ANTELOPE ISLAND -- Cowboys are probably in their glory, snow or no, as, riding horseback, they herd hundreds of bison for the annual Bison Roundup, here. "It's such a cool event, we're so lucky to have it," said Barbara Riddle, executive director of the Davis Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We have a client coming in who was so excited when she heard about it," the person is flying in from a thousand miles away, she said.

"The horse riders have until Friday to get those bison to the north and into the corrals," said Ron Taylor, manger of Antelope Island State Park.

"It's always a fun thing for them and for us. We had a lot of visitors, last year," he said. While there are usually a thousand people a day during the week, that number usually swells to 3,000 or so on Saturday.

"Last year we had a lot of Japanese tourists who just happened to come at this particular time. They thought the cowboy thing was the coolest thing they had ever seen," he said.

Taylor noted that in the past, the east side of the island was closed to the public. No more.

"Now we leave it open so the public can see them (cowboys) doing it," he said. "There will be about 200 riders, could be up to 250.

"It's kind of by word of mouth" that riders are found, Taylor said. "We've spread the word, gone to a couple of horse shows."

Friday evening, at 6 p.m., the public is also invited to a cowboy music gathering, which will feature a live band in the barn at the Fielding Garr Ranch.

"People should have a good time, visiting with the cowboys, sharing stories. It's a social event for the cowboys," Taylor said.

The ultimate goal of the Roundup is to cull the herd, through sale of bison to willing and qualified buyers, he explained.

"Because of some drought conditions, we will probably lower the herd from 500 to 450. We're probably over 600 now with young that we have every year."

Some 150 will be auctioned off in mid-November. "Now, we will try to manage the herd at 450 or 500," Taylor said.

"It's absolutely very humane," he said of the entire process. "That's why we let the horsemen do it. Horses are easier on bison than the helicopter, it has less impact. "Once bison decide they're not going to go anymore, they just quit, rest, and then the horses have to put a little bit of pressure on."

A helicopter will be brought in on Saturday to round up the stranglers.

This is the 20th annual Roundup. After that, bison will be given about five days to rest prior to "Working of the Bison."

That runs Nov. 3-5, and is open to the public. They can watch as bison are worked through chutes, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day, and given vaccinations and health checks. Managers can pull bison from the herd for sale.

The second annual live bison auction will be held Nov. 18, with viewing allowed Aug. 17, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. Nov. 18, when the auction starts.

tbusselberg@davisclipper.com