The Yellowstone Ranch Hands Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rip

Rip Wheeler is just a kid when John Dutton brings him into the Yellowstone Ranch fold. Involved in a terrible family dispute, Rip had just regained consciousness after being knocked out, finding his mother and brother murdered by his stepfather. He retaliated by killing the man with a frying pan. John Dutton takes him in, and he has been at the Yellowstone ever since. From the beginning of the series, Rip has been the ranch foreman.

In a flashback (Season 5/Episode 7, "The Dream Is Not Me") viewers discover that Rip is branded while still quite young. He had mistakenly killed another ranch hand who spoke ill of the boss's daughter. John helps Rip take the body to the "train station", the no man's land used for the disposable of the unexpected dead, and is subsequently branded by Lloyd.

Rip is completely devoted to the ranch, and has proven that by doing whatever is necessary for the family. John realizes he has become like a son to him (Season 2/Episode 9, "Enemies by Monday"), and decides to give him his own cabin on the ranch. Rip becomes John's son-in-law after finally marrying his daughter, Beth, in the Season 4 finale, "Grass on the Streets and Weeds on the Rooftops".

Answer: Jimmy

Jimmy is a mess; at the beginning of the series it is quite evident that he has few cowboy skills. In addition, he is a former meth maker, who somehow owes his past colleagues $8,000. John Dutton takes him in as a favor to Jimmy's grandfather. Jimmy is branded in Season 1/Episode 1 "Daybreak". This means that he is untouchable on the ranch, and is done to protect him.

In order to pay off his debt, Jimmy decides to try rodeo. After a horrifying accident (Season 3/Episode 3, "An Acceptable Surrender"), he promises John that he will not attempt another ride, but weak and easily led by his girlfriend, Jimmy experiences yet another terrible fall (Season 3/Episode 10, "The World Is Purple".

John himself is recovering from a serious injury when he sends Jimmy to the 6666 Ranch in Texas, saying that if Jimmy is ever going to be a cowboy, he will learn there (Season 4/Episode 3, "All I See Is You"). The guys at the Four Sixes appear to be cruel to Jimmy, but they do turn him into a cowboy.

Answer: Teeter

Teeter joins the Yellowstone Ranch in Season 3/Episode 2, "Freight Trains and Monsters". She is not the first female hand, but she has proven herself to be one of the hardest workers on the ranch.

From Texarkana, Teeter has an accent that is very difficult for anyone to understand. In Season 5/Episode 7, "The Dream Is Not Me", a carnival worker is totally bewildered when she tells him that she wants a "barrrrr". Her friends on the ranch are quick to tell him that "She wants the bear".

Teeter was branded with a group of ranch hands after witnessing what happens to former branded ranch hands who go rogue (Season3/Episode 9, "Meaner Than Evil").

Answer: Walker

Walker is a felon who served time in prison. He is just the type of ranch hand the Yellowstone is looking for - typically convicted felons are willing to make a commitment to the ranch in exchange for a sense of belonging somewhere. But after being branded, Walker seems to be indifferent and lazy. Rip wants him gone, and he is taken to Wyoming with orders to stay out of Montana.

But he comes back; he is found singing in a local bar. This time he is given an ultimatum. Rip isn't happy to see him, but this is another case where the brand offers a certain amount of protection. Walker is given an ultimatum, either take off Wade's brand or lose his own (Season3/Episode 9, "Meaner Than Evil"), and it appears that he finally understands his obligation.

Answer: Ryan

Ryan seems to be proud to work for both the Yellowstone and the Montana Livestock Association, and he is completely dedicated to his profession. Branded with a group in Season 3/Episode 9, "Meaner Than Evil", his appearances are mostly limited to being a ranch hand until Season 5.

In Season 5 Ryan meets and begins dating an up and coming country singer named Abby in Episode 1, "One Hundred Years Is Nothing". By Episode 7, "The Dream Is Not Me", the two have parted company, recognizing that they have conflicting dreams in life that don't seem to agree with a couple-compatible lifestyle.

Answer: Colby

It was in Season 3/Episode 8, "I Killed a Man Today", that fans feared the worse for Colby and Teeter. Out mending fences, the two decide to take a break. They are skinny dipping when Wade Morrow, a former Yellowstone branded ranch hand who is now working for the Dutton enemy, Market Equities, and his son try to trample them to death in a move to try to intimidate the Duttons.

In the following episode, "Meaner Than Evil", a badly beaten Colby and Teeter confront the two men, along with Rip and the other ranch hands. Walker is told to either lose his brand or take Wade's. He takes Wade's by cutting it off. Then Wade is hanged. His son is the lucky one. He dies after being thrown from his horse. After the incident a rather large group of the hands, including Colby, Teeter, and Jake, receive the Yellowstone brand.

If there was any question about the seriousness of the relationship between Colby and Teeter, it was answered in Season 5/Episode 8, "A Knife and No Coin". They are unhappy that the job takes them down two different paths, and in completely intelligible words, Teeter tells Colby that she loves him.

Answer: Lloyd

Lloyd is the oldest hand on the Yellowstone Ranch. His ties to the Yellowstone go back so far that he is the one who branded Rip as a teenager. The friendship and respect that others feel for him is shown when Rip asks him to be the best man at his wedding (Season 3/Episode 8, "I Killed a Man Today".

Nevertheless, if Lloyd causes a problem or gets out of line in any way, he is treated the same as anyone else. Lloyd faces a stern ultimatum in Season 4/Episode 6, "I Want to Be Him", as a feud with another ranch hand reaches a new level. The rule about fighting is that if a ranch hand breaks the rule of no fighting, he will have to fight Rip.

Lloyd is told to either end the feud or leave the ranch forever. In the fight to end all fights, Lloyd wins by a narrow margin, but then finds Rip entering the ring. In the end, Rip breaks Lloyd's hand, and that is done for his own protection. It will be a while before Lloyd is physically capable of fighting again.

Answer: Jake

Jake is typically seen working on the ranch or in the bunkhouse. In Season 3 Episode 2, "Freight Trains and Monsters", Monica, Kacey's wife, wishes to visit the summer camp. Jake tells Rip that they are short of horses, and there is no way for Monica to ride to camp. Rip orders Jake to let Monica use his horse, while Jake rides one of the green, not-quite-broken ones to base camp.

Jake has another stand out scene in Season 3/Episode 4, "Going Back to Cali", when he takes Governor Perry to base camp in an ATV to speak to John and Kacey. When the governor asks why he is using a certain training technique, Jake replies in cowboy talk, not realizing who she is.

Answer: Carter

Beth Dutton meets Carter while her father is in the hospital recovering from an attempted assassination hit (Season 4/Episode 2, "Phantom Pain"). Carter's father, a heroin addict, has died, leaving him a homeless orphan. Unable to have her own children, Beth's maternal instincts kick in, and she takes Carter to the ranch.

Things aren't easy for Carter, but he eventually navigates the situation, learning what it takes to get along with Beth and Rip. He especially admires John Dutton, who is very kind to him (Season 4/Episode 9, "I Want to Be Him"), and, it appears, that Carter has made friends with Kacey's son, Tate (Season 5/Episode 7, "The Dream Is Not Me"). It's too early in Carter's story to know how his time on the ranch will play out.

Answer: Kacey

One of the main themes of "Yellowstone" is the importance of family and the land. The story is that when Kacey, John Dutton's youngest son, decides to marry his pregnant Native American girl friend and live on the reservation, John isn't so sure about Kacey's devotion, especially when he does not see that Monica has an abortion as John strongly suggested. So Kacey is branded. And then he joined the Navy Seals. When he comes back to Montana, Kacey has to find his way back to his family, but in Season 1/Episode 1, "Daybreak", kills his wife's brother, Robert, after Robert killed Kacey's brother, Lee. There is a long road to follow before a reconciliation is made.

Finally, by the beginning of Season 2/Episode 1, "A Thundering", Kacey comes back to work for the ranch; the problems with his wife take longer to heal - but they do. By Season 4/Episode 4, "Only Devils Left", Kacey is working for the Montana Livestock Association, and still has time to help his father find the bad guys.