The most realistic part of Yellowstone is the Dutton family ranch itself. While not one to hop in front of a microphone or camera often, creator Taylor Sheridan has talked in the past about spending lots of time on a ranch as a kid, a ranch his mother bought in Cranfills Gap, Texas, so her kids would learn to be part of the outdoors. Sheridan grew up off and on at the ranch and spent weekends of his teenage years wrangling horses and riding. The authentic feel of Yellowstone’s ranch life is thanks to Sheridan having lived it.

That’s evident in the little details about the show. In an interview with Variety, rancher Jessie Jarvis explained that a number of things about Yellowstone are accurate, right down to the clothing brands they wear: Kimes Ranch clothing and Greeley Hat and American Hat are all real brands that ranchers trust. The horse riding is also very true to life, too. As one watches Yellowstone, you may notice scenes where riders in the background will be taking horses through steps in the arena; those steps are called reining patterns and they’re all performed by real riders, not actors.

Some Of Yellowstone’s Biggest Struggles Are True To Life
Land Loss & Real Estate Encroachment Are Real Issues For American Ranchers

Yellowstone is not a show without drama, both internal and external to the Duttons. In the same interview, Jarvis mentioned the Duttons’ struggles are accurate to real life, to the point that it is sometimes hard for her to watch because it was impossible to escape the problems of her own ranch life when watching the show. Central to that, and a topic that has come up long before Yellowstone shed light on it, is the loss of land and encroachment. The population is growing and moving, and it’s harder for ranching families to keep their large lands intact.

The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated that struggle. As countless articles and news reports explored during the pandemic, lots of people, especially young professionals, fled city life for quieter mountain towns and rural escapes. Sometimes, that’s been to a town’s benefit, as they inject sometimes struggling locations with more money and more business. Other times, though, it leads to a clash between ranchers and land developers as the former struggle to keep their lands from the latter. The balance between developing resources and land is a hard one to strike, and ranches and farms across America are finding themselves losing that fight.