Flying Horse Co.

Our History

"The cowboy is a maverick.

He does not put up with nonsense.

A cowboy's life is not run by a committee.

He does not work with bureacracy.

And, he is not in a union.

People like that."

Adam H. Ainsworth established the Flying Horse Co. of Hat Creek, Alberta in 1990.

The Flying Horse Co. is a place where the time between the going down of the sun and the coming of sleep truly belongs to the tellers of stories and lies. It's a place where all the stories are long winded and have happy endings. The Flying Horse Co. is on the northern range where your dreams will find you under a prairie sky. It's a place that time has truly forgotten.

The Flying Horse Co. is a part of cowboy mythology. The Flying Horse Co. even has its own Motto. There is no bureaucracy at the Flying Horse Co. things are not run by a committee and people like that. It's the cowboy way.

Most of the cowboys on the northern range are wondering cowboys. They are always on the move and roam as the seasons change. Most of these cowboys like to be with just one outfit when spring roundup and branding time rolls around. And then, in the winter they have to find something else to keep them busy. That's why you'll always find them at Flying Horse Co.

Whether out on the range or at the Flying Horse Co., days start early on the northern range. The first person up starts the fire to take the chill out of the air and then gets the coffee pot on. Breakfast is always a social event at the Flying Horse Co. It's the cowboy way.

The cowboy of the west is fast becoming a legend. People often like to see him as some kind of romantic figure or even a colourful folk-hero riding horseback across the prairies. And so, the cowboy of the west is admired for his independent spirit and his way of life. It's the cowboy way.

But like all legends, the Flying Horse Co. is a complex mixture of fact and fantasy. The old timers like Roy and Gene may be gone by now. But they are not forgotten. The pride they felt being cowboys has become part of the legend and mythology of the Flying Horse Co. It is part of the heritage of the northern range. It is the west.

The cowboy trade has changed a lot over the years. Yet, the Flying Horse Co. cowboys still do almost the same things they did a hundred years ago. Teddy Blue Abbott once said about the cowboys he had known: "I believe I would know an old cowboy in hell with his hide burnt off. It's the way they stand and walk and talk." That's the way things are on the northern range at the Flying Horse Co. today.

And so, whenever cowboys get together at the Flying Horse Co. today, they are sure to exchange stories and lies. They cowboys at the Flying Horse Co. are great storytellers. Many of the myths that grew up on the northern range come from these tall tales that they tell about themselves, their companions in the saddle and their adventures on the range. These stories and lies will become an important part of the history of the Flying Horse Co. and the northern range. It's the cowboy way.