Our 6666’s Ranch Spring Cattle Drive

By Dr. Joe Carter DVM

Printed with permission by the author. Need some inspiration? I’ve got a guy!

Boots O’Neal is 90 years old. He begins his days at 5 a.m. He has spent virtually every day for the last 75 years in the saddle. I don’t know if I have met a happier guy. He is a legendary cowboy for the legendary 6666’s ranch. Boots was no doubt born in a whirlwind during the dust bowl of the Panhandle in 1932. He seems to be moving all the time. He started breaking colts at the age of 15 getting paid 20 bucks a head.

He spent the next 15 years working at various outfits, residing three years at the famed Merrick Ranch working for hall of fame

Oklahoma horseman

Walter Merrick in Elk City. He told a story of being horse back with Walter as they topped a hill overlooking his home place. There were arenas, barns and pasture that went for miles. Walter was a man of few words but he said to Boots while waving his arm across the vista, “EASY JET paid for all of this.”

EASY JET was Merrick Ranch’s historic stallion. He won 22 of 26 races as a two year old. Yes, he had 26 outs as a two year old. He won the All-American Futurity and was named champion along the way. His earnings in 2023 dollars were over $3 million. In Boots’ words, “He was a nice colt!”

He left Merrick Ranch and moved to Texas where he ran the cattle division of the Waggoner Ranch for about 30 years. Thirty plus years ago he moved on to the 6666’s where he has been and remains today. I spent the day riding with Boots last week as we, along with 18 other hands, gathered 150 momma cows and their babies out of the 10,000 acre “Big Willa” pasture. The “Big Willa” pasture is just one of many on the 6666’s.

The 6666’s ranch is huge. It’s huger than huge. Started in 1870 by the famed cattleman Burk Burnett, it comprises over a quarter of a million acres. The state of Rhode Island and the country of Luxembourg are a little over 600,000 acres a piece. So take your pick — the ranch is about half the size of a state or a country. The average pasture size is 10,000 acres or about 15 sections. Some are as large as 25,000 acres or 40 sections. It’s about a 3 1/2 hours drive southwest of Norman, Texas.

Before daybreak our fully loaded trailers pulled up to the gate of the Big Willa. We unloaded our horses in the pitch dark, no moon, and opened the gates. To quote Parker McCollum, we rode “like a thief on the run” covering miles of the pasture’s south fence line. After a bit, ranch manager Joe Leathers let off a whoop and the first pair of cowboys instinctively peeled off to man their spot as we continued to gallop on. Every half a mile or so came another whoop and another pair peeled off and positioned themself for the cattle drive.

Twelve or 14 cowboys into it Boots peeled off and yelled “Joe you’re with me.” So I peeled off with him. After introducing myself at breakfast he always spoke to me using my first name never forgetting it. His 90 year old memory is better than my 63 year old memory! After that 30 minute gallop, walking our horses was a relief. I’m not exactly fit. We began our search for momma cows.

Boots is the opposite of Walter Merrick, he’s a chatter box. We rode side by side and as dawn broke he began telling stories. This went on for hours as we gathered strays. After asking how my horse was bred, he told me of his horse. He said he has been riding “LUCKY” for about six years. His name drips with irony. He went on to describe their relationship which seemed shaky at times.

He said when he was breaking LUCKY to ride he bucked him off fracturing 12 ribs. I’m thinking LUCKY’s not so lucky. Quick math told me that Boots was breaking his own horse to ride at the age of 84. He talked of how smooth a ride he was and if you spend as many hours in the saddle as Boots does, you appreciate a smooth