OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida cowboys and ranchers are out in Okeechobee for the Great Florida Cattle Drive. More than 300 people trek across Florida ranches, driving cattle as they did back in the 19th century. It’s a way to honor the cattle heritage of Florida.
WATCH BELOW: 'The heritage is important, because that's what's providing our food,' David Hunt tells WPTV's Tyler Hatfield
“We drive cattle across the landscapes of Florida,” said David Hunt, president of Florida Cattle Culture Preservation Committee. “Most folks don't ever get to see."
Hunt said it’s held every five to 10 years and over 300 ranchers, cowboys, or anyone up for the challenge, trek around 80 miles, over five days, from Yeehaw Junction to Okeechobee. Together, they drive cattle, in the traditional 19th century way.
“This is not the Holiday Inn or the Hilton,” said Hunt. “We took about 500 head of cattle across about 13 different ranches and we camped every night in this very cold weather that Florida’s not used to.”
They’re embracing it in the cold temperatures.
“It's frost on the tent, and you're having to get up at 4 a.m. in a cold tent, put your clothes on, saddle your horse, feed your horse,” said Hunt. “Yesterday morning, horses had solid frost on top of them.”
They sleep in tents, ride covered wagons and have meals out of chuck wagons. They rested outside of Okeechobee, the last day of camp, before heading to the Okeechobee Rodeo Arena on Saturday.
Cow boss Travis Brown explains to WPTV reporter Tyler Hatfield how they herd.
“We'll lead them where we want them to go. We don't want them to run. We don't want them to zigzag. We want them to go from point A to point B in the straightest line we can,” said Brown. “The dogs are there to stop if they want to run off. We send a dog, and the dog goes to the front of that cow, because we do not want her getting into the big swamps and marsh.”
Hunt said this is about embracing their cattle driving heritage.
“The heritage is important, because that's what's providing our food,” said Hunt. “Not only our people, but our country and the world. If we lose our lands to development, and we lose our cattle industry, we have lost our food security.”
"If we don't tell our story, we've got a great story to tell,” said Brown. “We just got to tell it.”
