Holy Buffalo or, I Mean, Holy Bison!

Today is the second day of the three-day Antelope Island Buffalo Roundup and we have a group anticipating the ride of their life. It’s a chilly late October morning and we gather to hear the Utah State Park Rangers preview the events of the day in the mandatory orientation.  We are coached on temperaments and warning signs the bison give as we go over safety precautions for our horses and ourselves.  There is an element of excitement heightened by potential danger.  Bison are known to charge if irritated and the ranger points out the warning signs - the tail going up and ears going back.  After the orientation, our outfitter finalizes saddling horses and matches them to riders in preparation for the eventful morning. 

We saddle up and head out.  Luckily, there is a large herd of bison not far from Fielding Garr Ranch.  Our large group spreads out and starts yelling, waving hands, hats and other paraphernalia to get the attention of the bison.  Hopefully, this will create the desire for them to move north toward the corrals located 12 miles away.   The plan is to keep the bison in motion and along the eastern side of the hills.  An effective formation of riders was a “U” shape.  It was important to keep the bison moving forward and to prevent them from escaping up into the mountains, or completely changing direction and running back toward you.  At the same time we needed to maintain a large presence at the back end of the bison, pushing for forward momentum.  Round ‘em up and head ‘em out!  Imagine the adrenaline rush of running along side these huge beasts with your horse focused on the terrain and you intently watching other riders, the bison and trying to anticipate their unpredictable actions.  It’s obviously no Sunday ride as your horse is running up and down valleys, over rocky or grassy terrain, through small streams and working up quite a sweat.  The bison’s tongues are hanging out as we keep them moving.  Throughout the day we have to be acutely aware of the bison and their body language. The horsemen and women are striving to communicate so all are working as one.  On occasion, you hear someone yell for a rider up ahead to watch out as a bison breaks from the herd and threatens their safety.  Talk about having someone watch your back!  The heat is on but, thankfully, the cool temperature helps with the comfort level.  I ride up along side of one of our participants and ask him if he is enjoying the ride.  He responds by saying it’s a close comparison to riding in an F-16.   

As we move the bison along to the north, small herds are integrated into the large moving mass.  Reaching the summit overlooking the corrals the bison decide to take a rest.  And there’s no changing their minds!  We had an awful time trying to get the herd moving again.  There were riders “charging” the mass and the rest hollering and waving anything available and, to our relief, we were finally able to provide enough commotion to get them moving forward again toward the corrals.  While charging the herd one of our riders was shocked to see a bison charging right back at him! Stupefied, we watched the bison’s horns come within inches of his horse’s hindquarter before the horse kicked back and made its escape.  Wow, was that close! 

It is an incredible sight to watch hundreds of bison charging down off the hill along a fence line towards one large open gate in the corral.  The earth seems to shake just like stampedes in the old Western movies! After successfully closing the gate, our group gathered around the outfitter who had packed our lunches before we began the excitement of the day.  It was with pride that we dismounted and sat around watching the bison settle in while we sat on the scattered rocks and ate our very well earned lunches.  Some of our group elected to extend the day and take the 12-mile ride back to the Ranch but several others were relieved to hear there was alternate transportation.  The next day I returned to saddle up three more horses for another day of intense riding with two fresh new companions.  Remarkably, I was still able to walk and riding was bearable with a borrowed saddle cushion. 

Three days later as I was gathering pictures to share with our group one of our participants emailed back that he was finally able to sit again without pain.  Well-earned pain that will long be forgotten when it comes time again for next year’s roundup!   Saddle ‘em up and ride ‘em out! 

Davis Area Convention and Visitors Bureau