Gabriel rides into the sunset

Just stand at the top of the hill and look down the gravel lane. It’s easy to see why Larry Gabriel is so happy to be home. The lane detaches itself from a dusty stretch of the Grindstone Line Road and curls down through short grass prairie in a casual descent to Ash Creek. It drifts left, then right, then left again, slipping through a scattering of black-baldy cattle and a couple of practical ranch buildings before it runs past the trailer of hired hand and rodeo star J.J. Elshere and on to the sturdy, single-story home where Gabriel lives with his wife, Charlotte. Along the way, meadowlarks yodel from fence posts. A hawk wheels darkly in the partly cloudy sky above. And off to the northwest, where Haakon County shows the best of itself in an expansive roll of pasture, a thunderstorm shapes itself into the shadowy profile of a mountain range. It is out of that great breadth of greening grass and roiling sky that Larry Gabriel emerges a few minutes later, looking much like the cowboy he is and little like the legislative leader and agriculture secretary he was. Gabriel ended almost 31 years of public service when he retired March 26 from his agriculture post in the cabinet of Gov. Mike Rounds. That world of politics and policy seems already lost in the past as the 60-year-old rancher lopes smoothly down from a grassy ridge on a mixed-breed horse named Cocoa. With an easy turn of the wrist and slight tilt in the saddle, Gabriel reins the horse into a corral above the creek. He dismounts quickly, offers a firm right hand and nods knowingly as a visitor compliments the landscape. “I’m sure we’re biased,” he says with a grin. “But we think we live in the most beautiful place on earth.” It’s hard to argue, especially on a day with the end of calving in sight and the sweet scent of rain in the air. Those hopeful realities seem to lighten Gabriel’s step as he ties up his horse and saunters down toward the house for a brief, midday interview. “I’ve got a heifer out there that’s getting pretty close,” he says, side-stepping a muddy, creek-bottom pool left by a recent 2-inch rain. “I’ve got an hour or so. Then I should get back.” Getting back to the grass and cattle of northwest Haakon County has been a life-long pattern for Gabriel, a man who treasures his geographic isolation but gave it up regularly to answer the public-service call. His retirement from state government in March left many wondering what Gabriel’s next public-service role would be. But he’s not wondering. “That’s the easiest question to answer,” Gabriel says, tapping a hand on the 100-year-old oak table in his dining room. “After eight years as a county commissioner, 16 years in the state Legislature and six years and 11 months as ag secretary, I think I’ve done my tour of duty to the public sector. Now I’m much more interested in the private sector.” Others will look back, however, at a career that saw him rise in the legislative power structure to become Republican leader in the House and then agriculture secretary for governors Bill Janklow and Mike Rounds....But he’d rather look forward than back these days. And there’s plenty to see in the years ahead. Gabriel ranches with his son, Jeff — like his dad, a former rodeo bronc rider who couldn’t leave the ranch for good. “Jeff was real good,” Gabriel said of his son’s involvement in rodeo. “It was hard for him to give it up. I wasn’t so good, so it was easier for me to quit.” Jeff lives two miles away with his wife, Heather, and their children Sage, Cedar and Ember and a fourth child on the way. Grandpa Gabriel hopes to help introduce them to the ways of the horse and the wild lands of the ranch. Gabriel’s daughter, Mindy Metzger, lives in Brookings, where her husband, Lloyd, works in research at South Dakota State University. And their children, Gabrielle and Carissa, make regular trips to the home ranch. Larry Gabriel plans to be there for those visits, and for those more frequent can’t-miss moments with his other grandchildren on the ranch. He doesn’t expect meetings and public obligations to interfere. “I’ve been to enough meetings,” he said. “There was one in town the other night I probably should have gone to, but I didn’t.” Cooper, who retired as GF&P secretary in January, said Gabriel earned the right to some personal isolation after all his years in the public spotlight. “At heart, he’s a cowboy, a guy who loves the land and being outdoors,” Cooper said. “After being in Pierre all those years and doing battle with people, he gets to live in more human terms — holding his grandkids, having a cup of coffee with his wife, getting on his horse and heading out into the grass.” Gabriel is also getting a good night’s sleep again, after years when the peaceful slumber was often slow to come. “I never knew what stress was, or thought about it. But I guess I was more a victim of it than I realized,” he said. “Now, by the time my head hits the pillow and I roll over once, I’m sound asleep. I feel good. Better than I have in years.” He’s home again, after all, and this time it’s for good.

Many of you may remember Larry and his column which was posted here on Saturday nights. I served as the New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture for 16 years, and had to deal with a lot of politicians and gubernatorial appointees in other states over the years. But not Larry. As the article shows, he was for real. It was damn nice to have someone besides myself wearing a cowboy hat to those meetings. Larry called me before his retirement was made public, and it was clear we had a mutual admiration society going on. If those grandkids listen to Larry, they'll have a leg up on the competition.