How the Sacketts Settled at Hidout Ranch...

See, the Ironclad Rule was:  No Smokey, Dusty, Blackie, Midnight, or Fluffy at Hideout Ranch. We wanted our nomenclature to reflect the West and the Cowboy Culture, so we selected names from classic Western literature, movies, local legends, and history which would prompt conversation with our guests about the names and the figure behind them. Prolific author Louis L'Amour wrote a lengthy saga about the Sackett family, whose founder came from Wales and settled in the Tennessee-Carolina area of a young America. The three most well-known Sacketts are brothers Tell, Orrin, and Tyrel of the Smokey Mountain branch of the expansive family. Brought to vibrant life in the film version by Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, and Jeff Osterhage respectively, the Sackett boys were our favourite characters (and stars).

A friend had already brought us a big grey gelding and, when I asked the horse's name as he backed the horse out of the two-horse trailer, I was told, "We call him Dusty." In my mind, to avoid offense, I thought, "Well, we're going to call him Tell." Tell was not unlike Sam Elliott, the grizzled actor whose voice is deeper with more gravel than any river bed. He was grey, well muscled but lean, and he could back up any claim he made with confident action. Tell was a roundup machine - with flair. He was fast as heat lightning, embodying the assessment "He's forgotten more than you will ever know." Tell was, well, he was Tell. But, more on him later...

Craig and Tell up in Portal, headed toward the Wilderness...

A young girl who worked for us told us about another Quarterhorse gelding a friend of hers was selling. When I went to look at him, this young, powerfully built grey horse with an attitude and presence one could only term "fabulous". Instantly, I named him "Orrin" for the middle Sackett brother, portrayed adroitly and with aplomb by Tom Selleck. Two of three Sackett brothers were at Hideout Ranch...

Craig on Orrin...

Craig got a call one day from a neighbour above Rodeo. He was moving to Hawaii and couldn't take his two horses. Of course, we went right up there with the trailer, and came home with a lovely bay mare and yes, another grey gelding. Quickly naming him Tyrel, we had our three Sackett brothers...

Tyrel with a guest at Price Canyon...

Our three Sackett boys were simply amazing on trail. Tell and Orrin were great working cattle, as well - Tyrel not so much, but he was game for whatever we asked of him. It was easy to horse guests with the three of them.

A regular guest wanted to spend half the year here, and bought a horse to be his "ranch" mount. He found what he wanted in nearby Hereford, a grey gelding who, I told him, would have to be named for a member of the extensive Sackett family. My personal choice was "Lando", short for "Orlando", son of Falcon Sackett. However, it was overruled by the fear it would be confused with Lando Calrissian of Star Wars. So, this bright and lively grey was christened "Logan", twin to "Nolan", both from the Clinch Mountain branch of the Sacketts.

Logan, ready to head out up in Portal...

Craig was always the one to receive phone calls about horses. A couple had purchased the ranch where Craig and I had met, and had been trying to revive it. Well, they decided to close, and called Craig to see if we wanted to look at any of their horses. We drove over to the place where we'd met so many years ago and tried to set our uneasiness aside. We rode several horses, and finally decided on four, with one thrown in for good measure. One of the five was a lovely flea-bitten grey paint mare we just had to call, "Echo". Following naming protocol, this grey mare had to be named for a Sackett, but there was only one option - "Echo". "Echo " is also a Tennessee Sackett, aunt to Tell, Orrin, and Tyrel, and the only female Louis L'Amour ever had narrate a story.

Echo makes her music video debut...

Each of our Sacketts wove a distinct thread in the fabric of Hideout Ranch, adorning our hearts with their image and stitching our memories neatly with their adventures. Echo lives with a dear friend and her family now. Orrin continues to be fabulous right here with me. The others are across the rainbow bridge with Craig - but they live on in memories of guests and friends across the world....

Orrin at Rucker...

Logan at White Tail...

Tyrel (l), Tell (c), and Orrin (r) at Portal...

Tell begging lunch...

Orrin at the Stronghold...

Echo at Lower Rucker...

Orrin on the Lower Basin Trail...

Logan (l) and Tyrel (r) at Price...

Tell (l) and Orrin (r) on the ranch...

Tell at the Stronghold...

Tell (l), Orrin (c), and Logan (r) at Price...

Tell (l) and Orrin (r) at White Tail...

Orrin, "cowing" at White Tail with Craig...

Logan in a #Sackettselfie...

Logan, at home...

Tyrel on the ranch...

Echo, at the rail...

Echo, in the round pen with a guest...

Echo at Granite Gap...

Echo, with a fan...

Orrin, busy being fabulous...

Echo, under English tack on the flat...

Tell, with a guest in the round pen...

Logan (l) and Orrin (r) at the wash in Granite Gap...

Orrin (l) and Logan (r)...

Orrin (l) and Logan (r)...

Logan, in Portal...

Logan, on the edge of the Wilderness at Price...

Orrin (front) and Tyrel (back) at Rucker...

Logan (front) and Tell (back)...

Tell, below the E...