- 3 months ago
Cowboys Without Borders (2020) is a documentary that explores the traditions and lifestyle of modern-day cowboys across the Americas. The film showcases breathtaking landscapes, authentic ranch life, and the enduring spirit of the cowboy culture that connects communities across borders. With its inspiring visuals and storytelling, it offers a unique look at resilience, heritage, and the timeless bond between people and the land.
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00:00:30We are looking for the truth of the vaquero.
00:00:48What is the truth?
00:00:49Look, the truth of the vaquero is very simple.
00:00:57Look and find the vaquero.
00:01:04What does it mean to be a cowboy?
00:01:11Oh, man, it's my life.
00:01:16I get to see things that people never get to see.
00:01:20We went on down to Coahuila, Mexico.
00:01:24They got the horses up early.
00:01:26It was dark.
00:01:27I got on horseback.
00:01:30We went all day long and got back at night.
00:01:35But we rounded up some cows and got them to the pins and marked them.
00:01:40But that was in Mexico, in Coahuila.
00:01:42Sure was.
00:01:43A lot of fun.
00:01:43Well, the fun time was getting them in a crowd and roping.
00:02:06I used to pride myself on roping.
00:02:10And I did good and I did bad, you know.
00:02:12But I enjoyed it, you know.
00:02:14And that's the truth.
00:02:1925,000 acres.
00:02:2260 head of horses and 20 cowboys and a trailer full of dogs.
00:02:26Sometimes I wished I was born a hundred years ago, so I could have been a real cowboy.
00:02:37It was a long time ago.
00:02:40And there was nothing out here but just plain old flat country except for one spring right down here.
00:02:49Gone spring ranch.
00:02:56I'm Gaston Davis.
00:03:06It was these types of stories that sparked my fascination with cowboys.
00:03:13For six generations, the ranch has been in my family.
00:03:16From the Sheep Queen of Texas to the start of a new industry with the Angora goat,
00:03:21my family has always played a role in the agriculture industry.
00:03:26For 130 years, the ranch has always been a place where my family can come back and work together
00:03:32and keep the heartbeat of the ranch alive.
00:03:34But the reality is that today most ranch operations couldn't say the same.
00:04:04There's so many opportunities outside of rural America that's pulling my generation away.
00:04:08Myself included.
00:04:10But although I was born into this ranching culture and heritage, I'm just far enough
00:04:14removed to not have actually lived it myself.
00:04:18I heard all these stories growing up and watched all the westerns and over the course of time
00:04:22I had the image of the cowboy built up so much that it was practically a myth.
00:04:28I mean these stories were incredible but they were somebody else's and I had no personal
00:04:34experience to pull from and so I struggled with what was my imagination of the cowboy
00:04:38and what was a legitimate figure in our history and also in today's reality.
00:04:48I found myself in the city most days with these questions burning inside of me.
00:04:53What is the truth of the cowboy?
00:04:55Do these kind of stories still exist today?
00:04:56Do cowboys still exist?
00:04:58Was I born in the wrong generation and too late to find out?
00:05:03So after graduation I felt called to find answers to these questions and to write my own story
00:05:07along the way.
00:05:08I didn't know when I was born in the wrong place.
00:05:09I was born in the wrong place.
00:05:10It went away on this weekend.
00:05:11We used to learn my story along the way.
00:07:21My time with Professor Brands gave me great insight of where I need to go
00:07:27To begin the search for the cowboy I decided to go where it all began the genesis of the cowboy
00:07:38We're going to Mexico and meeting my mother's cousin Charo at the border in Del Rio
00:07:43This will be my first time to visit my family ranch in Mexico
00:07:46Man, how you doing man? Oh, it's good to see you. Nice to see you. Yeah, but is there anything else that we need right here in Del Rio?
00:07:55Beer? Okay. Y'all want Mexican beer, right? I want a modelo. We'll get you some Mexican beer. Okay. All right
00:08:07So we're right here on the Texas border
00:08:09People live on both sides of the border here. I'll think of ourselves as border people
00:08:13We don't think of ourselves as being Americans or Mexicans. It's we're just here on the border
00:08:20This is tumultuous times, you know, we're neighbors and we've been neighbors for hundreds of years, so I think we'll be all right
00:08:35We're in Coahuila right now and Texas used to be Coahuila
00:08:43We're in Coahuila right now and we're in Coahuila right now
00:08:45So why don't we play with your new pick up?
00:08:46We're in Coahuila right now and we're in Coahuila right now. We're in Coahuila right now
00:08:48Out here it's just really different.
00:09:13The reason it's different is because it's not different.
00:09:17It's stayed the way it always has been.
00:09:38Today's my first day with the Vaqueros.
00:09:40We start with breakfast and then it's off to work.
00:09:42And I'll admit, I'm nervous if my cowboy heroes will accept me.
00:09:49This is Gaston.
00:09:50And look, they look like you.
00:09:51They're all flat.
00:09:52They'll be good.
00:09:54I grew up here.
00:09:56I came here from my arms.
00:09:58Here's my cowboy having breakfast.
00:10:02Here I grew up here.
00:10:07I know everything I know.
00:10:09Here.
00:10:10Here.
00:10:11Here.
00:10:12Here.
00:10:13Here.
00:10:14Here.
00:10:15Here.
00:10:16Here.
00:10:17Here.
00:10:18Here.
00:10:19Here.
00:10:20Here.
00:10:21Here.
00:10:22Here.
00:10:23Here.
00:10:24Here.
00:10:25Here.
00:10:26Here.
00:10:27Here.
00:10:28Here.
00:10:29Here.
00:10:30Here.
00:10:31Here.
00:10:32Here.
00:10:33Here.
00:10:34Here.
00:10:35Here.
00:10:36Here.
00:10:37Here.
00:10:38Here.
00:10:39Here.
00:10:40Here.
00:10:41Since I was a kid, I go to the field all the time.
00:11:08Our big market for our steers is the United States, so we ship all our steers there.
00:11:25It's still roping, it's branding, it's castrating, it's doing everything the old way.
00:11:31We don't do it any other way.
00:11:38There are many other things that we need to do, and we're not able to do it.
00:11:45We're in the middle of the street.
00:11:48We're in the middle of the street.
00:11:51We're in the middle of the street.
00:11:55And we're in the middle of the street.
00:13:31Don't put off for tomorrow, which you can do today.
00:13:35That was the way he lived his life, and that's why he got so much done.
00:13:38He was my brother.
00:13:45He was always so sincere and so honest, you know.
00:13:50I loved him.
00:13:51I looked up to him.
00:13:52I respected him.
00:13:53I respected him.
00:13:54I think he knew more about the cattle business than anyone I ever met.
00:13:59We've been down there, oh my gosh, ever since 1948.
00:14:04And we're still down there in Mexico and having a lot of fun doing business with him.
00:14:11We're out now.
00:14:23Can we go in?
00:14:29Yes, of course.
00:14:31Come on.
00:14:37Right now.
00:14:39Okay.
00:14:41Very good.
00:14:43I like your calendar.
00:14:49Oh, ladies.
00:14:51Is that your wife?
00:14:53No.
00:14:54What?
00:14:55Soltero.
00:14:56Ah, that's good.
00:15:01That night, one of the younger vaqueros invited me to his home to meet his family.
00:15:06Hello, how are you?
00:15:08It's a privilege and it's humbling to see the personal lives of the vaqueros on the ranch.
00:15:23I'm eager now to step back into their working lives.
00:15:38Each cowboy has several horses that he rides.
00:15:42They ride them for about two months, a month or two months.
00:15:45It depends.
00:15:46And then they'll switch them out, release those horses and bring in a whole new Ramuda.
00:15:51And then work those horses for a while.
00:15:53We want a working horse, but they're not just born working horses.
00:15:56They start off as potrillos, which are just wild coats.
00:15:59And it's a process to get them to where it's a working horse.
00:16:02And that process takes time and effort and a lot of work from our cowboys.
00:16:06Okay, yo, yo quiero el, que es mas salvaje.
00:16:09Pero este parte de Chuchabajo, tomando y manzando los potrillos, es un gran parte?
00:16:14Si.
00:16:15Todo eso es parte de la manzana, mi Dios.
00:16:17Dios.
00:16:18Dios.
00:16:19Dios.
00:16:20Dios.
00:16:21Dios.
00:16:22Dios.
00:16:23Dios.
00:16:24Dios.
00:16:25Dios.
00:16:26Dios.
00:16:27Dios.
00:16:28Dios.
00:16:29Dios.
00:16:30Dios.
00:16:31Dios.
00:16:32Dios.
00:16:33Dios.
00:16:34Dios.
00:16:35Dios.
00:16:36Dios.
00:16:37Dios.
00:16:38Dios.
00:17:03Dios.
00:17:04Dios.
00:17:05Dios.
00:17:06First, we must search for them.
00:17:36There are a few meters to catch them to pass them.
00:18:06All of the work we do on the ranch, with all the cattle, is all on horseback, so we have
00:18:23to have horses.
00:18:26I'm not really sure which horse we're going to get today, but we may get one that's either
00:18:30never had a saddle on him, and most likely that's the case, and so we'll be getting someone
00:18:34on a horse for the first time.
00:19:04These horses they've already brought in to work, those are the larger, the older horses.
00:19:08That's why when I say we start them at around two, we're not riding them at that age.
00:19:12No, we just start getting them in to get them used to a halter and all.
00:19:15We're just taking these out.
00:19:17So we don't have too many horses in here right now before we start really working on breaking
00:19:21a horse.
00:19:22Some of these boys will be the first time they've ever been roped.
00:19:27We're going to get down to those in a minute.
00:19:30I'm a hunter.
00:19:33I started at nine years.
00:19:36These horses?
00:19:40That's the most dangerous one.
00:19:46Yes.
00:19:47Yes.
00:19:48Yes.
00:19:49Yes.
00:19:50Yes.
00:19:51Yes.
00:19:52Yes.
00:19:53Yes.
00:19:54It's not one of these horse whisper deals that you see on TV like from India where the
00:20:12guy gets on his back and, you know, rolls around on the ground with them.
00:20:16This is kind of done the old way.
00:20:29We're gentle with them, but they're still, it's breaking a horse.
00:20:33Yeah.
00:20:34This is the first time this animal's ever been roped.
00:20:47When the vaqueros called me to the corrals, I not only saw this as an opportunity to work
00:21:11with them, but to prove myself.
00:21:12Victoria then began to show me the first step of how they break their wild horses.
00:21:25Then he handed me the rope and said, Probalo, try it.
00:21:40But then you do that until he gets used to being in here and being on a halter.
00:22:00That's stage one, stage two is what they're doing now.
00:22:02There's some horses that take it really quickly.
00:22:12And they're very, they're very gentle and some of them are not.
00:22:27Look over here at my finger on the right.
00:22:29Let's watch this a little longer.
00:22:36The first step.
00:22:39It's the first step.
00:22:40And then this is the second step.
00:22:43And then the third step is the one that you put.
00:22:46And you know more or less about the animal.
00:22:48So that the horse, if he could actually rear up because he's got his back leg lift up, he could
00:23:16rear up right now.
00:23:23If he could rear up and all, he might rear over backwards, hurt himself.
00:23:28He could run.
00:23:29And this way he doesn't get hurt.
00:23:30He gets used to being touched.
00:23:45So that's why they keep hitting him with the saddle blanket, which of course doesn't hurt him at all, but it makes a noise.
00:23:49And he gets used to the sound and he gets, so he's not, he's not as scared anymore.
00:23:54So pretty soon they'll be able to put a saddle blanket on him.
00:23:56And then after a while, they'll be able to throw the saddle on him as well.
00:23:58Once the horse realizes that he can't move that well, then he won't buck, he won't take off running and he won't get hurt until he gets used to it.
00:24:18After once he gets used to all of this, because right now he feels kind of helpless because he can't get that back foot down.
00:24:23They get, you'll notice right now they're starting to move his back foot some.
00:24:26I'll start dealing with the back foot here in a minute and then they'll let his foot down.
00:24:34Do you want to get in the middle of the set of the crowd because he's going to start running?
00:24:38Do you want to get in the middle of the set of the crowd?
00:25:02It's difficult, very difficult. Why? Because you have to take a lot of care, try to kill the animal and know how to kill, not to kill a horse.
00:25:15You take care of yourself and you take care of others.
00:25:32This is the third time he's been raised.
00:26:02Once he's actually saddled and they're riding him, they'll come to a point very quickly where they'll actually take him out.
00:26:17He'll go out with the cowboys. They won't rope off of him for a while, but they'll start riding, going out on him daily, riding him daily.
00:26:26Then they'll let him go after a while and then bring him back in again.
00:26:29It's a period over about six months he would go from when he was first roped to when they put a saddle on him.
00:26:36About six months after you start riding him, then they're actually roping off of him and then he's pretty much a complete animal.
00:26:47You need a horse. You have to have a horse. Too many draws, too many creeks, too many cliffs. Everything is done on the horse.
00:26:54It's a little bit like this.
00:26:56It's like this process, I mean, how far back does it go?
00:27:26Oh, it's just a hundred years, yeah, I mean several hundred years, it's just the way
00:27:33it's always been done, so to speak.
00:27:37There was something truly special in doing a job that had never changed.
00:27:51I felt the connection, not only with my heritage, but with the Vaqueros, despite our differences
00:27:57and the corrals, we were equals.
00:27:59Returning home from Mexico, I have a newfound appreciation for where the legend began.
00:28:26It's no coincidence that the cowboy emerges in American national concerts after the Civil
00:28:33War.
00:28:34Up until the Civil War, there was this diverging sense of who we are.
00:28:39So the Southerners, we hold slaves and we're part of this slave society.
00:28:42Northerners, we're opposed to slavery and we have this different model.
00:28:46So what brings the country together after the Civil War?
00:28:49And again, it was no accident that the cowboy served very well.
00:28:54Because Northerners and Southerners could meet on the Western Plains and they could be sort
00:28:59of seen for what they are.
00:29:00Instead of having to deal with that baggage left from the Civil War, you know, do you know
00:29:04how to deal with the cattle?
00:29:05Can you brave the climate?
00:29:06Can you do all that stuff?
00:29:07So in some ways, the cowboy was this myth, not so much of creation exactly, but of a reunification
00:29:14myth.
00:29:15And so it pulls the country together at a time when the country most needs to be pulled together.
00:29:23Now that I know where the cowboy came from, I want to know where the cowboy's going.
00:29:49I really think there's something special about the nostalgia of cowboying and ranching.
00:29:56I mean, it's something that's a rich part of the American heritage.
00:30:05I don't want to ever really feel like we lose that.
00:30:07I just think that we have a purpose, we have an objective to not just kind of fall by the
00:30:12wayside.
00:30:13I mean, we've got so many tools at our fingertips to help us do it better.
00:30:19There will always be a place and a time for the cowboy.
00:30:26You need to have diversity, you have to be ready for change.
00:30:40So we'll just continue to evolve, I believe, and continue to get better and better.
00:30:47So we can do it better.
00:30:55So we can move on to the next stage.
00:30:59So we'll be happy.
00:31:59If I zoom way out, this is the scope of the ranch here.
00:32:02It goes about 45 miles southeast.
00:32:06There's more of a big view of it there as it goes across.
00:32:17My first morning on the I-X ranch, I noticed an immediate difference from Mexico.
00:32:38The faster pace, the machinery, and even the noises.
00:32:45Like up here, is that kind of more of a way of working cows?
00:32:59Maybe with like ATVs or with dirt bikes?
00:33:02I mean, is that kind of something you're seeing around here?
00:33:04Yes, and here's why.
00:33:05I grew up riding horses, but I also grew up riding four-wheelers and dirt bikes and those types of things.
00:33:11And we're constantly learning new and better ways to do things.
00:33:15It's like we were talking about the motorcycle.
00:33:16If someone were to see me out there on that, they'd be like, wow, that's not a cowboy.
00:33:20You know, and I'd be like, you know, you haven't flipped a few pages into the cover of the book yet.
00:33:30When it's 30 below and I got to bring in some cattle, I'm sorry.
00:33:34I'm not going to wear my cowboy boots and some chaps and a cowboy hat and go freeze my butt off out there just so I look like a cowboy.
00:33:42I'm going to look like an Eskimo out there and look probably like the silliest thing you've ever seen, barely getting around on a horse.
00:33:48I got to get the cow. I mean, I have to take care of the situation.
00:33:52I don't always have to look it to be it.
00:33:54Everything that this ranch does and generates is from what it has here.
00:33:58So I have to focus on efficiencies.
00:34:01The fact is, is I have a big job to do out here and we have a lot of land to cover and a lot of things to do.
00:34:07And my time is valuable.
00:34:09But you've got to train a horse, you've got to feed a horse, you've got to shoe a horse.
00:34:12Right.
00:34:13Less and less of that being done.
00:34:15The motorcycle for me, it allows me to see a lot of things in a day that on a horseback or taking my pickup would have a huge impact on the land.
00:34:24I can cover so much with that bike and see what I need to see as the manager of this place and know what needs to be done.
00:34:36I can easily go find if there's missing cattle somewhere.
00:34:40It's a part of my toolbox of things that I use to help me do my job better.
00:34:45So yes, I wouldn't say that it's like taking over because we're never going to be where we don't work at.
00:34:52You'll see on Tuesday.
00:34:54Sure.
00:34:55We just, we will, the gators will be out there.
00:34:57We'll use those, but it'll be to drift stuff to where we are with horses.
00:35:02We're still doing the same thing.
00:35:09What we're doing with the resource hasn't changed so much.
00:35:14I think there's a disconnect anymore on urban America and rural America.
00:35:23To get that stake to their plate takes, you know, a lot of work all the way down the line.
00:35:31But we do, we have a disconnect between what's really going on and what they think is going on.
00:35:36I think cowboys still handle cattle to the best welfare they can for the animal.
00:35:47And then for the people they're raising the cattle for.
00:35:51Do you know who that comedian Dick Swartzen is?
00:35:54Monday that's getting another 300 some head into the pasture.
00:36:08So there's 900 in there.
00:36:09So on Tuesday we can sort 900.
00:36:12Every year about this time we get ready for sorting.
00:36:24So we can start collecting these smaller groups into a large group.
00:36:27So that we can sort the steer pairs and the heifer pairs.
00:36:30And be ready to start shipping the steers at weeding time.
00:36:35I'm always thankful for being out here.
00:36:37Always kind of dreamed about going out west and being a cowboy out there, you know.
00:36:41I knew that if I didn't try it, then I'd always be regretting it.
00:36:52I didn't come out to change anything.
00:36:55I came out to do what was already there.
00:37:04You know, it's not all just about the boots, the chaps, the horses.
00:37:08It's about how you handle your cattle, how you treat the cattle.
00:37:11You know, just how you care for them.
00:37:25We're decided to become responsible for a living, breathing thing.
00:37:29You have to just be capable, I think is what it comes down to is you have to be able to do the job and it doesn't matter what you look like doing it.
00:37:40Well, I think that's really cool that your branch is kind of meeting the two styles in the middle.
00:37:49I'm hoping when you guys come away from it, you see that there are still cowboys, but that we're adapting, I guess.
00:37:56We have to take care of what we've got and we're just using the tools that we've got before us to do that.
00:38:01We're using it all.
00:38:17If you can't see shoes on horses making sparks in the night, then you know you're not out there really enough.
00:38:22I don't put my caps on, I don't know.
00:38:23I don't put my caps on, I don't know.
00:38:52I don't point your caps on, I don't point your caps in the night and I'm happy because I'm fishing yawn.
00:38:55You don't put your caps on, I don't want your caps on.
00:38:56I don't want your caps or Calvin Solon.
00:38:57I don't want your caps on that.
00:38:58I don't want your caps on that рассtapping a nice curtain.
00:38:59I feel like you're just gonna be careful.
00:39:00I don't like your caps off.
00:39:01You don't want AUTOMENICS.
00:39:02I don't want theirs to be careful.
00:39:03You're the same.
00:39:04You don't want your caps on, I just have your caps on.
00:39:05But it's the kind of お religions here.
00:39:07Well, the perhaps everything has their ownays to land.
00:39:10But there's aahanan on that point I can see.
00:39:12Okay.
00:39:13What's the difference?
00:39:14That was there.
00:39:15We'll see you next time.
00:39:45Do you have somebody that can go gather?
00:39:59Yeah, go ahead.
00:40:02They're going to have to go back.
00:40:04I can go down.
00:40:06I got about 50 head up here on top.
00:40:08Guys, I've got another steer pair coming down the fan.
00:40:15I'm going to have to go back.
00:40:45Okay, let's clean it up.
00:40:54Dale, can you clean it up?
00:40:55Yep.
00:41:02Okay, so Rusty, how many have we sorted today?
00:41:067-18.
00:41:087-18.
00:41:097-18.
00:41:10All right.
00:41:11After we finished sorting, Richard went straight back to his office to put all the numbers
00:41:25into his books.
00:41:26It's the hardest part of the business to focus on.
00:41:30I think there's a change, and there has to be a change, as it gets harder and harder to
00:41:35make money because it's still a business.
00:41:38You can't manage what you don't measure.
00:41:40By measuring what we're doing, we're able to make more proactive management decisions instead of being so dang reactive to everything.
00:41:50The cowboy will never go away.
00:41:53There will always be a need for people to do the hard jobs that no one else is willing to do.
00:41:57Because of the passion that we have for what we do, we're always learning.
00:42:03There will always be a place and a time for the cowboy.
00:42:07Coming home from Montana, I learned that not all cowboys look the same.
00:42:20Only their purpose does.
00:42:21Gary in Montana is one of the few people in my generation that I've come across pursuing the cowboy lifestyle.
00:42:41It seems like most millennials desire to know where their food comes from, but few desire to actually be a part of the process.
00:42:48So what is it?
00:42:49What keeps young people coming back to a seemingly fading way of life?
00:42:53I'm excited to explore this idea further on my next stop.
00:42:58In reality, there are a lot of things that people can do to make a lot more money.
00:43:02But it is a passion that our family has, and it's something that through the generations, our family has worked to not only keep the ranch in the family, but also the family in the ranch.
00:43:19Growing up, every time I would leave for school, my dad would always say the same thing.
00:43:27He would always say, son, be a leader today.
00:43:29We don't want to create pressure for our boys.
00:43:39We want them to do what they feel called to do.
00:43:43Wildlife was kind of where he had focused his attention and felt like that was what he wanted to do.
00:43:47He wanted to play college sports and live that dream, and that was an awesome experience.
00:43:52And after going to college and making a new group of friends and seeing that I really wasn't quite like those people.
00:44:04You know, we have such different backgrounds, but the background that I have I would never take back.
00:44:10I remember two years ago, Tucker went with me to the Florida Cattlemen's Convention.
00:44:23Each of those five ranches in Florida that we visited, guess what the question was?
00:44:29Tucker, I guess you're headed back to the ranch.
00:44:31And at each of those stops, he stumbled with that question.
00:44:36He didn't really know where he was headed next or what he was going to do.
00:44:40That night, he and I sat down for supper.
00:44:43And I said, Tucker, I want you to go and pursue your dreams and pursue your calling.
00:44:50Wherever it is, go where you feel called to go.
00:44:55And if that's at the ranch, the door is open.
00:44:57And it just seemed like there was this huge weight lifted off of his shoulders.
00:45:09And I learned that the more I was away from home, the more that I just was drawn back
00:45:13and connected to the land that was here.
00:45:22I was tied back home.
00:45:23And I do believe that's where we find true joy.
00:45:31It's when we live within our calling.
00:45:33I just had just thought of it that way.
00:45:43Let's find out.
00:45:44It was a day.
00:45:45When we're here.
00:45:46What?
00:45:46What?
00:45:47It was a day.
00:45:51Yeah.
00:45:51From creation forward, there have always been people that have accepted the call to be caretakers
00:46:11of His creation. And so I see that as a continual, not as a, for a period of time,
00:46:17this is what man will do. I think that is a continual calling of what man is called to do.
00:46:40We're just in the process of kind of sorting a lot of different ways. So yesterday and today,
00:46:44two big days for us. Weaning, we're sorting cows on two, three, four, five different ways,
00:46:52depending on which pasture they go to. So we're a lot of record keeping. Here,
00:46:56we're different being a seed stock herd, where we're raising breeding cattle.
00:47:02Individual animal management is very important. Instead of this pasture being a unit and that
00:47:07pasture being a unit, every single animal is a unit. So with that, we keep inventory of where
00:47:13every single animal goes. I mean, we've got spreadsheets this long showing every move
00:47:17that every cow has made on this ranch. Right down here at the far two pins, we've got an individual
00:47:25feed efficiency testing center. I mean, as you look at our global society, we've got a lot more mouths
00:47:31to feed. There's not any more land. So the best way I know to feed these people is to be more efficient
00:47:37in producing the food with the given resources that we have.
00:47:41So on this side of town, a lot of my family lives here in really close
00:48:10proximity. My wife and I just bought this house. We'll be moving into it here soon.
00:48:17And then just down the street is the house where my grandfather was raised and where he
00:48:22lives now. We don't know exactly where we've been. We've been south of town, past the South
00:48:34Brown Ranch, went west, turned north, came out by 50 miles. Where all we've been? Dad,
00:48:43did you have a hat or a cap? Okay. Anyway, y'all come on in. It started in about 1903 in the early
00:48:57year. There were a lot of times in the cattle industry, and a lot of it was just new and different.
00:49:12Changes happened in a lot of ways, but in a lot of ways it was the same.
00:49:19The cattle, the horses, the things that made a lot of difference. And as it changed, we changed with it.
00:49:37We do a lot of things, horseback and today you're in a pickup, but still love it and take care of it.
00:49:50We had a lot of fun and a lot of, a lot of hard work to it. We're just part of it and part of the
00:49:58family and another generation is coming on. And it means a lot to us. Has it been fun watching dad?
00:50:10It's a real neat deal to help one another. Like I said, it doesn't just happen.
00:50:17It's taken a few generations, hasn't it? Yeah. And more to come. And more to come.
00:50:28You know, when people get tied to something, that always brings you back to something. You
00:50:31want to help. You want to be a part of that. Have you been noticing like a generational gap?
00:50:39So there's, yeah, there's been a generation gap of people that didn't necessarily come back,
00:50:43that were born here, but didn't come back. And we've seen that in our school numbers dropping
00:50:48in the past three years. Now my generation and the millennials, I guess you'd say, are starting to
00:50:54come back and be a part of the community, which has been fun to watch. Of my age group, I'm one of
00:51:00the first to come back, but we're trying to make it to where there's not another generational gap.
00:51:05Gotcha. You know, we want to make it, we want to make it better, whatever way we can.
00:51:11What a group of people have been doing for a short time now in Throckmorton is really trying to revive
00:51:16the school. Because if the school falls, the town falls. We've seen it happen in a lot of rural communities.
00:51:24Nelson, you've, throughout all of our conversations about Throckmorton School District, you've talked
00:51:32a lot about what are our expectations for our children. And I'd love to hear from the newest
00:51:38resident and homeowner of Throckmorton, Texas, of his expectations of why he moved back to Throckmorton,
00:51:45if he can do that in 30 seconds. Took you more than 30 seconds to ask that question.
00:51:56My expectation is a place to be tied to. Whenever I graduated high school, I didn't have the intention
00:52:02on coming back. I've lived here my whole life, but this has been different because I'm moving in with a
00:52:13new life. I can be a part of a lot, a lot of different things in the community that I couldn't
00:52:19whenever I was in school. I've definitely seen how everyone loves each other here. You know, if you
00:52:27don't move back, the town's not going to be here. I want to come back to the ranch and I want the town
00:52:31to be here. We're coming in at a really good time and that, you know, we needed Throckmorton,
00:52:37and Throckmorton needed us. The impact the Browns had on Throckmorton was easy to see,
00:52:49just how they cared and loved for those around them.
00:52:56But their influence was not limited to only Throckmorton. In my last days there, they began
00:53:01preparations for a ranch rodeo coming up that their family had a large presence in.
00:53:08This would be the 37th annual Texas Ranch Roundup in Wichita Falls. And my dad gathered up three or
00:53:17four ranches. Wouldn't it be neat if we could find a way for our ranch cowboys to get back to
00:53:26what we do on a daily basis at the ranch? He had kind of a vision of being different than regular
00:53:35rodeos. Going to a ranch rodeo and seeing the more kind of the way rodeo really started was what we've
00:53:42returned back to with ranch rodeo, where the men on our ranches can compete and you do it with a team
00:53:48and you do it with guys that you're with and work with all the time. And so my dad helped start this,
00:53:54which is now, I mean, Ranch Rodeo is across the nation and people love it because it's their
00:54:00hometown team that they come to cheer for. So team meeting here for Ranch Rodeo. Big weekend ahead,
00:54:07excited about it. We want to get all the plans made, what needs to be done here and there,
00:54:13and kind of coordinate that and come up with a game plan. So Landon, would you kick us off?
00:54:18I pray, please. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for the ranch that's in our way. Lord,
00:54:28thank you for allowing us to do what we love to do.
00:54:36Our Lord, please keep your head of protection over all the cowboys and livestock this weekend.
00:54:41Amen. I'm shining your love. Jesus, I'm a prayer. Amen.
00:54:44Everybody that's there, I would love for you to go cheer on Tucker and Carly, their talent
00:54:50competition's that won. Okay. Do you know what you're going to do? Nope.
00:54:58We talked about it last night. We were like, we might want to figure something out.
00:55:01Want to sing if Tim McGraw and Faith Hill do it? I would.
00:55:04but maybe it's a Jackson-out team.
00:55:09Y'all want to win this thing?
00:55:10Absolutely.
00:55:14We won this event in 1984-1992 in 2006.
00:55:20I'd love to win this cycle.
00:55:22It'd be great.
00:55:27One, two, three.
00:55:29It's time, primed in time, to win this baby again.
00:55:42Okay, let's do it.
00:55:43So, every year, a saddle's awarded to the top cowboy at the Ranch Rodeo.
00:56:03And in 1992, Donald Brown won it.
00:56:07And so Lanham's been training to hopefully win it this year.
00:56:14This show, my goal is to go in there and be slow and smooth
00:56:19and let him be correct, more laid back and ready to go.
00:56:26Lanham is very talented.
00:56:28He's great with a horse.
00:56:29He's great with a rope.
00:56:30He understands cattle.
00:56:32You know, he's a very talented cowboy.
00:56:37I think that this saddle would be a really big award for him
00:56:40that he's always won it.
00:56:47I'm confident Lanham's going to win that saddle.
00:56:49Hello, Texas, Wichita Falls.
00:57:00How are you tonight on a Saturday night?
00:57:06Well, we thank you.
00:57:07This is the original, the granddaddy of them all, 37 consecutive years.
00:57:13The Ranch Roundup right here.
00:57:15I'm Charlie Throckmorton, Grandview, Texas, along with my partner in crime,
00:57:20James Orcasitas from Las Cruces, New Mexico.
00:57:23And the intention of the event was to bring the ranch cowboys off the ranch,
00:57:38bring them to town, and have good friendly competition.
00:57:42And the events that mirror what we do on the ranch on a regular basis.
00:57:47You know, wild cow milking every now and then, you've got to catch a cow out in the pasture.
00:58:04I don't know.
00:58:05Yeah.
00:58:09Boys, get angry, out of here, look.
00:58:12Stand there, helping them on the fly.
00:58:16Don't spill that milk!
00:58:18And, you know, branding calves, and doctoring one when he gets sick,
00:58:22and being able to rope and do it in the pasture.
00:58:25You know, those are all real-life situations.
00:58:27Pinning cattle out of, you know, taking them out of the herd, putting them into a pen.
00:58:34R.A. Brown!
00:58:36You know, bronc riding, we still break horses today, and we need to ride one that can buck.
00:58:40The camaraderie has been amazing among the teams for 37 years since this event began.
00:59:02Those multi-day tournaments, you don't win it in the first day.
00:59:09Right.
00:59:10You can only lose it.
00:59:14They're in striking distance to do some good tonight.
00:59:16We're just, you know, it's fun.
00:59:32In all these places, just drive out in the country, and you're going to find the same basic culture that you find in Throckmorton, Texas.
00:59:51Texas is alive in South Saga City in Japan, is in Australia and all the way
01:00:00to wherever you go. All you have to do is drive out in the country and find it.
01:00:05It's not very far away.
01:00:10And if people in the outside world could see that that's what's out here, maybe it
01:00:16can't restore some of that you're feeling about mankind. Still out there, there are those kind of people.
01:00:33In my time with the Brown family, I have not only felt their love and seen how it impacts their community,
01:00:39but I also see them as a beacon of hope for the future of the Cowboy.
01:00:46As Americans found themselves more and more living in cities, and working for other people, and being at the mercy of forces beyond their control, the idea that at one time there was this figure who was in control of his own destiny,
01:01:15his own destiny. This becomes even more powerful the farther it is from everyday reality.
01:01:22Nations sort of live on their myths, the stories they tell themselves about themselves.
01:01:29I feel myself closer to a better understanding of the Cowboy.
01:01:34But Kelly's words ring in my ear as I return home.
01:01:38Is it true? No matter where I go, will I find the same culture, the same passion, the same spirit?
01:01:44Let's find out.
01:01:46Let's find out.
01:02:14The Gauchos traditional Gauchos are people who used the extansinos in the beginning of the 19th century to do things, to make a troop, to kill cows.
01:02:29There was no one to do that, there was no people.
01:02:30There was no people, so those gauchos that came and came through the pampa,
01:02:35one needed them a lot, so they could do things.
01:02:39The taxidermist is that those gauchos are legendary. Why?
01:02:45Well, I think one part is because of this gaucho Martin Fierro that I tell you.
01:02:50The boys go up to that legend of the wrong man who goes from one place to the other,
01:02:55who sometimes fights and is dead with a knife in the back,
01:03:00and if not, I don't know, he doesn't even have a penny or a penny.
01:03:06He has his horse, his arm, his knife, his knife and his mate.
01:03:10Nothing more.
01:03:14We have heard the legend of the gaucho.
01:03:16Now it's time to go and see the real thing.
01:03:19We were invited to go to Miguel's Estancia in Patagonia,
01:03:22just outside of San Martin de los Andes.
01:03:25I like that work.
01:03:46I like that work.
01:03:55And I enjoy every moment.
01:04:06We all come from the field.
01:04:08Our grandparents, our grandparents, our grandparents, our grandparents, our grandparents.
01:04:11I'm sure some of them were immigrants
01:04:14and someone started as a farmer or a farmer.
01:04:17I think it can be from there, from that side.
01:04:22One is looking to see how we lived before.
01:04:31And in many respects, we do a lot of things as we did before.
01:04:36There are much lower prices.
01:04:39We have to get up with the edge.
01:04:40We have to get up with the wood,
01:04:41we have to get up with the wood,
01:04:42and we have to get up with the wood.
01:04:43The truth is that Gaucho and all my family are in the field.
01:04:58My grandma and my dad were all in the field, and that's why I am the same.
01:05:13The Gaucho traditional, and they, as philosophy, did not want to be employed.
01:05:20They were very proud.
01:05:22They paid their time.
01:05:25Sometimes they paid their money.
01:05:28They didn't interest anything.
01:05:30In the same way, they did not ask me one.
01:05:35To manage a chain, put a knife in the waist, put a hat on the heels,
01:05:42a shirt, a jacket or a horse, a suitcase or a vest.
01:05:49We couldn't have the place in this place.
01:05:52In these areas of Patagonia, more than a business, it's a life choice.
01:06:09It's my way of life.
01:06:22It's my way of life.
01:06:32It's my way of life.
01:06:38It's my way of life.
01:06:44It's my way of life.
01:06:54It's my way of life.
01:07:04It's my way of life.
01:07:10It's my way of life.
01:07:20It's my way of life.
01:07:26It's my way of life.
01:07:34It's my way of life.
01:07:40It's my way of life.
01:07:42I love the city, I love the city.
01:07:44I love the city.
01:07:46I love the city.
01:07:48I love it.
01:07:50I love the city.
01:07:54It's my way of life.
01:07:56You're a bit better.
01:07:58Once we finished working cattle that morning, we stopped by a creek, unsaddled, watered
01:08:24our horses and started a fire.
01:08:33And because of the coolness of the weather, they even packed lunch in their saddlebags.
01:08:41So, we're going to get a little bit of water, but we're going to get a little bit of water.
01:08:59We're going to get a little bit of water.
01:09:05Let's go.
01:09:35There are many times when you don't want to speak, it's like silence, it's like peace
01:09:57with the Earth. I don't know how to say it, but it's very beautiful. I didn't find it in other instances, it's different from here, I think.
01:10:11I think that sometimes we enjoy that silence. If we work here in the field, it's because we like it, the tranquility, the loneliness.
01:10:21So, we don't need to be talking all the time. It's nice to hear silence or the river.
01:10:39It's a beautiful story. My grandfather was a very adventurous guy. He liked the adventure.
01:10:47My grandfather, who was quite intellectual, was shocked by the war panorama that was organized in that time, in the first decades of the 20th century.
01:11:01So, he said, look, I have 14 children, I have a few, I can dedicate two or three children to do something for the family,
01:11:12for if it's here in Europe, it's really weird, you have to go. So, my grandfather said, I want to go.
01:11:19He went to different places. He went to Córdoba, to Mendoza, and finally he went to the province of Neuquén.
01:11:33He came here and started to explore everything. He found that fantastic place, that still is fantastic, and he bought it.
01:11:46He bought it and he came to three brothers more, that were four brothers of the family.
01:11:53There is a legend. They lived here in the countryside, they founded this place at the beginning of the century.
01:12:02So, my grandfather and his four brothers organized the place.
01:12:08It begins the War of 1914, which was confirmed all the fear that my grandfather had had,
01:12:14that came to the war, you know? So, what do they do is, they fall into a boat,
01:12:19the four brothers, and come to fight the war in Europe.
01:12:24So, four of them made the promise that they were going to take a cross above the hill,
01:12:31and when they returned, they were going to go down.
01:12:35Of the four brothers, two died in the war, two brothers of my grandfather.
01:12:40So, two of them did not return and stayed in those crosses.
01:12:44Then, with the time, one was left alone because the wind broke the wind or the climate,
01:12:49and then the patrons decided to make another symbolic material, of iron,
01:12:55and put the rest of wood inside.
01:12:58So, that is a bit of a legend of why the cross is above the River of the Pines River.
01:13:04Before I arrived in Argentina, I heard that Miguel had written a book about the forming of his ranch in Patagonia.
01:13:19So, when I asked him about it, he was thrilled to show me.
01:13:22Where is that?
01:13:23Where is that?
01:13:24There.
01:13:25This.
01:13:26A pioneer.
01:13:27Why did you want to write that?
01:13:31Because the story is very beautiful.
01:13:33I had many stories.
01:13:34Look, here there were a number of things that I wanted to be forgotten.
01:13:37How did a whole family adapt to a place so different?
01:13:42They lived in a chateau in the center of France, right?
01:13:46And suddenly, they were in a place where there was nothing.
01:13:51Everything that they knew did not serve for anything.
01:13:54They had to start learning everything, right?
01:13:58This is my grandfather.
01:14:02And how did you know him?
01:14:03A lot.
01:14:04I was very friends of him.
01:14:06This is me and this is my grandfather.
01:14:11And you wrote this to show your family and to always belong?
01:14:15I think so, to not to lose everything.
01:14:18Because I realized that I have the chance to have a good memory.
01:14:22So, I remember a lot of things that he told me when I was young.
01:14:26Because he taught me stories, taught me a lot of things.
01:14:30What is your memory of your grandfather?
01:14:33Well, my grandfather died when I was 20 years old.
01:14:46I lived a long time with him.
01:14:49And then we did all kinds of trips.
01:14:51And he taught me how to relate to people.
01:14:56It was very pleasant to talk to him.
01:14:59It was very interesting.
01:15:00And there was a few people who had those stories.
01:15:03So, I said, if I don't write this to this,
01:15:07this will be lost, it will disappear.
01:15:09And it's a whole part of the history of the Patagonia population
01:15:14that appears in this family that came there.
01:15:17It's installed when there was nothing.
01:15:19And it started to be something that today is very known.
01:15:22But at that time, it was nothing.
01:15:23Well, here is the book for you.
01:15:26Really?
01:15:27Yes, yes, yes.
01:15:28Can I borrow it?
01:15:29Yes, thank you very much.
01:15:31Thank you very much.
01:15:33Thank you very much.
01:15:35Thank you, Miguel.
01:15:37Well, as it turns out, Kelly was right.
01:15:58It doesn't matter where you go.
01:16:00But if you venture into the country,
01:16:02you will find people that share a commonality of servitude.
01:16:07from the animals in the pasture to the food on our plates.
01:16:17And if you take the time to get to know them,
01:16:19what's earned is a better understanding and appreciation
01:16:21for what they do for us, thanklessly, day in and day out.
01:16:25.
01:16:27.
01:16:30.
01:16:32.
01:16:34.
01:16:36.
01:16:37.
01:16:39.
01:16:43Yeah, yeah.
01:16:44Yeah.
01:16:45Yeah.
01:16:46Yeah.
01:16:47Yeah.
01:16:48Yeah.
01:16:49Yeah.
01:16:50Yeah.
01:16:51Yeah.
01:16:52Yeah.
01:16:53Yeah.
01:16:54Yeah.
01:16:55Yeah.
01:16:56Yeah.
01:16:57Yeah.
01:16:58Yeah.
01:16:59Yeah.
01:17:00Yeah.
01:17:01Yeah.
01:17:08Returning home from Argentina, I bring Miguel Story home with me.
01:17:12And I'm reminded of just how powerful a story can be.
01:17:19For you, in your opinion, what is the future of the vaquero?
01:17:24What is the future of the vaquero?
01:17:28Well, there are a lot of things about the future of the vaquero.
01:17:33Well, now, we can do it.
01:17:35But tomorrow, who knows?
01:17:37Well, I think that's the story of the vaquero.
01:17:38That's the place is for the landing tower.
01:17:39When you tell this story, you automatically, I think, help ensure that there is a future.
01:17:52As much myth as it is history, myths are very powerful.
01:17:53Although the moment of the cowboy in history is brief, the moment of the cowboy in American
01:17:57memory goes on and on.
01:17:59The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:01The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:04The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:05The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:11The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:14The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:18The moment of the cowboy in American memory goes on and on.
01:18:28All establish one place where we could all relate to, and we could all come back to.
01:18:33And we can all come back to one place where we all came from.
01:18:45Very important place.
01:19:03And we can all come back to one place where we all came from.
01:19:31Returning home, it's an honor to share the stories of my journey.
01:19:37Stories of family, of courage, of change, and of unity.
01:20:01And I cannot put to rest the questions that once burned inside me.
01:20:07The truth of the cowboy is simple.
01:20:09It's our histories that make us different, but our future that brings us together.
01:20:13Toward a common purpose, feeding the world one plate at a time.
01:20:31And we all have a call to answer to.
01:20:49And we all have a call to answer to one place where we all came from.
01:21:11Seek, and you will find.
01:21:17Knock, and the door will be opened to you.
01:21:19We all have a call to be opened to you.
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