Drifting Cowboy: Legacy Yarns from the Open Range

 

Jerry England's personal adventures, as chronicled in the collection Drifting Cowboy: Legacy Yarns from the Open Range, paint a vivid portrait of a life steeped in the rugged, nomadic ethos of the American West—blending hands-on equestrian escapades, youthful frontier-style explorations, and reflective pursuits in art, history, and family legacy. 

Rather than sensationalized exploits, these yarns emphasize a grounded, enduring passion for horses, open landscapes, and self-reliant living, often shared nostalgically for his grandsons' edification. 

At their core, the stories reveal a man who views himself as inherently "a cowboy at heart," shaped by both direct experiences and an inherited fur trade and ranching heritage spanning 12 generations across North America.

Key facets of his adventures include:

Youthful Mountain Idylls in the 1950s Sierra Nevada: At age 15, the author relocated from urban Los Angeles to a remote, wood-heated cabin near Oakhurst, California, embracing a semi-wild existence amid Yosemite's shadows. Daily life involved chopping oak and pine for the fireplace, drilling wells for water and livestock, hunting deer and quail with a revolver and rifle from horseback, and fly-fishing for trout in the Fresno River just steps from home. Riding his red-dun gelding Sandy along forested trails or Highway 41, he navigated bear sightings at the dump, power outages lit by candlelight, and grueling school bus commutes through snow—adventures that felt like "heaven" for a horse-loving teen, fostering resilience and a deep bond with the land.

Decades of Equestrian Cowboy Life in California: Over 25 years in Chatsworth, the author immersed himself in a full-spectrum cowboy routine, logging thousands of trail rides, parade marches, and horse-camping outings across the West. He owned a rotating herd of equine companions—like the long-lived paint Zinger (ridden in ocean surf at Morro Bay), the Montana-bred Sunup, and the competitive Quarter Horse Kasidy May (partner in mounted shooting events spanning Arizona to Colorado). These escapades extended to organizing the annual "Chatsworth Day of the Horse" event, trading vintage bits, spurs, saddles and trappings, and weathering herd life through wind, illness, and loss, all while balancing family caregiving amid health challenges in his late 70s.

Creative and Reflective Wanderings: Beyond the saddle, adventures unfold through canoeing echoes of his voyageur ancestors, crafting cowboy folk art (e.g., "Cowboy Chic" furniture inspired by Western films), and authoring books like Reel Cowboys of the Santa Susanas on Hollywood ranch locations. A formative 1950 visit to a Montana "stump ranch" ignited his lifelong fixation, teaching him to ride amid tales of Lewis and Clark, while genealogy dives connect his carpentry, soldiering, and writing to ancestral blacksmiths, teamsters, and trappers—framing modern drifts as continuations of that legacy.

Chapter 1 Broomstick Ponies and Valley Vaqueros

Growing up cowboy -- in the San Fernando Valley

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/growing-up-cowboy-in-san-fernando.html

A Nostalgic look back at Walnut Acres (aka Woodland Hills, CA)  1953 - 1957

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2023/12/nostalgic-look-back-at-walnut-acres-aka.html

Cowboy Legacy, Family & Ancestry

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/12/cowboy-legacy-family-ancestry.html

Meetin' Wild Bill On His Calabasas Ranch

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2015/02/meetin-wild-bill-on-his-calabasas-ranch.html

Chapter 2 High Sierra Whispers and First Trails

Ahwahnee is an Interesting Word

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/01/ahwahnee-is-interesting-word.html

Cowboy Legacy -- First Deer Hunt

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/11/cowboy-legacy-first-deer-hunt.html

Cowboy Culture -- A boy, a river, and a fox in a box

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/11/cowboy-culture-boy-river-and-fox-in-box.html

Cowboy Culture -- Recollections of Mountain Living

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2013/07/cowboy-culture-recollections-of-1950s.html

The Trade... Papoose Board for a Winchester

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-trade-paiute-cradleboard-winchester.html

Cowboy Legacy -- Pistol Packin' Momma

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/12/cowboy-legacy-pistol-packin-momma.html

Cowboy Culture -- Living fifty years with coach dogs

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/12/cowboy-culture-living-fifty-years-with.html

Chapter 3 Paint Mares, Pack Strings, and Hard-Earned Wisdom

Canadian whiskey and the paint mare

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/canadian-whiskey-and-paint-mare.html

The Cowboy Who Cashed In a Winner

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-cowboy-who-cashed-in-winner.html

Bronco Billy

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/04/bronco-billy.html

Good 'Uns -- horses, trails, and friends

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/11/good-uns-horses-trails-and-friends.html

Cowboy Wisdom -- Why carry a sharp knife

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/best-way-to-untie-panicked-horse-is.html

Cowboy Wisdom -- Halters and horse sense

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/11/cowboy-wisdom-halters-and-horse-sense.html

Cowboy Wisdom -- Never trust a ground-tied pack mule

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/12/cowboy-wisdom-never-trust-ground-tied.html

Cowboy Wisdom -- Avoid Bees

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2013/01/cowboy-wisdom-avoid-bees.html

Cowboy Wisdom -- Carry your Six-Gun On An Empty Chamber

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2013/01/cowboy-wisdom-carry-your-six-gun-on.html

Chapter 4 Range Riders, Saloons, and the Open Road

Hey Cowboy -- Sometimes Karma is a Bitch

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2015/01/hey-cowboy-sometimes-karma-is-bitch.html

New owner at the "Crossroads Saloon"

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-owner-at-crossroads-saloon.html

Miles City, Montana -- Range Rider Museum

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/01/miles-city-montana-range-rider-museum.html

Wild horses and the "Loneliest Road in America"

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/01/wild-horses-and-loneliest-road-in.html

Road trip -- White Sulphur Springs, Montana

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/01/road-trip-white-sulphur-springs-montana.html

Visiting Col. William F. Cody's TE Ranch

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2015/04/visiting-col-william-f-codys-te-ranch.html

Where’d you get those Wooly Chaps?

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/01/whered-you-get-those-wooly-chaps.html

Sometimes my Son is Good Karma

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/01/sometimes-my-son-is-good-karma.html

Chapter 5 Furniture, Film, and Forgotten Chatsworth

Molesworth Inspired Furniture by Jerry England (1989-2002)

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2021/04/cowboy-chic-funiture-by-lure-of-dim.html

San Fernando Valley Horses and Movies Are Forever Linked

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2012/08/san-fernando-valley-horses-and-movies.html

Chatsworth's Garden of the Gods Park

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/01/chatsworths-garden-of-gods-park.html

Best of Chatsworth Movies 

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2023/05/chatsworth-movies-updated-links.html

Should’ve Been a Cowboy

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2024/05/shouldve-been-cowboy.html

Tribute to ol' Montana

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2019/11/seeking-my-last-best-place.html

A Cowboy's Answer To The Eternal Question

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-cowboys-answer-to-eternal-question.html

Chapter 6 Ol’ Sunup and a Few More Verses

The Anomaly

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-anomaly_97.html

Memories of Ol' Montana

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/02/memories-of-ol-montana.html

Whiskey and horses don't mix -- tequila might kill you

http://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/10/whiskey-and-horses-dont-mix-tequila.html

Mariposa Trail

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/02/mariposa-trail.html

Ol' Sunup

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/02/sunup.html

The Scourge of the West

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2025/02/the-scourge-of-west.html

Overall, Jerry’s tales have evoked a drifting yet rooted odyssey: not of outlaws or gunfights, but of quiet mastery over horses and history, where personal grit meets cultural reverence, underscoring the author's wry conviction that he "should've been a cowboy" all along. 

Your move, saddle up grandsons of the West.

Thank you to Grok xAI for suggestions on organization. -- Drifting Cowboy