For Hollywood cattle ranching and sheep keeping are a range war waiting to happen – but why? This week’s film Springtime in the Rockies poses answer to the question. According to the cattleman side of the dispute, sheep eat grass to the root, ruining the range. Go for your guns. But are they right? Researching the question, do grazing sheep ruin grass, the answer is a resounding yes … and no. The no takes proper management. Moving the sheep from pasture to pasture like rotating crops. Left to their own pursuits, sheep will damage grazing land leading to erosion. So for singing cowboy movie purposes, sheep are the cattleman’s worst nightmare.

Which leads us to Gene Autry, foreman of the Knight ranch, recently inherited by the owner’s daughter Sandra Knight. What would singing cowboys do were it not for lovely daughters inheriting stuff? Awaiting Sandra’s arrival, Gene heads off a range war between hot-head rancher Thad Morgan and would be sheepman Jed Thorpe, persuading Thorpe to get rid of his sheep. Unsuspecting Sandra hits town just in time to take the offensive sheep off Thorpe’s hands. Gene finds himself back in the business of fending off range war.

Gene takes Sandra and her sheep to a rocky patch of ground with a line shack he passes off as her ranch. Gene and Frog paint the sheep to make it appear they have hoof and mouth disease. Meanwhile Morgan gets wind of Sandra and the sheep. He offers her a pittance to buy her ranch. She agrees, thinking it is the rocky patch line shack and not her vastly more valuable real ranch. While papers are drawn for the ranch sale Morgan’s man Briggs tells Sandra about Gene’s sheep trick. She is furious with Gene and will have no part of his warning of Morgan’s swindle in the making.

Gene confronts Morgan who is wounded by Thorpe. Gene is blamed for shooting Morgan and is jailed. Frog springs him, (about as close to ‘springtime in the Rockies’ as the film gets). Sandra signs over her ranch. Briggs heads for the courthouse to file the deed. Gene catches up in time to rip up the deed. Thorpe is identified as Morgan’s shooter. All is forgiven between Sandra and Gene just in time for a romantic sunset ride. The End.

Next Week: Roy – one way or another
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Ride easy,
Paul