Complaint Review: Ralph Melvin - Covell California Clydesdales - Cambria California

i lived and worked on ralphs ranch in azusa and cambria. ralphs a good man i call my friend. Days are long and work is hard on a ranch, thats just the way it is.

I have personally worked for Ralph Covell in the past at the ranch in Cambria.  I grew up on a cattle ranch in Arizona and have been working on ranches my whole life.  I'm very familiar with how the lifestyle and culture work. I'm not trying to be rude, but I've seen your type come and go on ranches across the country.  I now own my own ranch and have to watch out for self proclaimed "cowboys" like you.  Ralph runs his ranch the way must ranch owners do, he expects a lot, and the work is hard.  The pay is never very much, that's just the life of the job.  There are a few things to consider with a job like this. One, is your pay includes more then just cash.  Your supplied room and board. That includes either a room in a house, a small house of your own, or a travel trailer. All of these options are quite common. Of course its not going to be a five star resort.  If that's what you're expecting, your sadly mistaken.  My accommodations at the ranch included a travel trailer that was, to be honest, one of the nicest I've been given in all the ranches I've worked. I was also given a truck to drive, and use of 4 wheeler.  My groceries were provided for me, I never went hungry.  I even had satellite on a big screen tv inside my trailer!  That, I must say, was a first for me.On top of this, I received a weekly cash salary comparable to yours.  And I worked 7 days a week, although I was given the option of only working 6. But in order for me to have a day off, the other cowboy working there had to work harder.  So i chose not to take a day off. 

A ranch hand isn't a 9-5 hourly position. Its not just a job that you clock in and clock out.  By choosing to be a part of that ranch you're accepting the responsibilities of that ranch.  You live there, its your life.  I treat every ranch I work for as if it's my own.  I was raised that way, and I never received any cash payment working for my families ranch.  Working for Covell was hard work, that's just ranch life.  I think I replaced every stretch of fence out there at one point or another. And I'm not surprised you were back fixing them again. That's ranch life.  I remember waking up at 3am to go fix a broken pipe so we didn't lose all the ranch's water supply by morning.  That's ranch life.  I remember being up all night on a cot in the barn, freezing, because a mare was about to foal. And still having to work hard the next day.  That's ranch life.   But i also remember the smell of fresh air in the morning. I remember pausing at the top of a hill because the view took my breath away.  I remember watching a herd of horse run across the open hillside with a sunset providing a backdrop that would give a landscape artist goosebumps.  I remember feeling like the outside world with its wars, and pain and suffering, no longer existed. That it was just me, the horses, and that ranch.  And that my friend, is ranch life. 

So before you slander this man and his ranch, maybe you should look at yourself and realize maybe you got yourself into something you didn't understand, our weren't prepared for. Because after all the hard work, sleepless nights, bumps, scrapes, bruises, and headaches...I'm happy with my time spent on that ranch.  It was better than most.  On a side note, the five hundred some odd dollars you're claiming that you're owed for wages, actually went to the other ranch hand for having to pick up the slack when you left until you were replaced.  And that gentleman works very hard and earned every penny. 

Thank you for your time, An original cowboy