Cows On the Beach

I was out of town for about a week, so I've been remiss in posting this fantastic contribution from resident Vicki Davies. For those of us who missed the event, Vicki makes it feel like we were right there with her!/TGP

It’s been a week since cowboys and herding dogs drove 100 cows from Goldenwest to the HB Pier. The event to publicize the Orange County Fair garnered front-page coverage in both the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register. As evidenced by so much coverage, we won’t be seeing a cattle drive on the beach again anytime soon.

Knowing seeing a bit of the “Old West” on our local beach was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I woke Trevor early that morning, ignoring his grumbling. With summer vacation here, he has grown used to mornings of lazy slumber, but last Thursday was not to be one of them. Along with Bryan Schubert, who arrived enthusiastically at our door undaunted by the early hour, we headed to the pier.

We found a viewing spot among the crowd and waited for our first glimpse of the cow herd. Murmurs of excitement arose as people who had thought to bring binoculars caught their first glimpses of the horses and riders moving toward us down the beach. And horses and riders were all we saw at first, so closely surrounded by them were the 100 small steer. After driving the cows under the pier and keeping them contained for several minutes as the event announcer spoke and onlookers snapped pictures, the cowboys and cowgirls began the trip back down the beach. At this point, we had moved down to the sand for a closer look. As the herd headed back up the beach, excitement broke out. A cow dashed away, almost running over a couple of onlookers as it headed toward the water. A cow horse loped toward it, but was beaten to the cow by one of the dogs, who appeared to nip the cow on the nose before guiding it back to the rest of the herd. I waited a bit nervously, remembering all the Westerns I’d seen as a kid that featured stampeding cows. I wondered if I should have kept the kids up on the pier, far above thundering hooves. However, the drive back down the beach continued quietly after that one break for freedom.

Watching the event, I couldn’t help marveling at the well-trained horses, great riders, and mostly at the herding dogs. The nine dogs contributed greatly to keeping the cows under control. Some of the dogs trotted far from the cows, guarding the perimeter of the herd, while others stayed right among the cows, chasing and nipping. There were Border Collies as well as other herding dog breeds among the pack. A little research into herding dogs and how they work turned up the interesting information that different breeds work in different ways.

Breeds, such as the Australian Cattle Dog, nip at the cows heels, so they are called “heelers.” Border Collies get in front of the cows and other animals and stare the animals down with what is called “the strong eye”; they are known as “headers.” The Australian dog, the Koolie, uses both these methods and has even been observed jump on the backs of their charges. Koolies are said to 'head', 'heel' and 'back'.

Seeing the event gave me much appreciation for the hard work that it took to put it on and to make sure things ran smoothly. My respect goes especially to that one little herding dog who kept the rogue cow in line.

-- Vicki Davies