Los Vaqueros de Farmacia

(The Drugstore Cowboys)
A Short History of The Orme School’s Annual Horseback Ride

In the late 1960s, a group of Orme Alumni began talking about how the dirt roads throughout America were disappearing. It was proposed that, before the roads were all paved, the group should make a trip from the West Coast to the East Coast, traveling only on dirt roads. Well, they soon realized that wouldn’t work, so decided to take a horseback ride from The Orme School to Phoenix.

The first ride was in March of 1976 with 11 Vaqueros making the trip in 72 hours. They reveled in the great vistas, good company, and the cowboy experience so much that it became an annual event, with the promise to always travel with a support crew, several cooks, and a well-stocked bar and chuck box. Over the years, the Vaqueros have traversed the mountains, canyons and hogbacks all across Yavapai County looking for camp, and pretty nearly always finding it.

The ride is now five days long and includes a Saturday night Vaquero Reunion with camp songs, professional entertainment, tales of Old Arizona, and plenty of Vaquero humor. Los Vaqueros has remained small by choice, and there are no strangers in a group that we’ve capped at 35. For most Vaqueros, this is their only ride.

Other options to riding a horse are also offered such as riding in a van, hiking from campsite to campsite, or riding along with ‘El Jefe Alberto’ in the Number One supply truck. You are welcome to even just join us for the Saturday night festivities if you cannot get away for the full five days. The Vaqueros always ride out on a Wednesday during the School’s Spring Break in mid-to-late March, and return the following Sunday morning.

Everyone is entitled to one phenomenally stupid idea.

William S. “Buck” Hart, Founder