January Event Honors State’s History & Heritage
Trade your smartphone for a saddle, your bed for a bedroll, and your daily office grind for a week of dust, sweat, and the rhythmic clatter of hooves.
Welcome to the Great Florida Cattle Drive.
To outsiders, Florida is often viewed as a state that’s best known for theme parks and beaches. But what few people recognize is that it’s a leader in cattle production as well, currently ranked 13th in the nation for cattle numbers nationwide according to the Florida Beef Council.
Sadly, cattle ranching in the Sunshine State has become somewhat of a forgotten art, with ranchers losing grazing ground daily to the threat of development.
“We’re one of the largest cattle producers east of the Mississippi,” says David Hunt, chair of the Great Florida Cattle Drive. “[But] we’re losing focus. We’re losing our heritage because of development and people moving into the state. This is our way of [making] people aware of what it takes to raise a cow, and put it in the food supply system. If we don’t have our open lands, we don’t have agriculture and we don’t have wildlife [or] water quality. The cowboy and the rancher were the original conservationists.”
The Great Florida Cattle Drive was created in 1995 as a way to commemorate Florida’s 150th birthday and celebrate the Cracker cattle heritage. A group of just 25 people planned the inaugural event, in which 1000 head of Cracker cattle were driven 100 miles through Florida. At the time, organizers thought it would be the first and only.
“We didn’t think we’d ever do it again because of development and changes in the roadways,” says Hunt. “10 years later, we started getting more pressure to do it again. So we did it again in 2006, with about 500 head of cattle.”
Again, after the second event, the organizers thought the days of cattle drives would be in the past. There was another drive in 2016. And then, “Lo and behold, we tried it again in 2022,” says Hunt. That marked the fourth drive, and it was when Hunt was named as chairman.
And once more, “I really did believe at that time that we would not be able to do it in 10 years. We’re losing so much of our ranchlands and rural lands to development that it’s nearly impossible to try to do this again,” he says.
The 2026 drive, which will be held January 26-31, will leave from Yeehaw Junction and travel to Okeechobee. Currently, Hunt says they’re expecting about 650 head of cattle and 300 riders to make the trip. “It’s all primitive camping during the week, with chuckwagons coming from Texas and Oklahoma,” he explains.
Meant to be a historical re-enactment of sorts, this is not a journey for the fainthearted. Billy Johnson, the lead circle boss for the 2026 ride, emphasizes the importance of conditioning yourself and your horse prior to the 60-mile ride.
“You get up around 5:30, feed your horse, go eat breakfast, pack up your camp, get your gear loaded and the horses saddled and ready to go. Eight o’clock, quarter to eight, you pull out, pushing the cows through the day’s journey. [We take] a 45-minute lunch break, [then] go right back to pushing the cows and moving to the next spot to finish the day and get to camp before dark.”
Although Johnson highlights the difficulties of keeping the group together (and keeping everyone moving), the challenges, he says, are worth it.
“It’s probably one of the highlights of my life,” he explains. “Who knows when it will be the last one? In 20 years, I know we won’t be able to do it again.”
A standout feature of the Cattle Drive, according to Johnson, is being able to connect with new people. Among the event’s hundreds of riders are participants of Operation Outdoor Freedom, a program that takes wounded veterans hunting and fishing throughout the state.
“There are 17 veterans coming on this next ride,” Hunt says.
He adds, “[It’s] always a treat to meet and talk to [them] and hear their story, learn about them, what they did for us.”
Although the soft deadline for registration has passed, Hunt recommends getting in touch if you’re interested in participating in next year’s event. The cost is $850 for the week, inclusive of food and other expenses. “You get fed, the horse gets fed, you get some of the best scenery in the world.”
Besides commemorating history, the real power of this event lies in the awareness it brings to Florida’s shrinking ranchlands.
“There’s still open land out there,” Hunt says. “But we need to conserve and save it for future generations.”
Not to mention, it’s just plain fun. “It’s kind of the American dream, going on a cattle drive,” he says. “Definitely a bucket list.”
And while the event has remained strong through nearly 30 years, the organizers never know which year will be the last. “It’s important to recognize where you come from and where you’re going,” says Hunt.