Winter Cattle Journal 2025 | Hoodoo Ranch Hosts Annual ‘Kid Branding’ 

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” 

― Xun Kuang 

For Daniel Dalton, cattle manager at the Hoodoo Ranch, involving youth in ranching operations is of utmost importance.  

Since 2019, he and his crew have hosted a “Kid Branding” – a day set aside for the kids from their ranch and neighboring ranches to grow in their skills. Each year depends on several factors: schedules, which bunch of cows is close to home, and how many late calvers are available to brand. When he has a bunch of 60-100 calves, he invites young cowhands and their parents  

While many of the kids in attendance at the Kid Branding help with other area brandings, this day is set aside for them. Dalton said, “Our brandings are pretty kid-friendly in general. But our big brandings are also pretty high-intensity, trying to get a lot of cattle done as fast as we can.” Dalton said the average Hoodoo branding day consists of heading and heeling 400-450 head. “Rarely are we done after 11:30 a.m. And so, if kids aren’t pretty equipped and know what they’re doing, they don’t get to be involved as much.” 

Therefore, a slow-paced branding with adults on standby to coach and assist is the next step up for some aspiring cowboys and cowgirls.  

Dalton, who has been at the Hoodoo since 2018, said, “My kids have always loved going to brandings, and this was a way to involve kids that weren’t necessarily involved or didn’t know what to do. It gives them a chance to do it.” This year, around 18 kids were in attendance.  

While there are several methods of branding calves, the preferred style of the Hoodoo and other regional ranches around Meeteetse and Cody is the head-and-heel method. This method requires advanced horsemanship and roping skills, as well as a greater need for diligence and courtesy in the branding pen. All of this provides a steep learning curve for kids. 

Instilling safety and responsibility in a controlled environment is the first priority at the Kid Branding. Dalton said, “I’ve been involved in this long enough, I’ve seen some pretty bad wrecks with kids – and adults – just because they didn’t know they were doing something wrong.  

“One of my greatest fears is losing my kid to something I could’ve prevented. When we’re branding cattle, the priority is to be safe. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have a [rope] burnt hand here or there, but at the Kid Branding, we’re trying to pay attention and we can be there and help them. We can teach those kids what it means to be rim-fired and how to follow directions.”  

Tyler Terry, who has been employed at the Hoodoo for nearly a year, saw marked growth in his two sons – aged 7 and 8 – after the Kid Branding.  

The oldest, Quaid, took on a responsible role, having gained experience at other brandings this spring. Terry said, “Things can go hectic real fast with that many little people on horses, but it was very rewarding for me to cut him loose and see how he handled the situation on his own and how he handled watching other people, when to heel, when to go ahead and head one.”  

The youngest, Hardy, gained so much confidence that he was “gung-ho” to help his dad doctor calves in the pasture the following week. “At the kid branding, there wasn’t a lot of people that he considered intimidating because everybody was his size. The week after that, that’s where I saw his confidence climb, because we went out and caught some stuff and he was right there in the middle of it.” 

The Hoodoo Ranch uniquely provides an opportunity for families to work together in day-to-day operations.  

The Hoodoo Ranch is situated south of Cody, Wyoming, running a primarily Charolais-based cow herd. The ideal “Hoodoo cow,” as Dalton calls it, is a yellow cow, or buckskin cow, achieved by the continued crossing of Charolais and Red Angus.  

The ranch has a history as colorful as its cattle. It was founded originally by A.A. Anderson, a New York scholar, soldier and artist, which is where their enduring artist’s palette brand originated. The ranch was expanded by the Henry Coe family after their purchase in 1910, and it was purchased in 1940 and is still owned today by the Hunt family.  

No one is exactly sure why the name “Hoodoo” stuck, save for the hoodoo rock formations on the ranch, said Dalton.  

Craig Hutchinson, who has been employed by the Hoodoo for nine years, appreciates the chance to pass his love for the lifestyle onto his four boys. “The things that I cherished as a kid –being able to work alongside grandpas, dads, and other family members – I wanted that for my children. So that’s why it’s important for me. That’s one of the reasons that I do what I do. Not all dads can take their kids to work. I’ve had jobs before where that wouldn’t be an option. 

PULL QUOTE: 

“If we don’t train them up in the future of agriculture, who’s going to do it?” 

– Craig Hutchinson 

“The work ethics, the agriculture, ranching, cowboying things, things that I’m interested in that I still enjoy doing – I want to pass those on to my kids, whether they use them or not,” he said.  

Dalton feels the same way about raising his three sons, aged 16 to 7. “My boys all got a saddle for their second birthday. It doesn’t mean they have to do it the rest of their life, but at least by the time they’re 18, whether they want to do this or not, they’ve had the opportunity to do it. As a kid, I had great mentors that taught me how to rope, taught me how to ride, taught me how to work cattle. And had it not been for them, I never would’ve chose the road I chose.”  

“A kid will never know if they want to ranch or not if they’ve never been given the opportunity to, even if they grow up on a cattle ranch. If they’re never given the opportunity to go out on the ranch and to see why we do what we do, how do they know whether it’s something they want to do or not?” said Dalton. 

Dalton appreciates the ability to join timeless traditions with modern ranching technology. “I love my EID reader, but I also love being able to saddle my horse and go out and head-and-heel brand calves all spring long. You don’t have to be so progressive that you never ride a horse anymore, but don’t have to be so traditional that you long trot from the Hoodoo to the LU. We can load up in our pickup and trailer and go.” 

Hutchinson, too, is well aware the ranching and western lifestyle may fade away without youth involvement.  

“If we don’t nurture [an interest] while they’re young, there’s so many other things to take that spot in their interests as they grow up. If we don’t train them up in the future of agriculture, who’s going to do it? Because, I mean, honestly, people are less and less interested in it. Not everybody’s into hard work, long days, low monetary pay, things like that. It’s not really enticing to people. So if we don’t do it, who’s going to do it?” Hutchinson said. 

Hutchinson thinks the memories made are a key takeaway from the Kid Branding. “When you’re kids, you always want to do what the big kids are doing or what your parents are doing. So for them to be able to get on a horse and go in there and rope – whether they catch or not – they’re in there and in their eyes they’re doing everything that mom or dad does every day.”