Tradition makes life on trail special

Tradition is the driving force behind many of the 3,000 cowboys who participate in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Trail Ride, which ended Saturday as riders merged into the parade for the final stretch to the rodeo grounds.

The rhythm of the ride has much the same feel as when it started in 1952: Riders rise at dawn, clean their campgrounds, feed the horses and prepare meals for a 6 a.m. departure on their journey from their hometown into Memorial Park.

Some have spent the entire year, outside of their day jobs, planning details of the ride. The effort is well spent, said 55-year-old Ricky Nelson, who made the weeklong, 70-mile trek from Anderson in Grimes County with the Texas Cattleman’s trail riders, one of 13 groups involved in this year’s ride. For kids, grandkids

Nelson returned to the ride two years ago after taking a break in 1982 to raise his family. His teenage nephew joined the ride and Nelson is excited for his toddler grandson to be old enough to come too.

“It’s important for the future,” said Nelson, who works in heavy machinery only because he says being a cowboy doesn’t pay the bills. “Once I got my kids raised, I realized how important this was. If I didn’t step in, nobody was going to continue it. This is for the kids. This is for our grandkids.”

Riders spend the entire week on the road, which occasionally proves to be dangerous. Just a few days prior Nelson and his horse Bandit were hit by a motorcycle. Neither were injured.

“People on the road have no idea,” Nelson said. “They come by blowing horns. They’re being friendly, but the horses get scared.”

Despite the risks, Nelson has an undeniable bond to the cowboy life. He even describes his dream job as one he spent working on a cattle ranch.

“I was riding since I was 2 years old,” he said. “My dad had horses, all of my family had horses. I was raised around horses my whole life. I have been a cowboy all my life.” Rewarding journey

While Nelson’s group had one of the shortest rides, 45 riders from the Los Vaqueros traveled 386 miles from the Reynosa, Mexico-Hidalgo border.

David Ramirez, trail boss of the Los Vaqueros, has a day job in Houston, but takes three of his four weeks of vacation to do the ride.

“The most rewarding part of it is seeing the gratification and seeing the big smiles on the children’s faces,” Ramirez said. “We go through about nine schools and we take the trail ride to the children.”

The group was started 41 years ago in 1973 by Ramirez’s father, Larry, and David has been doing trail rides since the age of 12. He now has four children who participate in trail rides and three who made the ride.

“We ride for tradition, and it’s a hobby for the children,” Ramirez said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun.”