Sterling Ranch cattle drive brings the West to Colorado's suburbs, mitigates fire risk

The rapidly growing master-planned community Sterling Ranch, just outside of Littleton in Douglas County, held its 4th annual Cattle Drive Saturday. The streets of Sterling Ranch are getting a break from wheels in favor of hooves, and a little manure, as 30 cowboys herd 100 cows through the community to their winter pastures.

"It's just great to see the western come back to Colorado," said rancher Chip Bromfield, who is part of the Roundup Riders of the Rockies. "We got about a hundred head of cattle here we're gonna move up through the community, and by doing that the kids and the community get to see it."

Before being developed, Sterling Ranch was a working cattle ranch, and today, despite having 8,000 new residents, it still is.

"It's a country town, a small town. It's gonna be very large, but where people know each other and the cattle are a vital part of it," said Harold Smethills, founder and owner of Sterling Ranch.

"Seeing livestock in our neighborhood is an experience," said 3-year Sterling Ranch resident Shannon Starkey. "We live on a ranch, but I think people don't really know that, and having the livestock here makes it more real for them."

The cattle that share the community serve an important role in mitigating fire risk on the prairie.

"Like the buffalo used to, they eat the grass, they fertilize the soil, and their hooves aerate it," Smethills said.

Neighbors cheer the cattle drive on and catch candy from the sidelines.

"It's the kids. It's the families coming out and seeing how the West is working with the cattle and bringing in and moving the cattle a bit," Bromfield said.

"This is our first time," said Sterling Ranch resident Jennifer Dibish. "We've heard it's really fun seeing all the cows, cowboys, and cowgirls."

Once the cattle are safely relocated, cowboys and residents celebrate with food, games, and activities.

"Horsies and cows and the bounce house," Dibish's 5- and 7-year-old children said. "We're gonna do the bounce house, and we're going to the petting zoo."

"It's who we are; it's a way of living," Smethills said. "You come to Colorado to be in Colorado."

The cattle will stay in Sterling Ranch and have their calves before most of them are relocated to summer pastures in late spring.