Join Sweet Grass Ranch for their 2014 Cattle Drives. Personal invitation from Page at Sweet Grass...for this authentic cattle drive! You don't want to miss out!
Dates: June 15 and will be 6 days long and again the week of August 24th
Book Now: 406-537-4477
In the early 1970s, Sweet Grass Ranch did a cattle drive with the Cremer Ranches that lasted for 3-4 days. For anyone who remembers these cattle drives—they were a blast! We would ride from Sweet Grass to Big Timber on Day 1, stay overnight, and then start with the cattle drive the next morning.
We even moved the cows through the town of Big Timber (although some local residents may not have cared for that part since it is tough to keep a cow on the street)! A “Welcome Wagon” kept everyone refreshed along the way as we moved cattle, had horse races, and enjoyed great camaraderie camping out along the way.
We are fortunate to live in a corner of the world full of characters and a heritage of family ranching that continues today. There are many ranches here with wonderful histories, and Cremer Rodeo Land & Livestock is one of them. Cremer Ranches have a storied history here in Sweet Grass County that began when Leo John Cremer, after a few years of law school studies at Notre Dame, decided to head west. He met and married Bertha Stokes from Big Timber, filing homesteads on land east of Melville in 1912.
In 1926, Leo was haying with a team of workhorses when he was approached by some local cowboys trying to start a rodeo. Leo unhooked his team and bucked them out, and Leo started the Leo J. Cremer World’s Championship Rodeo Company. Leo went on to establish the greatest string of bucking horses ever owned and he and his company produced rodeos all over the U.S. While prospering in the rodeo business, he also added to his ranch holdings as land became available.
After Leo’s untimely death in 1953, the rodeo company was sold to Gene Autrey. Leo was inducted in to the Pro Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame and the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, and one of his horses, Come Apart, was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, as well. Fortunately, Leo’s son, “Sonny” Cremer and grandson, George Cremer, continued on with the ranching operation, expanding on a livestock operation that is run by the 4th and 5th generations of the Cremer family today.
Well, this year marks Bill and Shelly Carroccia’s 50th year operating Sweet Grass, and what a fitting opportunity to renew a great event involving these two ranching traditions. We are joining forces with Cremer ranches again to offer 2 cattle drives this summer. The first one will be the week of June 15 and will be 6 days long. The cattle drives will involve a couple longer days of riding, and a couple days of moving the cattle to Cremer’s summer grazing, north and east of Big Timber. The second cattle drive of 5 days will be the week of August 24 with some longer riding days and one and a half days of moving cattle back to fall grazing, around Melville.
Accommodations will be in tents along the way, and the food will be provided by Bill’s Place, a wonderful new addition to the Melville community. We will be moving 250-300 head of heifers.
Dates: June 15 and will be 6 days long and again the week of August 24th
Book Now: 406-537-4477