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Locals Report On Great Florida Cattle Drive

By Karen Pando
    The Great Florida Cattle Drive of 2026 is now in the history books, as it was run from January 26-31.  This event runs every five years and celebrates Florida cattle history as it was one of the first cattle states in this young country.  For many years Florida was in the top three for cattle production.  However, population growth and expansion into rural lands have seen the numbers dwindle to 9th in 2024 for beef production.  The main counties involved in cattle production are Okeechobee, Highlands, and Osceola. This event brings attention to this important aspect of agriculture and celebrates the history of the Florida cracker cowboy.  
    Four local equestrians participated in the cattle drive; Brittany Filetti along with daughter Hannah and friends Jackie Triplett and Taylor mustered up the grit to tackle the drive.  It started in Okeechobee County and ran for about 80 miles finishing in Okeechobee Cattleman’s Arena.  They brought four of the Mustangs which seem so fitting for this event.  And if you know Brittany, you know that she just loves this breed of horse.  They are smart and willing and so much fun. Brittany logged each day in a journal and I have her permission to print parts of it so we can all enjoy their journey.
    From Brittany’s journal: “We arrived Sunday (January 25) at 9 a.m., checked in and started setting up camp. We dropped our trailer at the end location and were shuttled back to camp via bus. During the day we walked around camp with the horses, met lots of new people, and played games in the pavilion. Dinner was Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, corn, bread, and peach cobbler. It was delicious! Our group is the “Buckskin” group!  Looking forward to an awesome week! We will be getting up Monday at 4:30 a.m. to dress, feed horses, take down camp, eat breakfast and be in the saddle by 6:30-6:45 a.m. ready to ride!
    “Monday, we woke up at 4:30 a.m. and were tacked and in the saddle by 6:45 a.m.  This was our longest ride of the week at 14-15 miles. We got to see the sun rise and meet several people who live local and far away. It is fun exchanging stories and hearing where everyone is from. We got to our lunch destination early and rested for a bit while waiting for the lunch crew. Just after lunch was passed out, a bad rain storm passed through soaking everyone! Our group rushed to a nearby covering and waited out the torrential rain until it lessened. Most were not as fortunate though. The sun eventually came back out, warmed us up again and dried most our clothes. We encountered lots of water crossings that may not have been there due to the previous heavy rain. Poor Jackie and Boone took a muddy bath. As most you know, Boone loves to lay down in water. Jackie tried her best to keep him up, but he was not going to let that cool water/mud go to waste!
    “We made it back to camp around 4 p.m. That gave us just enough time to water and clean horses, get their dinner, and set up camp before dark. Dinner was delicious beef stew, cornbread, and apple crisp. Just the perfect thing as the wind blew the cold front in as we were eating. Settled in for the night hoping to catch up on some rest. Nope! Woke up just after 10 p.m. to Faith whinnying, then Boone and Prince. Weird! My horses never call to each other. Peek my head out and Tucker is gone! Thankfully my friend Gail told me to put lights on my horse at night. After walking around for almost 10 minutes I finally spotted his blue light far in the distance! Thankfully he was safe but apparently learned to jump in his hobbles. He is now on a high line across camp for the rest of the evening.  We now have two horses staked, one in hobbles, and one on a high line. Thankful we practiced several methods of restraining before the trip!
    “I am grateful we get to make this journey with all mustangs and show everyone what amazing horses they are! We have been seeking out other mustangs on this trip and connecting with other mustang owners. Hoping to get a group picture with all the mustangs at the end of the week.
    “Tuesday (January 27) was a later start day. We got to sleep in until 6:30 a.m. and had to be in the saddle by 8:45 a.m. It was nice to break down camp with full sunlight. The morning was chilly but warmed up later in the afternoon.
    Luckily all horses stayed where they were supposed to be the rest of the night and I was able to get some well needed sleep. Breakfast was bacon, eggs, and cheese grits. We did some road riding today and stopped at someone’s ranch for camp. This was a shorter ride only about 4-5 miles. Lunch was held at camp today and not on the trail. It was a sack lunch with sandwich, chips, fruit, and cookies. We got lots of time to set up camp before dinner.
    So thankful our friends Sierra, Lisa and Beki hooked us up with hot wire fencing for the night for Tucker. We have now officially used all four possible restrain systems for the horses. This trip seriously takes a village! So thankful everyone is willing to help and lend a hand. We played some cards while waiting for dinner. Tonight, we had hearty bean soup, corn bread, and blueberry cobbler. After dinner we got to watch some team roping. Jay was kind enough to let me catch ride on his horse. I may have sucked but had a blast anyway. I am seriously living my dream. Just wish it was a little bit warmer!
    “I cannot believe it is already Wednesday! This morning our camp was visited by two horses from our group at 3 a.m. They escaped their hot wire fencing and jumped all the way over to visit Faith in their hobbles. We were able to find the owners and get them back to them. Luckily, we were able to fall back asleep after. We set our alarm for 5:30 a.m. but hit the snooze twice before getting up. Breakfast was served at 6 a.m. and we had to ride out 7:45 a.m. It is hard motivating yourself to get out in 32-degree weather in the dark. Our tent had frost on it, the saddle bags had frost and we had ice in the water buckets. Burr! It was challenging packing up a frosty frozen tent.
    “Today’s ride was about 10 miles and my favorite so far. It was cold and windy but that did not take away from the beautiful scenery. Tomorrow, we get to be with the cows. Whoop whoop! When we got back to camp today and started unpacking, our tent still had frost on it. We had to lay it out in the sun to defrost and dry before putting it back up. While unpacking, I noticed my hair brush was no longer in my saddle bags. Jackie lost her hairbrush as well on the trail the day she took a mud bath. Since neither of us no longer had a brush, we had to use the horse mane and tail brush. Good thing they will not mind. For dinner we had goulash and some apple dessert. We stayed in the dining area and played Spoons until we could not handle the cold anymore. We are now bundled up and in bed ready to face another cold night and morning. I am loving the memories we are making and the friendships we have built!
    “Thursday morning was another chilly 33 degrees with lots of frost and more frozen buckets. This time I remembered to cover my tack and saddle bags overnight. Funny thing, it did not matter though! When I tacked up, my tack was frost free. By the time we finished breakfast and broke down camp, it had frost on it. If that does not tell you how cold it was, I don’t know what will. We tried warming up a bit by the fire after breakfast. It felt so good and we did not want to leave. Our toes and hands were frozen but you must press on. I felt like the puppies from 101 Dalmatians when they were complaining that their nose was frozen, and their tails were frozen, etc.
    “We got to push the cows that morning and that was a lot of fun! I enjoyed seeing the horses get cowy and want to push the cows. What a treat it is to watch the cowboys and dogs work the herd. It truly is an art.
    At lunch we got to see my friend Kyndall. She joined us for the last leg of the ride. So, fun seeing her.
    Dinner was beef tips and rice with pound cake/strawberry shortcake. This dinner was my favorite! I was glad they had extras so quickly went and got seconds when they were offered. That evening we sat by a huge bon fire and learned about Seminole history and watched them do a friendship dance. We warmed up a bit by the fire after and I headed to bed early. Checking my watch, it was only 8 p.m. but I was exhausted and ready to crash. I woke up at 1 a.m. to go to the bathroom. It is one of the things you dread here every night. Getting out of your warm bed and walking across camp in freezing weather is not fun multiple times a night. You need to stay hydrated so not drinking lots of fluids is not an option.
    “Heading to the bathroom I noticed one of my horses was missing again. Our last horse hobbled named Boone discovered how to walk in them apparently and was across camp. I switched Tucker to the high line again and put the ground tie on Boone. Note to self, only ground stake my horses from here on out!
    Going back to bed, there were still lots of people up, music playing and camp fires going. Friday, we get to stay in camp and relax. It will be our first day to sleep in and not have to break down camp. We will wake early though Saturday morning and ride into the Okeechobee Cattleman’s arena to finish off the ride tomorrow.
    I will be happy to get a warm shower, wash my hair and sleep in a warm bed. Our faces and lips are chapped, we are tired and gross, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!
    “Friday (January 30) was our last full day. It was a nice change having the low in the mid 40’s and not 30’s. The wind was gone too which makes a huge difference. Most of us have wind burns on our faces and major chapped lips!  It was a free and relaxing day. What a blessing it was to not have to break down camp again and move. We got to sleep in until 7 a.m. and then have breakfast. Poor Jackie dropped her grits in the bucket of fresh fruit they were serving.  At 10 a.m. we got to listen to Craig Cameron speak and give Horsemanship advice and tips. If you do not know who he is, I would highly recommend looking him up. He is a great horseman. One of the things he taught was how to train a great stop. I am looking forward to using those tools and teaching it to my horses when we get home.  Later in the afternoon I got to take my first nap. Man have I missed those! It was lunch time when I woke up. I grabbed our daily sack lunch and to my surprise FINALLY got the double stuff Oreos. I felt like I just won the lottery!
     “During this trip I have been seeking out the other mustang owners. I counted a total of 10 of them on the ride. We walked through camp and were able to find nine of them and got a group picture. Go mustangs!
    At 3 p.m. the producer Todd Wiseman talked to us about the movie ‘A Land Remembered’. It was neat to hear about some of the things they were doing to prepare for the movie. I read the book over Thanksgiving break. It was an enjoyable read. I am looking forward to watching it when it gets produced. During this trip, we have been fortunate to ride through some of the areas talked about in the book.
    “Dinner was at 5 p.m.  and was amazing!!! We had steak, a baked potato with all the fixings, green beans, and peach cobbler. Does it get any better than that? Nope, not for this girl!
Before it got dark, we started packing up some of our stuff with the little daylight left. They held an auction that the public came and joined. It was fun seeing what some of the items sold for. I was jealous seeing all the new people all clean and dressed nice. Really looking forward to that shower tonight! I was humbled though. We learned tonight that the kids here from the Boys Ranch have been here almost 1 1/2 weeks as they had to come early to help set up. They also have been sleeping under the stars and not in tents. Just shows, do not compare as someone might have it worse than you.
    “Saturday, we rode out to the Okeechobee Cattleman’s area for the final finish. This has been a trip, those who have true grit only need apply.”
    I want to thank Brittany for allowing me to use her journal for this article.  This sounds like an amazing trip for those who are tough and determined.  I commend her and her group and her well trained Mustangs.  In summary I have to say:  1 week, 330 cows, 80 miles, 350 riders, 10 Mustangs, 4 good friends, many new friends, lifetime memories – priceless.
    Calendar:
February 12-15:  Rocking Horse Trials, Altoona, volunteers needed, 352-669-9982
February 13-15:  Florida Cutting Horse show, Florida Horse Park, Ocala
February 13-15:  All for the Horses Expo 9-5, World Equestrian Center, Ocala
February  21:  Game Show, Black Horse Ranch, Umatilla
Happy Trails!