Local cowboys and cowgirls got a small taste of the old west in McDuffie County this past weekend.
Pine Top Farm played host to a cattle drive on Saturday morning. The cows that normally graze the fields at the local farm were moved from a pasture near the bypass to another one near the railroad crossing on Moose Club Road -- a distance of about a mile.
The idea for the cattle drive came to Pine Top Manager Glenn Wilson during a trail ride after a horse show at the farm a few weeks ago.
"Twenty-three people showed up, and we rode out among the cows," Mr. Wilson said. "The cows came up to me, and they mooed. Everybody thought it was great and wonderful. I knew it was getting to be time to move the cows, and I decided to have a real cattle drive."
The cows are normally rotated from one pasture to another so the land won't be overused. Mr. Wilson thinks of the cattle drive as a unique opportunity to get that chore done in an enjoyable manner.
"It's just a chance to get the sights and the sounds and the smell and the feel of how they used to do it out west," he said. "It's neat to see them all moving as a herd."
Mr. Wilson also pointed out that children were a big part of the cattle drive.
"The kids really love to see how the cows come up to me and eat out of my hand," Mr. Wilson said.
Riders spent about an hour moving the cattle. But one thing is for sure; the drive was not to be compared to a rodeo or any event in that vein.
"It's not a roundup per say because we're not going to have to chase them and get them into a pen," Mr. Wilson said.
