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Texas Ranch House is an PBS American reality television series that premiered in May 2006. Produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, Wall to Wall Media Limited, and PBS, the show placed fifteen modern day people in the context of 1867 Texas. Show participants attempted to run a ranch for two and a-half months using 19th century tools and techniques. The historian Alwyn Barr, professor emeritus at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, was the consultant on the program.
The first episode opens with the arrival of the vaqueros, or cowboys, at the 1867 bunkhouse where they will be living for the next three months. After meeting the Cookes, the vaqueros get right to work learning about the taxing manual labor required on the ranch such as digging post holes and hammering fencing. Their foreman, Stan, nicknamed “The Colonel” , introduces them to the difficult tasks that lay ahead.
While the cowboys are out rounding up the cattle, the women are learning about the drudgeries of domestic life on the ranch. As tensions come to a head, Mr. Cooke has to make some decisions regarding his ranch hands, and ultimately decides to fire someone.
The cowboys awake to another difficult day on the ranch as they discover that 10 horses have been stolen, horses they desperately need for the cattle drive. Food becomes a matter of contention between the vaqueros and the Cookes which leads to another firing.
The viability of the Cooke ranch is in question as only one quarter of the required cattle have been claimed so far. Cowboy Shaun takes over duties as the new cook much to the delight of the vaqueros. A delivery of food and mail arrives at the ranch. Mr. Cooke receives good news – he may have a buyer for his cattle.
Mr. Cooke assesses the cowboys' performance and a new cowhand arrives. Mr. Cooke’s decision to send Maura, “girl of all work” to cowboy training angers the vaqueros.
The cowboys find several of their stolen horses as they have a run-in with a camp of Comanche Native Americans. The Comanches take one of the vaqueros hostage and it is up to the Comanche leader and Mr. Cooke to negotiate his release. The Cooke girls are busy tending to five new baby goats and Maura and Robby come to an agreement on her position as a cowhand.
The cowboys have culled 131 head of cattle from the herd for the cattle drive, leaving the rest to restock the ranch. The long 12-hour day in the saddle is exhausting and the cowboys’ spirits dampen at the thought of eight more days on the trail. Meanwhile, back at the ranch the Cooke women are battling a fly infestation.
The cattle drive comes to a close as the cowboys reach their destination of Fort Santiago. The drive is a success but tensions boil over as the group returns to the ranch. The assessment team gives their review of the participants and delivers the answer to the big question – would the ranch have been able to survive another year?
