Yearn to Wander

Texas Longhorn Bull

Remember Compton's stories of the nineteenth century trail drives north from Texas to Montana? The fact and fiction of the Texas Longhorn has long fascinated me, so seeing them as we drove by the Missoula County Fair was an automatic come-on. It'd been a long time since I'd been to a good fair, and this was one.

A few Longhorns still come north from Texas, but now trucks carry them along Interstate 29 or 25 or 15 to Montana. Charlie, a dedicated rancher of several decades, owned the three on display at the fair. His runs his herd of 100 on horseback, not by 4x4, on his 2 Heart Bar Ranch near Plains, MT. He's quite proud of continuing the older ways. The Longhorn is a docile animal, very sturdy, and a low cholesterol producer. His herd grazes the Western Montana grasslands all year. They tolerate the hot, dry Montana summer, as well as the bitter cold, snowy Montana winters. Unfortunately, drought conditions in the Plains area, unlike the rest of Montana, caused Charlie's hay crop to fizzle. Now he's buying hay from as far away as central Washington state. Still he remains positive about the business he loves.

As I watched the cattle judging, a light bulb went on. Only after finishing my Chessie and seeing cattle judging again did I realize that showing dogs and showing cattle have the same purpose: to determine the animal's conformation to a breed standard, which determines its suitability for breeding. However, I did notice one difference: the judge explained his selections. Dog show judges rarely gave me their reasons. Perhaps it's because the fair's exhibitors were youngsters?

The exhibits all resembled those I'd seen years ago. But seeing the unusual was fun. The 4-H exhibit contained some excellent needlecraft that belied the teen years of their seamstresses. The usual animals: horses, goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, duck, turkeys, rabbits were on display and being groomed for showing. Only the llamas were new for me at the fair. But most exciting was seeing the youngsters working their animals. They all demonstrated an independence, responsibility, and maturity beyond their years, and still seemed to be having fun with their friends and competition. Maybe they're some of our future leaders?

P.S. Charlie told me was that Longhorn's horns are living tissue so they grow as long as the animal is alive. He has one whose horns measure 91.5 inches from tip to tip. So how do they get through the barn door? They tilt their head.