AMERICA’S TOUGHEST JOB – the life of the last cowboys in the Wild West
What is my horse to me? It’s the most important thing that you can have. If you are on foot, in the mountains… the most important tool that there is, is your horse, and a good one. When you’re doing a job, you’re almost useless without that animal. As far as making a really good cowboy, it is somebody who has to really enjoy the freedom, the hard work.
Just before, you’re just really zoned in, focused and afterwards, you just have a good time. Just thankfully, you had fun and just kind of go hang out with your friends afterwards. I can get on a horse right here, right now and I can ride for maybe 300 miles and not open a gate, not cross a road. And I can do that any time that I really want to, at this point in my life.
My name is Giuseppe and I have a mission: to explore the most remote corners of the planet to meet the keepers of ancient secrets, women and men with extraordinary stories and lives that can inspire us and make us see the world with different eyes. And to each of them I will ask the most important question of all: “What is happiness for you?” A question so powerful that it reveals the deepest essence of humanity.
Welcome to “PROJECT HAPPINESS”. How wonderful. Today I am taking you to one of the very few places on Earth where human beings cannot fool themselves into thinking they are in charge. Because here no technology or force is enough. Just one look at the nature out here is enough to understand how vulnerable we are, and how wonderful it is to be part of all this nature.
Welcome to Yellowstone National Park and to a great new “Project Happiness” adventure. But Yellowstone is not just a park, it is more of an ideal. Because think about it, it was the first national park in the world. Opened in 1872, it soon became the symbol of an idea that was revolutionary at the time. Namely, not exploiting nature but protecting it.
Words obviously cannot describe the beauty of this park, nor its sheer size. It covers an area of 9,000 square kilometers, almost as big as Switzerland. An immense place made of geysers, boiling springs and fumaroles. It is a bit as if the Earth itself were speaking here. But what strikes you most is not only the geology, it is the animals.
It is incredible to think that in the same place live the largest grizzly bears in the world, like that one. packs of wolves that rule the valleys, and above all bald eagles, the symbol of America. And then there are the real hosts here, the bison. There are now about 5,000 of them here, which might seem like a very high number, but in reality they are the last descendants of the millions that once lived in these prairies.
Today they walk slowly through the valleys. They cross the roads as if they still owned everything. And they do. When you look at them you realize their strength has never been tamed. Watching them is like seeing a scene that has stayed the same for centuries. How wonderful! These are the scenes that make you realize that we are guests, or roommates, in this wonderful world, but that here the land has remained eternal, wild, free, as it has always been in America.
This is America, the real America. But the story I want to tell you today is another one. Still deeply tied to these lands, so wild yet so harsh, which for centuries have seen some men and women manage to live and survive here by choosing a single ideal: freedom. Today we will tell you the story of the cowboys.
We have arrived in Montana. One of the largest states in America, but also one of the least populated. Here there are even more cows than people. They call it the last frontier because life here is still tied to the land, to the seasons and to survival. But who are the cowboys really? The term was born at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when they needed men on horseback to move huge herds of cattle along the great cattle trails, from Texas to Kansas or from Colorado to Wyoming.
They were mostly poor young men. Many were African American, Native or of Mexican origin. Truly tough men, able to spend weeks alone on horseback without shelter and without comfort, sleeping out in the open, always with a rifle in their arms, to defend the herds from predators, thieves or storms. Then Hollywood arrived and the silent cattleman turned into a legend.
The hat, the revolver and the showdowns at sunset. Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. The cowboy became a lone hero, confident, invincible and cool. But the truth is much less romantic. A real cowboy does not get into gunfights. He builds fences, cares for animals and faces, every day, the loneliness, the exhaustion and the cold of the job.
And yes, he still exists. To really dive into this adventure we had to pass through a saloon. And this is a very special saloon, because it is one of the oldest in the whole country, in all of the United States. Just think, cowboys used to stop here to recover from long rides with a good coffee or to drink a whisky or a beer that was usually warm.
These were not just bars, they were crossroads: frontier life passed through here. And unfortunately today saloons have become more tourist attractions, museums. But here in Montana, especially in the most remote little towns, some of them remain authentic. Like this one, where you can still drink local beer, whisky and meet real cowboys.
By day the saloon was the center of business, because here you received letters and read public notices, and heard news from a country that, for many, was incredibly far away. Among cowboys, ranchers and traders people talked about contracts, looked for work and played poker or blackjack, with bets that often ended in brawls or gunfights.
And you already know where I am going with this. The internet is a bit like the saloon: a place full of encounters, opportunities and chances, but also of traps. And that is why, for years, my shield has been “NordVPN”, which encrypts my connection, hides my online location and protects me from all the threats lurking around me.
Hidden eyes ready to steal my precious personal information, viruses disguised as offers and invasive ads. But it is always there, ready to defend me. It is a bit like a digital sheriff. It blocks viruses, keeps hackers at bay and protects my identity. With it by my side I can live every adventure without ever looking back.
But always looking ahead, where the best stories begin. In the Far West, anyone who let their guard down was done for, a bit like on the web. That is why I am leaving you a link in the description, or you can scan this QR Code to try “NordVPN”. And if it is not for you, you have 30 days to change your mind, “satisfied or refunded”.
In Montana there are still thousands of cowboys working. It is a hard life, but a free one. Where only the horse, the land and instinct matter. And we came to learn it on the ranch of a true American legend. Warren Johnson, inducted into the Hall of Fame of the greatest cowboys in history. After a lifetime spent taming horses for the greatest cowboys in America, today he teaches his grandchildren the most difficult art: understanding a horse without needing to speak.
He has just roped a horse because he wants to train it. So he has taken it into a nearby arena, using some very particular, very quick moves. So that this horse, and the other horses, do not run off. Okay, Drew. We probably broke and started… I am sure… I am certain… 5,000 colts in this corral. Yeah.
The first thing I do when I break a colt, when I put the saddle on, is put a set of shoes on him. I shoe them first. And that is not what… most trainers don’t do that. But if you can teach a colt to give you your feet willingly. You’ve got them. You know, you’ve got them. Because their feet are what protects themselves.
Yeah. And if they give them to you and give that protection away… you are… you are their friend. And they like that. How can you teach a horse to trust you? To trust you? Yeah. Be respectful of their space. And have them be respectful of yours. You know? But be firm with them. Show them what you want. And then give them a lot of time to think about it.
Don’t just keep crowding, training more and more and more. Just give them time. That’s why the mountains are so good. Because they can just ride down the trail. And they can just be a horse. And you’re not constantly moving them and making them mad. They get frustrated after a while. So right now, you are trying to go closer to him.
I’m trying to go up to her. And I want… I want her to give to me and let me pet her. Yeah. And rub on her. And as soon as I start petting her, she will be fine. Why do you think a horse should trust human beings? Why should they do it? They could be free. They could be. They would never have to do it. That is one of the reasons why I love bucking horses.
I really do, I love them. Because they… they are free. Kind of. They almost remind me of me. You know, I have lived my life pretty much on my own terms, what I wanted to do. And… When we were kids we had nothing. We were so poor, but we had freedom. And… And it’s such… Having freedom and being poor is greater than being rich and tied down.
This is a truly… intimate, delicate, very important moment. Warren is about to ask the horse to trust him, he is laying a cloth on its back that stands in for the saddle. So this horse has to get used to everything he will later ask it to do while working, during its working days. This is a very delicate moment, because they are desensitizing it, that is the technical term, they are touching it, they are stroking it, they are getting it used to the touch of a human.
And it is a touch of cooperation, because the rider, the cowboy, is asking the horse: “Help me in my work and I will help you in your days, I will feed you, I will treat you well.” And it is an agreement, a pact made between man and animal. That is exactly what we are witnessing. It is a truly, truly moving moment.
Come here. I will show you something to do. There you go. Okay, go slow now. Just slow until she doesn’t know you, okay? Yes. Hang on. Just a second, Matty. Rock up to her slow and pet her. There you go. Okay, now run your hand down her leg. Keep going. Okay, grab the rope. Pick her foot up. Easy. Just be really easy now.
Okay, now go right back there. Go right back by her hind leg, get right back by it. Just… okay, now grab the hair. On the back of the hoof, right there. Get a handful right there. Don’t let her kick you now. Easy now. Okay, slow down. Just pet her leg now. Now reach down and get a hold of that rope with one hand.
There you go. And then she’ll pick that up when you got that. Now hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Just hold it, now rest. Put your knee in there and rest it on it. There you go. Now just rub it. Like you’re putting a shoe on. Now put your hand down and tap the bottom of the foot. Lightly. Like that? Yeah. Now… okay, now let her rest.
There you go. There you go. That was very good. That’s hard to do. That was nice. Because you took away… her kicking mechanism. Okay, now… I’ll help you guys get on, okay? Yeah. Oh, it was beautiful, Warren. Yes, thank you. Do you want to grab that blanket? Sure. We’re going to let her rest a little bit. Yeah.
Yeah. I have a question for you. Yes. Do you think horses… Did you choose the horses or did the horses choose you? Uh… Once they know I am not going to hurt them, they choose me. Yes. But I… you know, these horses now get six months off. Yes. Not many horses do that. And I do that because I love them. And I love to see them.
There’s nothing pretty in horses running and playing, you know. You know they’re happy and feeling good. But everything I’ve got, everything I own, everything that I am is horses. Yes. Yeah. There is something absolutely unexplainable about this bond. A horse is born a prey animal and humans are born predators.
In nature they would be complete opposites, yet here, in the dust and the wind, they become allies. The horse lets itself be guided. It accepts the saddle and follows a call that does not need words. But it is not submission. It is trust. Because the cowboy is no longer a stranger to it, he becomes part of its herd.
He is the leader it chooses to follow. And it is a real magic of nature because they are two animal worlds that learn to read each other’s eyes and move as one. My day as an apprentice cowboy was going great. And nothing could possibly go wrong. Except that I simply forget to close the enclosure and 50 horses take off down into the valley.
We had barely started and we had already made a mess, because we left the gate open and now all the horses are… I thought Warren was going to kick me straight off the ranch. But he did not. He did not even raise an eyebrow. Is that gate closed now? Now it is closed. Do you take the chain and chain it? Yeah, sure.
Chain it, put the chain on it? He just calmly explained to me what to do. Together with his grandchildren we managed to bring them all back. All of them. I think… We accidentally left the gate open. Because of my lack of experience all the horses got out. You saddle the horses and head out to the office. Only here the office is as big as the horizon.
Here they say it is never the same day twice. Nature decides and the cowboys adapt. If it rains, you work. If it snows, you work. And if it is hot, guess what, you still work. To call yourself a cowboy, a hat on your head is not enough. You have to be able to ride for hours. Use a lasso, fix a broken fence and spot a sick calf.
In reality a cowboy is many things at once: a vet, a farrier, a carpenter. And the horse is not a tool, it is a work partner. A silent ally. Peter has to catch one to treat it. So now we will try to help him as best we can. Without getting in the way of their work. But… I have to go! We are trying to catch a horse that was hurt by another one, probably from a bite.
Obviously with all these horses it is hard to single one out to treat it, but that is also where the cowboy’s skill comes in. Today we will try to help them a bit without getting in the way. That is probably my goal. You put this on there and it’s almost like it helps it scab up. Yeah. I know it looks really gross, but it helps.
It heals faster. Exactly. It just kind of covers it up, keeps the flies from getting at it and lets their body kind of do the work, that needs to. Well, the difference between, like, the movie cowboys and, you know, like what you actually have to do is, you know, it is not sitting around, looking pretty and roping cows all day.
No, you have to pick up manure, shovel out the barn, you know. You gotta work, too. I mean there’s not all pretty jobs, there’s some dirty jobs. And you work pretty dang hard and you gotta work a lot and there’s no time for just sitting around. What’s the most beautiful part of your job? The most beautiful part of my job, it’s getting to go…
You know, getting to just be away. No one can text you. No one can call you. You are just out there. And all you have to worry about is you, your animals and who you are with, you know. And it’s a good time. That’s my favorite. You know, I’ve had my horse in some rough situations. And, you know, we’ve both gotten out of it.
So that’s the reason, you know, you got to take care of your horse because with cowboys and horses, it’s a team. You know, you’re partners, you’re not just one-sided, they don’t do it all themselves. You don’t do it all yourselves, you’re a team. Peter is Warren’s grandson. And he is a respected cowboy too.
His life is definitely not like the ones you see in the movies. Yet he tells me he would not trade it for any other. Tomorrow Warren has arranged a rodeo to bring together the best cowboys in the county. It will be a big celebration of competition and tradition. But today he has to run into town to sort out the final preparations.
And I take the chance to stay by his side and find out who the man behind the legend really is. I had nothing growing up. But I had the greatest, the very greatest childhood, because we were free. We roamed all of those mountains up there. All those countries when we were just little kids on horses. And all they told us when we left in the morning was: “Be back at dark.
” “Make sure you are home at dark.” We’d be gone all day. Playing or whatever. I cannot imagine how many times you have risked your life. Well, see where the big open up there is, way up there? Yes. Where there are no trees. I had a good saddle horse named Spider. Spider hated bears. And my dog Sam hated bears, grizzly bears.
He would let me know if a bear was coming. He would go… Really loud. And I knew, I knew it was a bear. Well, I got that tied on and I was walking. And I was three and a half miles from the house. It was April 15th 2015. Spider did that noise. And Sam barked and growled. And I looked up. And about from here to that tree was a grizzly bear running at me.
And his ears were just flat. And it was coming. It went right around the dogs. And it jumped on me. Right here. You see. That old scar. It bit me right there. It held me like that. And it was biting. I could feel it crunching. And just then Spider, he had sharp shoes on, for the ice, so he didn’t slip on the ice, my horse.
And he kicked that bear. And I took a small step back, just a little bit. And he was kicking. He got me a few times. But he also got the bear a bunch. And the bear turned. And they pulled it off of me. Just then, I called Amy then, she was in Hawaii. And I told Amy what happened. And she was crying and I told her: “I’ll be alright”.
And while I was talking to Amy I looked up and the bear was coming back. And he was coming this time to kill. And I dropped the phone. And I went like this. And I just had enough time to wipe all the blood out of my eyes. And I kneeled down. I took a breath. And shot. Shot twice. And he fell dead right on my cell phone.
Right on the cell phone. And all Amy could hear was… growling and gurgling. And then she heard another shot. And it was quiet. I finished him off. And at that point I could not find my phone. I didn’t know where it was. So for 30-40 minutes Amy thought I was dead. And she was in Hawaii. She was screaming on the phone.
If I had not had that horse. If I had not had a good dog. I’d have been dead. There’s no doubt. If you could choose a way to leave this world… What would it be? To leave this world? On a good bucking horse, jumping off a cliff. One last hurrah. Really? Yeah. And that is the truth. That is wonderful. On the ranch everyone talks about Warren’s son.
They say he is even better than his father, but around here no one puts on airs, you work in silence and the rest is up to the land. I had to pack boards for bridges, for the Forest Service today. Yeah. So it was 12 miles back there, and then 12 miles back out. You’re wearing a gun because it was… For bears mostly, and then just other things that could go wrong in the mountains.
You gotta spend the night out there. Yeah. And the thing you don’t want to think of, if a horse breaks a leg… just all sorts of things. Especially when you’re riding in the dark. There are a lot of grizzlies. Yeah. So anytime I go into the wilderness, I carry a handgun. At least a handgun. Yes. It seems that every cowboys has in common this need for freedom.
Right? That’s exactly right. And I think that… that’s probably has something to do with it. Right. Like there’s always a lot of other things going on, that you have to do with, business side of it. But the reason… the reason you do it… is for those days where you get to saddle up your horse and just take off and it’s wide open country.
And, you know, you are still working, but… but there’s something to be said for that nowadays, to spend ten hours in the saddle, never saw another person. Is that how they dry? Yes. They itch and they dry themselves off, same time. It’s a good moment for them. Yes, it is. I just wanted to ask you: what makes a good cowboy nowadays? As far as making a really good cowboy, it is somebody has to really enjoy the freedom, the hard work.
We don’t get set hours in our work week. Some mornings, like this morning, I was up at 2 o’clock, to start saddling horses, and other days, you know, it is pretty easy. And I think that is what it takes, because you do not do it for the money. It’s not just a job that you’re gonna go do and retire from. This is something that you’re planning on doing until you die.
That’s your life. Yeah. It’s just your life. Yeah. If I would ask you what’s happiness for a cowboy like you, what would it be? I guess when I am… when I’m around the horses, brings me happiness. And there’s something special too, when you see the colt born and then you watch it progress. All of a sudden you feel like you are… you’re one with them, really.
Yes, I could agree with that. I was certainly not the best helper Warren could have had, but luckily he did not need one. These days though, between work, conversations and shared silences, we really started to understand each other. So almost as a sign of trust he invited me into his tavern, his sanctuary, full of memories, trophies and stories that never stop living.
This is a bear. A brown bear. Black bear. Yes. Brown in color. Yes. It’s a great big one. And you… did you hunt it? We hunted it. The moose my son Jeremiah killed. I guess the people back home could be impressed by all those animals, but I think that we have to remember that here you kind of survive. Yeah. Everything that we’ve killed here, except for the predators, we eat.
Yeah. I mean, we do not eat bears, but some people do. Yeah. Yeah. We have to… we have to bring the meat in and then we give it away. Yeah. I mean, you do not go out there… you do not go out to kill for fun. No. It is just for eating. This is how we survive. To protect you. Yeah. In your eyes, what makes someone a real cowboy? A real cowboy? I know a lot of real cowboys.
And I know a lot of wannabe cowboys. They’re not there just for show. They are not there just for the clothes. And no matter what happens, they never quit their job. And they unsaddle their horse first before they take care of themselves. A real cowboy just does it. I mean, he doesn’t sit around and tell everyone, you know, that he’s a real cowboy.
You know one when you see it. You know one when you work with them. You can tell by their actions. You know, how they open a gate, how they lead a horse through a gate, how they teach a horse, how they feed their horses and take care of them. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your cowboy life? Take care of yourself so you can take care of the ones you love.
Because it’s dangerous out there. I’ve ridden so many miles alone by myself, in all kinds of weather and bad things. You have to navigate around Mother Nature. If you try to fight Mother Nature, she’s going to kill you. There’s no doubt about it. She’s a winner always. So you have to go flow with Mother Nature, respect her and she will respect you.
And never, ever do something that risks the life of your horse. Can you describe who your horse is to you? What is my horse to me? Yeah. It is the most important thing that you can have. You are almost useless without that animal. What makes you happy? Most people don’t see it or don’t think that I have it, but it would be freedom to do what I want.
I can get on a horse here, right now, and I can ride for maybe 300 miles and not open a gate, not cross a road. And I can do that anytime that I really want to at this point in my life. But, and then I have the ability and the freedom to take care of myself, my land, my horses, my family. Tomorrow is the big day.
Warren’s cowboys will compete with the best in the county. But tonight, as always, the days end like this: in front of the fire, with a beer in your hand and your eyes hypnotized by the sparks. I do not think everyone knows that rodeo is not an invented sport.
It was born right out on the range, from the real life of cowboys. In fact, it is the spectacular version of what they do every day: riding, taming and hanging on. It used to be just contests between coworkers at the end of the day. Whereas today they are events with rules, judges, prizes and a crowd holding its breath.
I just grew up riding horses, just kind of sticky myself. So I decided I might as well have a little fun, make a little money. It’s a huge adrenaline rush and a lot of fun. Just before… you’re just really zoned in, focused. And afterwards you just have a good time. You’re just thankful you had fun and… just kind of go hang out with your friends afterwards.
Yeah. If I wasn’t wearing that, I probably would’ve broke my foot. Yeah.
You flew in the air, I swear man! You enjoy it? The first one… I hate getting bucked off. After your performance, what is happiness for you? As far as rodeo goes, happiness is making a good ride. Regardless of whether you win or not, if you make a good ride and if the horse is really good and you make a good ride… that’s pretty good.
I mean, it’s just like that, you know, getting bucked off. And then not only getting bucked off, but stepping on my foot. And that’s, it’s part of life, you know. You got to take, right now I’m winning it, and I also just got bucked off. So you got to take the losses as well as the wins and just roll with it, you know.
And learn to enjoy it and learn from it, and learn to enjoy it and keep going, so… I do not know if I will really manage to explain to you what I found here. You only understand a cowboy’s life when the sun burns your back and the dust gets everywhere. But there is one thing I have understood. It is a promise.
To the land, to the animals that count on you and to those who taught you to stay firm in the saddle when everything is moving. When I talked to them about happiness, the same word kept coming back. Freedom. But not freedom the way we mean it. For them it does not mean doing whatever you want. It means living in a place you never really control.
Where the weather changes in a minute. Animals can run off and the Earth is the only one that sets the rules. For a real cowboy freedom is responsibility. It means taking care of something that does not belong to you but that would not hold together without you. It is the wind in your face when you ride.
But also the effort when the fence gives way. It is the endless horizon. But also knowing exactly what your place is in it. And when you watch them ride you understand it. Their freedom is not going far away. It is feeling that you have already arrived.
