High Rider

From a South Carolina slave to one of the most successful ranchers in Canadian history, John Ware was known for his incredible strength of character and sheer force of will.

Georgetown, 1867. Twenty-two-year-old John Ware knows there is no future for him in post-abolition South Carolina. In the hope of finding work on a cattle ranch in Texas, he makes the thousand-mile trip by foot, skirting lynch mobs along the wartorn way. His talent for breaking mules lands him a job near Fort Worth, where he stays for a decade learning the cowboy trade.

But when opportunity knocks, John heads north to Canada as a cattle drover, and although he must confront racist trouble-makers, contend with shady business deals, and even suffer the tragic loss of close friends, John presses on. The true story of John Ware has finally been brought to life in this fictionalized portrait of one of history’s unsung heroes.