,” Ted says,
remembering Spur. “He was a birthday present from my parents. He was the
runt of the litter. When they went to pick him up he was nine weeks
old, had pneumonia, was tied under a pickup truck and the breeder was
going to let him die. My parents got him for $50. I had Spur for
fifteen years. He spent most of his life on a dude ranch and went on
trail rides daily in the summer. Spur was truly my best friend. On my
30th birthday, I was on a working ranch in Roy, New Mexico. This was a
23,000 acre ranch and very remote. The closest neighbor was about 45
minutes away, if it wasn’t raining. On my birthday, I was the only
human on the ranch and I didn’t get a single phone call all day. But
Spur was there for me. In his later years he slept about 23 hours a
day. In the end, he died at the age of fifteen on his couch in his
sleep. He lived well and died well. I will never have another dog like
him.” No wrangler is complete without a well-loved dog. Spur was just
that and much more.From
the Colorado high country, Ted moved to Whitefish, Montana. There he
was the general manager of the Bar W Guest Ranch. This was another
opportunity to meet more horses, more dude ranch vacationers and make
more friends. Ted says, “For my 40th birthday the staff gave me a pair
of custom boots. These were really high quality boots with my initials
on the uppers. During a cattle drive on the Blackfoot Reservation, a
man offered to take my duffle bag which had a leather vest, a pair of
Levis, gloves a fifth of Wild Turkey, and most importantly my custom
boots. I thought he meant he would take them to the truck, but
apparently he meant take-for-good. I miss those boots.”After
leaving the Bar W Guest Ranch, Ted purchased Zeus, an almost-black
Appaloosa. Zeus had been stabled at Bar W for over five years. Zeus
was notorious for his disorderly disposition and bucking episodes. He
was originally purchased from Mouse, a Blackfoot Indian. Ted explains,
“Mouse is a horse trader in the truest sense of the word and has some
really great horses. The Blackfeet have always been known as the best
horseman of all the tribes. Zeus was the kind of horse that exploded
into everything he did. Because he loved to GO, the wranglers tended to
let him go. Unfortunately, this was not what Zeus needed. He needed a
consistent rider that would help him to calm down. He now lopes on a
loose rein and is a different horse. My four year old son rides with me
on Zeus.”Ted
owns another horse, Comet, who also came from Mouse. Comet is a
fifteen year old Palomino gelding. “Comet was given to me as a gift by
the owner of Bar W Guest Ranch when we left there to move to Cody in
October of 2010,” Ted says. “At that point Comet was already my horse
since I had been, with a few exceptions, the only one to ride him. Comet
is my friend and really fun to ride. He is the kind of horse that will
run the barrels at a dead run and five minutes later walk around the
barrels with my four year old son, with his head down and a loose rein.
Comet has power steering, power breaks and cruise control. In my life I
have had several great horses, but Comet is the best. He will do just
about anything I ask; cross a deep river, go over the bridge, or jump
off a cliff. He is fun to ride.” Comet is 15.3 hh and 1,200 lbs. He
is Ted’s all-time favorite horse, friend and confidant. Ted’s
favorite horse breed? A Quarter Horse, of course. American bred, with
the largest breed registry in the world, the Quarter Horse is a
wranglers dream. Quick, efficient, compact and smart, the Quarter Horse
is well-suited for American terrain. Ted expounds on his experience
with other horse breeds, “I am a believer that after each breed’s basic
characteristics, horses are a product of their environment. In high
school, I worked at a couple of Arabian Show barns mucking stalls. The
horses spent most of their time in a 12 x 12 stall and they were always
trying to kick, bite or stomp me. At the time, I hated those horses and
thought that was just the way Arabians were. Since then, I have had
numerous Arabs on dude ranches and while they generally are a little
more high strung, I have had some that were great dude horses. I have
known mountain trail riders who swear by various breeds, but in my
opinion, most of them can be turned into great trail horses if they are
treated and used right.”
Working
outside, in the elements, with horses, surrounded by sky, streams and
mountains. Wrangler. A vocation synonymous with chaps, saddles, bits,
bridles, manes, tails, and dirt. What is the difference between a
cowboy and a wrangler? Ted explains, “Often the words cowboy or wrangler
are used interchangeably, generally representing a man who can ride. A
funny story: On Cowboy Sunday, the kids were at the front of the Church
and the Minister asked if they knew a cowboy. My daughter answered
that her dad was a cowboy. When asked then if I have cows, she said,
‘no, but we might get chickens.’ My three year old son stood up and then
announced to the congregation that he was a cowboy…and he had a toy
gun, boots and spurs to prove it. I used to think being a real cowboy
was having those things, too, but I have learned it takes a lot more.
When my son crawls into bed at night we always say ‘The Words’….they go
like this:
Always tell the truth
Always be honest
Always do the right thing
Always admit when you are wrong
Always do what you said you would do
Always respect others
Someday,
whether my son is riding the range or working in a bank, I hope he will
understand that his character and the choices he makes are what make
him a true cowboy.”Ted
is currently a wrangler instructor and a dude ranch consultant in Cody.
“The thing I am spending the most time on these days is managing Turpin
Meadow Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming,” he says. “This ranch was foreclosed
and the bank hired me to run it until a new owner can be found. My
consulting includes caring for ranch horses, legal issues, horse program
development and long-term ranch management. Most likely I will be
involved with this ranch for some time, including finding a new string
of about sixty horses for the ranch.” Ted is a successful wrangler,
businessman, equestrian, family man and friend. If you are considering a
dude ranch vacation, give Ted a call. He’ll provide you with
accommodations befitting any want-to-be-wrangler; a quality horse, a
sturdy rope, a night under the stars and memories that will last
forever.
* * *
For more information, visit Ted’s website http://www.duderanchconsultant.com
For more information on Larry Larom, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Larom
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