From the highway, Toyah looked very much like a ghost town, which it is to a huge degree, says Garth Rumsmoke. But the town still has life. One resident rebuilt a small Western town in his backyard that’s open to travelers.

As you might recall from other articles, Kathy and I stayed at Dick Beck’s place 12 miles south of Pearce, Arizona, for the winter of 2003/2004. With the coming of spring and full of memories, we decided to head east to attend some horse shows. March found us on Interstate 10 in southern Texas, heading east. We planned to stop in Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio to attend the large horse shows and see friends.

Searching our horse-travel guide, we found a listing for Ingram Ranch (915/259-3951) in the little town of Toyah, Texas, located just north of I-10 on Route 20. As we’d never been in this part of Texas before, we had no idea what to expect. From the highway, Toyah looked very much like a ghost town, which it is to a huge degree, as it’s a former railroad town, now left setting alone in the middle of Texas. Empty buildings, stores, banks, homes, schools, and still this little Texas town has life.

Our first view of Toyah was a neat-looking restaurant. The post office was next door. We asked for directions to Ingram Ranch from a nice local gal walking along the street.

Driving out to the ranch, we weren’t quite sure we’d picked a winner in Toyah. As it turned out, the stable was fairly new, and had huge, clean stalls with all the modern fixin’s, including an indoor arena, water, and electricity. We could park our rig right up against the building, plug into whatever we needed, and settle in for the night. We hadn’t been there long when another rig pulled in, and we discovered that folks hauling across this part of Texas use Ingram Ranch quite often.

The restaurant in town provided us with a good-tasting, filling supper. There, we learned the history of Toyah from the waitress. It seems that when the railroad shut down, so did the town. The few remaining folks either work in nearby towns or are retired. Two nice churches give the town a sign of life. One resident has rebuilt a small Western town in his backyard that’s open to travelers.

A Big Texas Welcome

Next, we headed to Priefert Ranch Equipment in Mount Pleasant, home of the Texas Thunder Percheron Hitch, and Goliath, the world’s largest horse. Goliath stands 19.1 hands high (six feet, five inches at the withers) and weighs about 2,200 pounds. It’s a humbling experience to stand next to him. Goliath in himself is a one-horse show.

We were lucky to be able to overnight at the stables and see these huge horses at home. When we arrived, the team was getting ready to attend a show in Denver, Colorado. It was a scene to remember: attendants standing on stepladders to wash and groom the huge animals, others washing and polishing the wagon, and looking at the huge trailers.

The cab of the tractor that pulled the horse trailer was like the cockpit of a 707. A same-size rig was home to the crew. Like a 707, there were stairs just to climb in. Inside, it was like a motel room on wheels, with everything the crew needed and a hot-water system that never quit. To copy the teen talk of today, it was totally awesome.

Talking to the driver of the Texas Thunder Hitch was most interesting. Jason Goodman has been working with draft horses most of his life. He began driving as a child to feed his family’s livestock. He’s driven the Priefert Hitch for audiences at the Denver National Western Stock Show & Rodeo, the All American Quarter Horse Congress, the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, plus rodeos, major horse fairs, and parades all across the United States.

Arkansas Trails

Our next stop was in Bismarck, Arkansas, home of the Bar Fifty Ranch (888/829-9570; wwwbarfiftyranch.com). The ranch is easy to find, right on the main road through the area.

Now here’s a place to put some miles on your horse — 20,000 acres, plus all the comforts of home. You name it, the Bar Fifty has it: nice campsites, water, electricity, a nice shower house with modern plumbing, meals, nice log cabins, big pipe pens for your horse, water at each site, good parking, and level spots for your rig. Plus hay and feed, if needed. The ranch also has rental horses, a summer camp for kids, local activities, rodeos, and horse sales.

The trails we found were just about every kind you can name — plenty of miles of whatever you like. We felt at home running around from trail to trail and never worried about getting lost, as the trail system is well-marked. If you visit, take your camera, as this is one of those places you’ll want to remember.

Well, after going to some horse shows in Indiana and Ohio, the next big stop was home. We'll start another trip that takes in a number of states soon, and we’ll have plenty of good riding to tell you about.