Trail Bosses
If you're interested in joining a group ride, these guys can show you the way.
By Lisa Broadwater

Doyle Scroggins at the Bar OF Ranch
He may hesitate to call himself a cowboy, but if you've ever met Doyle Scroggins — or visited his Scotland home, which boasts enough cowboy memorabilia to outfit a small museum — you wouldn't.
Raised on a 400-acre cattle ranch in Van Buren County about seven miles west of Scotland, Scroggins grew up riding Quarter horses and working cattle.
"My dad always kept good horses," he recalls. "I have a picture when I'm about 12 years old on a horse; that was supposedly my first one. It just went from there."
After attending college at the University of Central Arkansas, Scroggins headed to Texas for awhile, but found his way back to Arkansas in the '70s, opening a barber shop in North Little Rock and running his own cattle operation in Scotland on the side. Eventually, the cattle business won out — he wound up with 150 to 160 pairs of Hereford cows and calves, which he ran on 1,200 adjacent acres that he leased.
If you've ever attended the pre-race festivities of the National Championship Chuckwagon Races in Clinton, you've probably run across Scroggins. For more than a decade, he has led group trail rides there (he was friends with Chuckwagon Race founder Dan Eoff even before Eoff got into ranching). Last year, 178 people rode from the Bar OF ranch into Clinton to the city park, where they ate barbecue before riding back to the ranch.
Scroggins also hosts three rides for the Arkansas Trail Riders Association each year at his Scotland ranch (one in May, one in early fall and one in December).
When he first began trail riding, it was strictly a recreational thing.
"I started out just riding on the ranch, and then of course you like people to go with you so you invite friends to come ride with you," he says.
He got more serious when he retired in 1998.
"My property joins Game & Fish Commission land, which joins the National Forest. So I can ride to Oklahoma, nearly," he says with a laugh. "And when it's not a specific hunting season, Game & Fish will give me permission to ride on their grounds."
Beginning in March, Scroggins will be guiding monthly rides at the Bar OF (which is just down the road from his own place). From March through July and in October and November, the Bar OF will be open to guests from Thursday night through Sunday morning on the second weekend of the month (August and September will be closed because of preparations for the chuckwagon races).
For $5 per day, you take join a daylong ride on Eoff's scenic ranch. For another $5 a day, you can camp out on the grounds (for another $3, you can have electric or water provided for your camper). Although you're responsible for managing your own horse, if you need corral panels, you can rent them for $1 each.
As you can see, this isn't exactly a high-dollar, money-making proposition.
"The whole thing is kind of just to have fun and use the ranch and use the trails," Scroggins explains. "The Bar OF Ranch is a pretty nice ranch, and horsepeople are always saying, 'Won't you let us come ride?' Well, it's a working ranch, so you couldn't really do that without it being scheduled. So Dan asked me if I would organize and lead the first of it, and see how it works."
The plan, Scroggins says, is to head out at 10 o'clock each Friday and Saturday morning then return by 2:30 or so. In the evenings, the Bar OF's covered arena will be open for horse games from 6:30 to about 8:30.
"We're not sure what kind of games yet," Scroggins says, "we're just gonna do something with the horses and let people have fun and laugh at each other and have a good time. When the weather will let us, we'll try to have a campfire place. That's why we're having horse games — so everybody can gather together."
There's no limit to the number of participants and no need to call in advance.
"We're not really taking reservations or booking as such; people can just show up," Scroggins says. "The way we're operatin' is, just whoever comes, we're gonna take 'em ridin'."
Folks couldn't ask for a better guide than Scroggins — he knows this country intimately.
"I've pretty much ridden it all," he says.
He's been scouting trails for the last month or so. His idea of the ideal trail: "I like a woods trail; I don't like to ride service roads. I like an old loggin' road that's already in the woods, if I can find it. And they usually switch back and forth along some hills, and about all you have to do then is trim the bushes so they don't knock your hat off. There's some steep places but they're not real dangerous or anything."
Scroggins is organizing four different rides at Bar OF so guests can ride both Friday and Saturday, on a different trail each time. And everyone, from beginner to trail expert, is welcome.
"I think anybody who likes to rides horses and trail ride will have a good time," Scroggins says. "We'll try to see that they do. We try to present the trails in a manner that just about nearly anybody can do it."
Don't expect a lot of trail rules, however.
"It's better not to have a bunch of rules;" Scroggins says; "that way you don't have any to break. Mostly, we just ask people to act considerate and have a good time. To me, it's just 'Act in a manner that won't hurt anybody or disturb anybody else's riding. Follow the cowboy code — take care of your horse and take care of each other.' "
And be prepared.
"One of the most common mistakes people make is they don't have their horses in shape," Scroggins says. "They're not fit enough, and in spring, for example, they'll bring them out and want to go on an all-day ride and the horse is really not fit; he's been standing up all winter."
What Scroggins most enjoys about group trail riding, he says, is the camaraderie.
"I like to be a part of somethin' Western; and as long as people are having a good time and ridin' good horses, it's a lot of fun," he adds. "I enjoy doing it, and I'm fortunate that I can — that I live in a place where I can and I'm physically able and have the means to do it."
For more information about the Bar OF guided trail rides, call Scroggins at (501) 592-3987 or (501) 454-8388 or email doylemary@ozarkisp.net.

Bob Roper's Ozark Mountain Trail Ride
"Roper" is an apt name for Bob Roper — he spent many years cowboyin', especially calf roping, with his younger brother (Bob was heeler and his brother was header). And when it comes to horses, well, "I can remember not having horses for 90 days one time, " Roper says — "when Uncle Sam sent me greetings. I was 21, and I sold my horse because I didn't want anybody to have to take care of him."
Roper was called into service three times in three months, but rejected each time — a bad heart, he was told (he found out a few years ago the problem was actually his gall bladder). That was 40 years ago. Since then, Roper says, "I've done a little bit of everything — I drove trucks, I was a welder. Primarily what I did, though (and still do occasionally) is I'm an auctioneer and sell registered Quarter horses."
The 400-acre spread that Roper owns (about 15 miles northwest of Mountain View) actually includes the spot his great-grandfather homesteaded in 1886. He's lived in the area all his life (he was raised just down the road).
Twenty-six years ago, Roper decided to host five-day trail rides on his place three times a year. He got the idea after a rich guy from Texas approached him about buying his land and putting a hotel and restaurant on it. Rather than take the six-figure sum, Roper decided to host trail rides there in April, June and October.
"The only guys in the world who believed in the idea was me and the banker," Roper recalls. "It was just something I wanted to do; I knew I would enjoy it because I like horses and people. If it made money, okay; and if it broke even, that's still okay because I've got other ways of making a livin', anyway. It wasn't somethin I was depending on to buy groceries."
That first year, Roper's Ozark Mountain Trail Ride drew 17 guests from Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, thanks to an ad in Western Horseman. The Monday-through-Friday, three-meals-a-day, all-you-can-ride package cost a whopping $70. These days, each ride draws from 100 to 200 people; adults pay $175. If you want a stall (the campground is equipped with more than 100), there's an additional $15. If you want a campfire, Roper will furnish the firewood.
"Everybody brings his own horse and his own sleeping facilities," Roper explains. "And we get everything from $29.95 Sears & Roebuck tents to half-million-dollar motor homes — I've had 'em all."
And what should guests expect in a typical week?
"There is no such thing as a typical week," Roper says. "That's what makes it unique. Everyone is different; you may get one bunch down there that's loud and yells and screams and hollers and carries on. And you may get another bunch that's like prayer meetin' on Wednesday night — they're just quiet and laid-back. But, knock on wood, I've been there 25 years, and I've never had to get on anybody about nothin'."
Each day, there are two morning rides (a gaited and a nongaited), followed by a hot meal served in Roper's massive dining hall, and then two afternoon rides.
"And we go a different trail every trip," Roper says. "The only way you'll see the same way twice is if you go out on your own."
Which people are welcome to do.
"Oh yeah," Roper says. "And I've had to go out and hunt a few up, too.
"I have a couple from Monroe, Louisiana, that I gave a 25-year buckle to last year," he adds. "They've been here twice a year for 25 years and they never ride with a group."
When it comes to terrain, there are plenty of options for riders to choose from.
"I've got trails I've never even seen," Roper says. "We cut one new trail every year. I've probably got 280 to 300 miles of trails out there. The trails all go up and down, of course, because this is Stone County — there's no flat land in Stone County. You definitely have to have your horses shod."
Here, rules are kept to a minimum.
"You don't pass the trail boss, and no drinkin' on the trail," Roper says. "That's just about it. We hope you come to enjoy yourself, and hope you do. Just act like ladies and gentlemen.
"You're on vacation," he adds. "You've got a boss the rest of the time. This is your week to do what you want to do. The only rule we've got is have fun."
In addition to all the riding you can handle (Roper's land is adjacent to 385,000 acres of National Forest), there's live music every night.
"We've got a dance floor and the whole bit," Roper says. "We build a big fire and roast marshmallows and what-have-you."
Some folks wonder why Roper only hosts the rides for three weeks each year (occasionally, he does rent the grounds, which include a bathhouse with hot showers, to large groups).
"That's all I want," he says. "I've gone three days at a time and had my clothes off only long enough to take a shower. I'm the horse doctor, I'm the electrician, the plumber, I fix whatever goes wrong. If I get everything just right, then I ride."
And he isn't interested in creating a large-scale operation.
"But the people enjoy it so much — and I enjoy it probably more than they do — that as long as it's breaking even and paying the bills, I don't care.
"I have people come to the ride who don't even bring a horse. They come to visit. And now they come from all over the world. We've had folks from Sweden, England, Germany, France and every state in the Union."
For more information about the Ozark Mountain Trail Rides, call Bob Roper at (870) 746-4300. This year's rides are April 5-9, June 7-11 and Oct. 4-8. 2004

Editor's Note: Do you know someone who hosts guided trail rides? If so, tell us about them so we can include them in future Trail Boss features. Email us or drop us a line at Box 575, Dardanelle AR 72834 or give us a call at (479) 229-2504.