Is there anything more quintessentially Wyoming than a Christmas Eve cattle drive? The Laramie County Sheriff’s Department doesn’t think so, and was happy to help with one.
When a local ranch needed to move 400 cattle, the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office led the herd and brought up the rear to ensure a safe and successful move. The deputies weren’t on horseback this time, but not for a lack of desire.
“There's nothing more Wyoming than getting out there and helping your neighbors so they can be with their families on one of the biggest holidays of the year,” said Aaron Veldheer, chief deputy of the Laramie County Sheriff's Office’s Operations Division.
Cattle Move At Their Own Pace
The detail for the deputies was helping the Red Baldy Ranch move a herd of black Angus cows to winter pasture about four miles away, said rancher Louis Ferguson.
Help from the deputies is important to keep people and cattle safe along Campstool Road, he said.
“We’re just trying to keep the community safe,” Ferguson said. “And as busy as Campstool has gotten these days, it’s just not worth moving cattle on the road without those (deputies) along.”
While the move to the winter pasture took about three hours total, only about an hour was on the road, he said, adding that how fast — or slow — the cows move is totally up to them.
“It depends on how excited they are, but once they get a little tired after that first mile, they kind of take their time,” Ferguson said. “And it also depends on how much grass is in that bar ditch, because they like to stop and eat at that along the way.”
HIVE Patrols
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office regularly conducts high-visibility enforcement (HIVE) patrols for moving traffic violations. Cattle on a road qualifies in Wyoming as moving traffic, and the Christmas Eve drive was a more unique HIVE response for the department.
“The Red Baldy Ranch contacted us,” Veldheer said. “They needed to move approximately 400 head of cattle from one pasture to another with grass for the cattle to eat. They called us because there would be a large amount of cattle on the road.”
People in rural Wyoming might be used to seeing livestock moving around the road, but the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office didn’t want to take any chances, especially around the holidays.
“We didn't want anybody coming over a hill at 65 mph and hitting a bunch of cows,” Veldheer said. “For everybody’s safety, we were glad to help.”
On The Road Again
Three deputies participated in the Christmas Eve cattle drive, and it took no more than an hour to move the 400 cattle from Morning Glory Road to the new pasture near County Roads 138 and 209.
The deputies had one of their patrol vehicles at the front of the herd and another at the rear. None of them were on horseback, which several of Veldheer’s colleagues noticed.
“Some deputies said I should have called them because they would have been out there on horses as well,” he said. “I don't know if all three deputies were there the entire time, but there was a deputy in front and a deputy behind for the entire drive.”
All the cattle made it to their new pasture, and Veldheer was happy to report that nobody got hurt and no tickets were written during the cattle drive.
That’s not a Christmas miracle, however. Veldheer knows Wyoming drivers have enough sense to keep themselves and others safe while driving in cattle country.
“We're glad that we were able to help,” he said. “We got the cows where they needed to be but also kept everybody safe so they could be with their families on Christmas.”
The Laramie County Sheriff's Office helps Red Baldy Ranch move 400 cattle on Campstool Road the day before Christmas. (Laramie County Sheriff's Office) 
The Laramie County Sheriff's Office helps Red Baldy Ranch move 400 cattle on Campstool Road the day before Christmas. (Laramie County Sheriff's Office)
Wherever In Wyoming
The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office often gets calls to assist with cattle drives and is eager to assist if they have people available. Veldheer said the department will always help the community, regardless of when the call comes in.
“We want to be involved with our community as much as possible,” he said. “We're happy to go out and help people, and helping people always happens in different ways.”
Moving 400 head of cattle on Christmas Eve was one of the many ways the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office helps in a way only Western agencies can appreciate, but Veldheer knows every other sheriff’s office in Wyoming’s 23 counties would do the same. These actions embody the holiday and cultural spirit of the entire state of Wyoming.
“Whether it’s a cattle drive or driving by somebody's house with the lights on for their kid’s birthday party, these are the types of things we do,” he said. “Even on Christmas Eve, it’s not a big deal, and we’re always happy to help.”
That this cattle drive happened the day before Christmas is just a coincidence, Ferguson said. The cattle don’t know or care that it’s the holidays, they just want to eat.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
