Cold air, hot coffee.
Camp wakes around five. Cooks have breakfast going by six. Wranglers have the horses sorted by seven. Boots in stirrups, Stetsons on, riding by mid-morning at the latest.
The Desert Caballeros Ride was born in March 1947, when seventy-five riders left downtown Wickenburg on horseback and didn’t come back for five days. Eighty years later — with only COVID to interrupt it — the ride is still going.
It is, by the participants’ own description, the last ride of its kind in the country — meaning the whole ride moves camp as it goes instead of riding out from one base camp, then loops back into Wickenburg on Friday. You sleep on a cot in a canvas bedroll under the stars. You eat well. You meet a hundred and fifty riders and you’ll know forty of them by Friday.
The shape of every day.
Wake-ups are early. Coffee is strong. The bell rings, you mount up, and the ride moves out.
Long miles, no phones.
Lunch is in the saddle or under a mesquite. The trail boss picks the route. Pace is conversational. Country is open. Most days run twelve to twenty miles depending on terrain.
Camp, supper, fire.
Pull into camp by late afternoon. Your cot and bedroll are already at your spot — the support crew hauls every rider’s gear ahead. Supper is hot, usually big, and always on time. Then the camps trade visits until the fire burns down.
THE WEEK
Monday out, Friday back.
Five days, four nights. The exact route changes year to year — the rhythm doesn’t.
DAY 1 · Monday
Out of Wickenburg.
Half-day ride from downtown to First Camp. The El Presidente's party kicks the week off Sunday night.
DAY 2 · Tuesday
Over the mountains to Cooper's Ranch.
Full day in the saddle. The longest stretch of the week.
DAY 3 · Wednesday
Day in camp.
Gymkhana, the Cowboy Carnival shooting competition, duck races, hiking, or a long nap in the shade.
DAY 4 · Thursday
Through the high country to Third Camp.
Another full day on the trail. New country every hour.
DAY 5 · Friday
Half-day back to Wickenburg.
Dust off the boots. Same trailhead. Different rider.
THE COUNTRY
High Sonoran. Bradshaw and Weaver Mountains.
The ride threads through the high Sonoran Desert north of Wickenburg and into the two ranges that flank the Hassayampa River — the Bradshaws to the east, the Weavers to the west. Historically Apache country, mapped trail by trail by the founders in 1947 with saddlebags and a hand-drawn route.
Country includes saguaro stands, prickly pear, cholla, and ocotillo across the open desert; cottonwoods along the washes; and steep canyons climbing up into the mountains. Vistas are real. So are the loose rocks and the steep descents — see Safety, below.
What we haul. What you bring.
The ride is catered, supported, and run by an experienced trail crew. You bring yourself, your horse, and your bedroll.
SAFETY
Take care of your horse. Take care of each other.
No one signs up for the DC Ride planning to get hurt. The crew runs a tight operation, but the country is real, the descents are steep, and your equipment is your responsibility.
Check your cinch. Mount with the horse pointed back up trail. Grab the mane, not the horn. Leave more space on hills than you think necessary. Tighten the stampede strap when it’s gusty. Ask for help.
— ADAPTED FROM “DON’T DUCK SAFETY” · JOHN “DUCK” LEES, CAMPO DE LOS CALIFORNIOS
READ THE NINE RULESApply, get placed, ride out.
The ride is by invitation. Applications open each fall and are reviewed by the board. New riders are placed in a camp; that camp becomes home for as long as you ride. If you have a sponsor among current Caballeros, list them on your application.
QUESTIONS? CONTACT THE BOARD