Rural Heritage June/July 2026

load. Ivy said at one point his team was fussy, and he let the time run out because the team needed to stand. Ivy heard Brian say that the team needed to learn. She realized that what you are doing today matters tomorrow. Ivy is also very active in the Draft Animal Power Organization and takes her oxen to their field days every fall. Ivy also had a unique opportunity to earn some money with her oxen. In reading the Midwest Ox Drovers newsletter, she found an ad by Luke Connor looking for someone willing to take their oxen to work on a Netflix series. Ivy contacted Luke and got the job. She traveled with Frank and Sparrow from Vermont to New Mexico. She was there for three months filming the first season of the series “American Primeval.” She said the time there really strengthened her bond with the team as they worked closely together in new situations. It made her think about the people who used oxen while moving west and how their lives relied on their cattle. At the end of our conversation, I asked Ivy if she had any advice she would give new teamsters. She said, “The race is long, and in the end, we are only in competition with ourselves. I can be inspired by other people, but I’m not in competition with them. Hopefully we can all share our knowledge.” Something that you would never expect in meeting or talking with Ivy are her lifelong struggles with her mental health. She wrote a piece that was shared in Modern Farmer on November 26, 2019. I’ve included it here (on the next page) because I believe it’s an important and often overlooked topic. But be advised, it may be a difficult topic for some readers.

Part of the duties as the farmer were to train calves from the cattle herd as oxen. Two of those calves were Frank and Sparrow, who were sickly and needed extra attention. Ivy formed a bond with them, and they became her personal team. Ivy uses a traditional bow yoke, which is common in New England and at Tillers. She drives with a twisted whip and an ox goad. Ivy describes her training style as a benevolent dictator. She is firm and in charge, but she adjusts things depending on the team and the situation. Ivy said, “It’s important to be the boss, but you have to be a good boss.” She said Carl Russell summed up her philosophy when he said, “How do I know if I can trust my horses? Prove yourself to be trustworthy.” With Frank and Sparrow, she did some things differently than with her young Ayrshire team, Angus and Malcom. Frank and Sparrow won’t work on either side or pick up their feet. Both things that Angus and Malcom are learning. In the future, Ivy wants to learn to shoe oxen, a useful skill. Eventually, Ivy left Tillers and returned to Vermont to work at High Mowing Organic Seeds. Frank and Sparrow made the journey with her. I saw Ivy at an event in 2022, and in conversation I asked about her relocation. She said, “I have to provide the lifestyle to which my oxen have become accustomed.” With her original team and the addition of the Ayrshires, Ivy has found new ways to keep them busy, since they aren’t in use at her workplace. She has been attending local fairs. Ivy watched an ox pull where teamsters were shouting and swinging stuff around, then she saw Brian Patton pull. He was quiet, and his team stood calmly while his wife hooked them to the

The first ox, Lucky, and his embarrassingly long tugs bring home the Christmas tree.

June/July 2026

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