Welcome To Texas: Longhorn Cattle Drive
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FORT WORTH (CBS 11 NEWS) - Fort Worth is known as Cowtown and every day, weather permitting, you can see, hear and experience the days of the old west by watching a mini-cattle drive in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
"They are just beautiful animals," said Kristin Jaworski, the trail boss for the Fort Worth Herd.
The daily cattle drive started in 1999 to celebrate Fort Worth's 150th anniversary. The venture started with 15 Texas Longhorn steers - one for each decade. Ten years later they added one more to the daily drive.
"I consider them the best kept longhorns in the world," Jaworski said. The trail boss explained that the herd actually consists of 23 longhorns. And the cattle have schedules -- they are rotated and get days off.
Jaworski said, "They work about eight minutes a day. They go up and down exchange avenue. The rest of the time they are on display for visitors from all over the world," and it sounds like pretty good work if you can get it.
The Fort Worth Herd is a non-profit organization that besides the cattle drive focuses on educational programs teaching about cowboy history.
"It's by a reservation and we are teaching kids about the history of the cattle drives... the history of life on the trail. And that is a significant part of our program. It's really important to us," Jaworski said.
Safety is also on the top of that list. Anytime you are driving 16 head of cattle down a city street lined with people, it can be a little nerve racking.
Jaworski said the cattle have minds of their own. "They can be unpredictable at times, and so we work hard. Safety is paramount. The safety of the animals, of the visitors, of our staff and it's our number one priority."
For 17 years and counting, the Fort Worth Herd has been rounding up tradition, memories, and the history of the old west for all to see.
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