The Great Florida Cattle Drive will return in 2031, according to information shared by the organizing committee.

The original Great Florida Cattle Drive was held in 1995 as a way for Florida Cattlemen to commemorate the state's 150th birthday.

The vision was to reenact one of the historic Cracker Cattle Drives, involving members of the Florida Cattlemen's Association from each of the state's cattle counties.

During that drive, 1,000 head of certified Cracker Cattle were driven 100 miles from Yeehaw Junction through Florida's Cattle country to the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. The event drew more than 600 horses and riders, 25 wagons and a few hardy re-enactors who walked the entire way.

Participants were encouraged to wear period-appropriate clothing. They slept under the stars and saw parts of Florida that few are privileged to visit.

That drive sparked the formation of the Florida Cow Culture Preservation Committee. In 2006, the committee organized a second drive, with 500 cattle and about 450 horses and riders.

Ten years later, the third Great Florida Cattle Drive took place in 2016. This time the participants faced harsh weather with heavy rains and cold temperatures. They endured, proving the drive's motto "It' aint for sissies!"

The committee discussed holding the drive every 10 years. They made a special exception for a special drive to honor the 500th anniversary of the arrival of cattle in Florida. This drive -- originally planned for 2021 but delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic -- recognized Florida as the birthplace of the American cattle industry.

This special drive started at the Deseret Ranch in St. Cloud and zig-zagged across other ranches over six days to end at the Silver Spurs Arena.

Jan. 26-31, 2026, the Great Florida Cattle Drive hit the trail again. The 2026 drive followed the 10-year interval of the regular drives. The drive started at YeeHaw Junction and traveled south through ranchland, ending the trail at the Okeechobee Cattlemen's Rodeo Arena. 

This drive included about 350 riders and support volunteers and honored the book "A Land Remembered." As with the 1995 drive, the Cracker Cattle were used for the drive. Florida school children who were reading "A Land Remembered" were treated to daily live feeds from the cattle drive.

In addition to the cattle drives, the Great Florida Cattle Drive committee hosts annual reunion gatherings, usually over a weekend in January.

While previous cattle drives were held every 10 years -- with the exception of the special drive to honor the 500th anniversary of the arrival of cattle in Florida -- the committee plans to schedule the next big cattle drive in just 5 years.

The next Great Florida Cattle drive Board meeting will be  Aug 30, at 1 p.m. at the Spurs Arena, in Kenansville. The meeting is open to all. New volunteers are welcome. The committee will close out the 2026 ride, decide the location for the 2027 reunion ride and look at a path forward to the next Cattle Drive, 2031.

Here's a link to a video about the 2026 Great Florida Cattle Drive:

TGFCD_0525_final final.mp4 - Google Drive