DAY 1 - THEY MOUNT UP!
By Ira GostinSunday
They came from all over the United States: Doctors, lawyers, a newspaper publisher, a landscaper, some on vacation and some retired. All with the same goal of fulfilling a lifetime dream of being a cowboy. Today the guest cowboys and cowgirls of the 15th annual Reno Rodeo Cattle Drive arrived at camp on the way to their cowboy adventure.
"Finally getting to ride the horses and find out which horse is mine is the best part of the first day," said Lois Doherty of Naples, Florida who is on the drive her husband.
In addition to the 45 guests on the drive, 35 enthusiasts volunteer their time to contribute as the crew. Regina Brush, 69 of Fernley, Nev., is a guest drover on the Cattle Drive. During the five-day drive, she will be part camp counselor, mom, grandma, and instructor in the art of cowboying.
She volunteers her week to help present this very Western adventure to the guests. "I enjoy the camaraderie that I receive from the guests and the crew. Everyone is outstandingly friendly," she said. "It's fun doing something like this that everyone enjoys."
Regina comes from a ranching family in Nevada. Her father brought the first Brahmas to the state, and her daughter now carries on that tradition with her own cattle. Regina¹s grand-daughters are flag girls on the Reno Rodeo Flag Team.
Sunday's dinner was cowboy prime rib, barbecued chicken, potatoes, salad, Dutch oven biscuits, fruit and Starbucks coffee. Special guests for dinner were 2005 Reno Rodeo president Wayne Lund, a former Trail Boss of the Cattle Drive as well as the other officers of the association. Entertainment for the evening was with Reno-based recording artist Rick Hays and his band American Steel. The group just released their new CD, Nevadatude.
The drive gets under way Monday morning as the group will leave the Sand Corrals and head to Campbell Springs.
Read on to learn what happened on Day 2