This weekend was one of those interesting ones that I particularly enjoy, when two quite different parts of the “worlds” I inhabit come together for photo ops. The world of horses is a varied one, and with a few exceptions, I’m pretty keen on all of them.
The first of the Ebon Stables dressage shows happened this weekend, and as a dressage rider and enthusiast, I’m generally on the spot for these shows, camera in hand, and list of riders who want show photos firmly in my head.
This year, though, there was a timing conflict, as I had heard about a working cowboy camp that sounded way too good to pass up for enhancing my collection of western themed photos. Once I learned that the camp was being held at the ranch of Dale and Teri Clearwater, where I have done photos before, I knew I had to take in this event as well.
I met the Clearwaters last fall through a mutual acquaintance. I phoned them to say I had heard about them and would love to come to their place to do some photography, and they kindly agreed to my request. When I got out there for the first time, I was just blown away by the landscape and by the type of operation they run. This is classic working ranch stuff of the sort I didn’t know existed less than an hour’s drive from my place. Dale and Teri have only owned the ranch for a few years but have turned it into a functional and well maintained horse training facility, with the bonus of a lot of cattle on the side. They embody the solid character and strong work ethic that epitomizes the best of ranch life, and Dale has a well-earned reputation as a skilled trainer of working cowhorses and of cutting horses. Bonus for me is he and his operation are as classic in look and style as he is in his working methods, so for the purposes of my photography, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Dale and Teri are also very accommodating in humouring me with my sometimes odd ideas of what I want to photograph around their place. I’m used to being mostly ignored when I’m out getting shots, and sometimes just barely tolerated, but the Clearwaters are positively co-operative and welcoming about having me lurking in the background with a big lens, which is a really nice change. I do my best to stay out of trouble and not get in the way too much, but at bottom I’m a city person and there’s a lot I don’t know when it comes to ranch life.
I was able to get to the ranch for the Saturday afternoon session, which was calf roping. There were a lot of participants in this clinic, all working cowboys/girls with their own horses, and four guest instructors besides Dale. There was also a camera crew filming for the Cowboy Country television show, which was my first hint that this was a fairly big deal. The level of organization that must have gone into putting this event on was impressive, as they were handling not only the clinics for the participants, but also providing camping facilities, a grand Saturday night dinner, live entertainment, and a Sunday morning church service in addition. Many of the participants came with their families for the weekend, and there were swarms of little kids zipping about, being ably cared for and entertained by helpers. Mercifully the weather was decent, as the pouring rain we had earlier in the month would have meant trouble for this event. Mind you, Saturday was darn hot and it was stressful for all concerned in the clinic–instructors, participants, horses and calves, but this is a cowboy operation and they are all used to functioning in whatever extremes nature chooses to throw at them.
I learned a bit about the ins and outs of roping and handling the cattle as I watched and did my photos, and I was impressed that all the instructors emphasized ways of working with the horses and cattle that were the most efficient, safe, and least stressful for the animals. Just get in, do the job right, and get out. No carrying on, no dramatics, no grandstanding. It’s always a pleasure to watch professionals do what they do best, and here I’m referring to both the human and the equine participants.
So of course I can’t pick just two shots for this post, and none of them is going to be of the dressage show. There’s another dressage show coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’ll get yet more shots at that one, maybe some I can post here.
The first shot shows some of the guest instructors waiting for the afternoon’s work to begin. They were just hanging out and visiting, with Dale’s beautiful hundred year old barn in the background.
In shot number two they are heading in from having brought the calves in from the pasture. Here they have been joined by Dale, who is second from the right. When I got this shot the border collie had momentarily taken over herd wrangling from the riders.
Shot three shows Dale organizing his rope in the nice new large round pen he has constructed since I was last there. It’s a great work area to contain horses and cattle safely while they are being worked with.
Shot four is of a couple of the women riders and their horses taking a break from the heat in the relative coolness of the tree-lined approach to the house. I did a little bit of Photoshop work with this one–will do more when I get the time to make it look more like a painting.
Dale and Teri have their own website up now. You can check it out and learn more about them by following this link
http://justaboutaranch.com/Next weekend, weather permitting, I have two more horse events to photograph–a heavy horse ploughing competition on Saturday, and a combined driving event on Sunday. There seems to be something (or several somethings) every weekend once summer hits. I really think the federal government needs to deal with this by legislating extra weekends over the summer months so we can fit everything in.
©Copyright 2008 by Judy Wood. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit Judy Wood’s website.
