The original Great Florida Cattle Drive was held in 1995 as a way for Florida Cattlemen to commemorate the state's 150th birthday.
The vision was to reenact one of the historic Cracker Cattle Drives, involving members of the Florida Cattlemen's Association from each of the state's cattle counties.
During that drive, 1,000 head of certified Cracker Cattle were driven 100 miles from Yeehaw Junction through Florida's Cattle country to the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. The event drew more than 600 horses and riders, 25 wagons and a few hardy re-enactors who walked the entire way.
Participants were encouraged to wear period-appropriate clothing. They slept under the stars and saw parts of Florida that few are privileged to visit.
That drive sparked the formation of the Florida Cow Culture Preservation Committee. In 2006, the committee organized a second drive, with 500 cattle and about 450 horses and riders.
Ten years later, the third Great Florida Cattle Drive took place in 2016. This time the participants faced harsh weather with heavy rains and cold temperatures. They endured, proving the drive's motto "It' aint for sissies!"
The committee discussed holding the drive every 10 years. They made a special exception for a special drive to honor the 500th anniversary of the arrival of cattle in Florida. This drive -- originally planned for 2021 but delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic -- recognized Florida as the birthplace of the American cattle industry.
This special drive started at the Deseret Ranch in St. Cloud and zig-zagged across other ranches over six days to end at the Silver Spurs Arena.
Jan. 26-31, 2026, the Great Florida Cattle Drive will ride again! The 2026 drive follows the 10-year interval of the regular drives. The drive will start near Yeehaw Junction and go south this time, zig-zagging for about 80 miles across ranchland.
The drive will end at the Okeechobee Cattlemen's Rodeo Arena on Jan. 31 where a special celebration is planned by the Okeechobee Cattlewomen's Association from, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. For more information, contact Lauren Butler at 863-801-5518 or Emma Brown at 863-634-3272.
Anyone can go on the 2026 drive, so long as you have a horse to ride or a horse or mule drawn wagon to ride in. Those who plan to go are advised to start early on conditioning their horses and themselves for the physical demands of the trail. The camping will be primitive, just as it was for those on historic cattle drives. However, unlike the cracker cowboys who ate whatever game they could hunt along the way, or made do with beans and jerky, participants won’t have to worry about bringing, catching or cooking their own food. Three meals a day will be provided for the participants. Hay and grain will be transported to each night’s campsite for the horses. Water will also be provided for humans, equines and bovines.
Registration is now open for the 2026 Great Florida Cattle Drive. For more information, go online to greatfloridacattledrive.com.
Thousands of Florida fourth graders will follow along and learn about cow culture with live video from the drive via a program sponsored the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). These students will also read "A Land Remembered" by Patrick Smith.
[Photos accompanying this story are from the 1995 Great Florida Cattle Drive, by Katrina Elsken, who rode on a wagon the first day of that drive.]
