This summer I was lucky enough to get the chance to spend time with some of my favorite people at a couple of my favorite events of the summer. My summer employment was flexible enough to allow me to get to these events, & I am very grateful for it. My Last Saskatchewan Summer would not have been complete without the experiences the Eastside Heritage Horse Show, or the Twin Valley Bullarama & Rodeo. The horse show, as previous years, was a great time. It was great to be able to catch up with everyone & the weather seemed to hold pretty good compared to the year before. The turn out was great, & it was awesome to see everyone do so well with all their horses. There was excellent talent there, & it was great to catch all the events. It was also great to meet some new people as the horse show this year was co-hosted with the Good Spirit Riding Club. It truly seemed like a great event & I encourage anyone that loves horse shows to go check it out. The Sabre Quarter horse ranch was an excellent host, & everything seemed to run smoothly (with excellent effort from some amazing volunteers). Then a few more weeks passed in the summer, & I found the end of summer coming way to quickly. However, that summer was going to end with a BANG! Instead of packing I found myself rushing out after my last official day of work for the summer to Lee's rodeo grounds to take up my spot next to the arena. The Twin Valley Bullarama & Rodeo, is one of my favorite parts of summer. But shh, don't tell Range Boss... I may already be trying to figure out my holiday-days at work to find myself back there for 2016. I got to enjoy one of my favorite events this year that I haven't seen since I was out in British Columbia... the Wild Horse Race. The teams did a good job putting on a great show as they managed to get the horse saddled & rode. The one teams facial expressions that I caught on my camera will go down as some of my favorite rodeo pictures to date. The smoke was in the air again as the fires in Northern Saskatchewan kept burning. The smoke, the dust & the people sure made for some excellent photographs that day. The determination in the riders of every age was great to catch on lens, & the supportive crowd was great to be surrounded by. The time I spent with all the great people I met through the Twin Valley Riding Club will be something I miss the most. Those times will hold some of my greatest memories, & finding a new club to fill the void that now exists in my daily life where Twin Valley existed will be challenging. I have hope that I will find a new one, but I also don't plan on ever truly giving up that spot in my life. So we shall see how the next year pans out as I begin to network, & make new connections. I will admit I have been slow, but now that 2016 is here, & I am looking at how fast summer is approaching... well, maybe things will change. It is amazing what can happen in just one day, & what going to one event (like an Equine Extravaganza) can do to change a person's life. I am optimistic for the moment that will happen for me in my new place, & can't wait to share the life that comes along with that change. My New Years Eve is tomorrow, & 2016 will be full here come Thursday... I can't wait to see what the New Year has in store for me!
0 Comments
As always I found myself hanging on the edges of the rodeo arena as much as I could. Unfortunately, it meant only two photographing opportunities. Due to work commitments & trying to fit in every possible thing I wished to accomplish I found my summer days running out before I could catch up. On the bright side I spent them at two of my favorite rodeos. To kick off my summer season I found myself at Pilot Butte Rodeo. I can always count on a great time there, & was glad to find myself in those windy stands. As always it provided a challenging day as Mother Nature couldn't decide if she wanted to storm, or be sunny. Thankfully for me she only wanted to be a little windy, & push tons of clouds across the sky. It meant that I could catch all the action without being chased out by the rain. The animals were in good spirits, & the constants did a excellent job showing off their best in the wind. It was an excellent way to spend an afternoon with my "partner in crime". I was able to catch a glimpse of Randy Lewis (Lewis Images) doing his thing and as always I found myself imagining what it would be like to have rodeo photography be a bigger part of my life. Then later in the year I couldn't miss Whitewood rodeo, & so I rushed from my work shift to get my butt down to the Whitewood rodeo grounds. I don't know if it is because the rodeo is in August or not, but I find myself making Whitewood rodeo the top of my list of favorites. I always have a great time, & there is something about the timing of the whole rodeo. Nothing beats watching a rodeo in the golden hour; just wish I had a camera/lens capable of capturing better photographs in the low light so I could capture the bulls. Even though my Last Saskatchewan Summer only featured two rodeo photographing opportunities, there was a lot of great times that were had. I do wish I could have had a chance to photograph more, but I guess it just means I got a new region, & associations, to explore. However, I just might have to organize my holidays back to Saskatchewan around the rodeo schedule. I guess we shall see what the new year brings when it comes around, but either way I am excited at the prospect of it.
On this Sweet November Sunday I find my thoughts drifting back to a year ago. A year ago I was sitting in the stands, & enjoying the sights & sounds of Harvest Showdown in Yorkton. It occurs at the end of the harvest season, & is a place where everyone can come to show off their talents of the past year. It's one of the only times in a year I sit down to enjoy a horse pull competition.The big beautiful horses at work is a sight to behold. It is amazing how much power can be found in the gentle giants. After I enjoyed taking in the horse pull competition I got to take in a couple more demonstrations of the unique teamwork that horses & humans can have. First it began with a beautiful display of unqiue horse work with the equally unique Gypsy Vanner horses. The horses are absolutely beautiful, & it is always a pleasure to be able to watch them work. Then it was onto the team spirit portion of the night! The local 4H club puts together a drill team that has preformed at both years I have been able to attend of the Harvest Showdown. It is awesome to see all age groups work well together, & to watch the hard work of the team come together as they maneuvered beautifully through their routine. After that the local Football team decided to show their muscles & challenge the winning horse pullers to a tug of war. The football team put up a good fight, but the horse team took home first place on that challenge... even after the rodeo clown jumped in to help! As always the harvest showdown showcases the agricultural world from all aspects, & so they always have room to show off their "western" roots. Each year at the showdown there is a roping competition, & last year they brought in a mounted shooting demonstration. It was time to put the cowboy hat on straight, & get serious in that saddle. Like everything else at the showdown it was top notch entertainment! The night ended with one of the greatest shows. It was awesome to watch as "wild" mustangs were worked by the "One Armed Bandit". Yes, the gentleman in fact truly has only one arm. This, however, did not stop him from working off his trusty mule to maneuver the three free horses around the area at the crack of his whip. I have to say it was neat thing to watch him ride his mule without a touch of the reins (as his working hand was busy with the whip, which only cracked loudly & never touched a horse). It takes quite the riding abilities, & core strength, to be able to manage that.
photographs of (link to them in the green button). I don't know when I will back for the Showdown, but as I sit here knowing I have missed it... there is a large part of myself telling me this will not be often reoccurring thing. I will be back for as soon as life lets me! If you find yourself in Yorkton during the Harvest Showdown I highly suggest stopping by to check it out!
So this weekend is the first rodeo of the year for the Canadian Cowboys Association, and even though I won't be making it to that rodeo I can't help but reflect on this past year. It was a pretty great year chasing rodeo for me. I made it out to a few new ones, and to some old ones. I got to meet a group of excellent people, and have enjoyed the encouragement I have received to keep doing what I do. The weather for the most part was good, and if it wasn't.. well it made for some great pictures. This was probably the best year to date I have had out chasing rodeo. I have had many great opportunities, and can't thank everyone enough for providing me with those opportunities. All the hard work that is put in by the many people who are a part of each rodeo truly means the world me. Without everyone's hard work I wouldn't have one of my favorite subjects to photograph. I was lucky enough this year to even get to spend more time talking, and shooting with Randy Lewis. He has been an amazing mentor to my work, and I appreciate every time I get to talk with him. Below I have some of my favorite photographs from this past year. Each event I got to make it to brought its own special memories. So as I reflect in photographs on this past year I want to say thank you to all that have be a part of this excellent year! Find even more photographs below: At the end of August was the Twin Valley Rodeo weekend, and I was very excited lady to enjoy some local entertainment. Mother Nature on the other hand had a very different idea as the rain started on Friday night, and had it rain for the rest of the weekend. However, this did not stop Friday night from happening as Bull Fighters geared up in garbage bags, and bull riders toughed it out. Through the muck, and the mud, the Friday Night Bullarama was a go. It was one of the most difficult events I have photographed as I attempted to get shots through plastic bags, and rain drops. Though I came out of the event drowned in my clothes I enjoyed my time on the side of the fence. The night was definitely one I would not forget anytime soon. I am thankful for all the people that were willing to stick it out through the cold, and wet, weather to make sure the night happened as planned. Due to the rain the rest of the events of the weekend got rained out which I was thankful for. Due to this change of plans I found myself on a late September day back out at the local rodeo grounds. With the beautiful changing leaves as a backdrop I watched the ladies attack the barrel pattern. Though things didn’t go exactly as planned for the Twin Valley Riding Club I did thoroughly enjoy myself at all the events that took place in that month span of time. It was great to get out to enjoy the people, and to see the talent displayed each night. I am thankful to the Twin Valley Riding Club members who put in time and effort to put on the events. It takes a lot of hard work from dedicated individuals to make events like this occur, and without them I wouldn’t get to enjoy photographing such awesome subjects.
On a hot and dry July afternoon I was seated in the grass, up against the fence, at the Whitewood MRCA Fundraiser rodeo. It was a very fully day of events, and as I ate dust, I snapped off some pictures in the hot sun. The day had a mixture of different competitors show up, and there was a very relaxed feeling in the stands. I felt especially odd that day as it was the same day I usually show up the Sheho Ranch Rodeo. I am a person of habit, and Sheho Ranch Rodeo & Sports Days had been something that has been a staple in my calendar for more than a couple of the past years (it was a day that "I did not miss"). However, the change of scenery was definitely a good choice that day. It was a great day to be outside in the hot sun, and to experience the flying dust. It was a challenge to shoot into the mid-day sun, however one I was ready to accept as the light bounced off all the surfaces into my camera creating the images. I personally enjoyed the reflection off the sunglasses worn in the photographs. The bulls did not disappoint me, and gave me some excellent opportunities to capture. The calves, along with steers, also were great subjects that day. With each photograph I fell more in love with the day as the loose dirt gave a grit feel that I couldn't have previously prayed for to make the photographs look that good. I was perfectly happy to eat some dirt to capture them. The people were extremely friendly, and the relaxed feel in the stands made the day a pleasurable one. It was definitely one of the favorite days this past summer; however it would have been better if I wouldn't have gotten ill the same day. I am sad I was not able to stay for the whole thing, but what I got to see was well worth the drive. I can't wait to go back to Whitewood for another rodeo.
Over the last couple months I have had the pleasure of taking in multiple events that span over the many different ways people can have a relationship with horses & cattle. I took in a reining horse show, a multiple discipline horse show, a calf branding, & a couple rodeos. Since it is "Western Wednesday" I thought would take some time to reflect on all these disciplines. In May I took in a Reining horse show. Reining is defined* as: " Reining is a judged event designed to show the athletic ability of a ranch type horse within the confines of a show arena." A reining horse is defined* as: “To rein a horse is not only to guide him, but also to control his every movement. The best reined horse should be willingly guided or controlled with little or no apparent resistance and dictated to completely. Any movement on his own must be considered a lack of control…” *as defined by the National Reining Horse Association This is what you see being displayed in the first two photographs above. Specifically, you're seeing the "big finish" slide that is the pride of the reining pattern. It is an amazing site behold, & shows just how strong, along with talented, both horse & rider are. In the third photograph you see the horse I spend my Monday's learning to ride properly. The final end game of my education however is not to learn reining, but instead to learn how to work cattle. One area of this I am currently learning about is cutting horse work. Cutting is defined as: "During the two and a half minutes of work, a rider demonstrates the ability of his horse to out-think the cow with terrific short bursts of speed, the ability of turns in mid-air, fabulous foot work and coordination between horse and rider that is unexcelled in any other arena event." " It then becomes the objective of the contestant to quietly pick from the herd an animal that will give him maximum play and sustained action to test and show the ability of his cutting horse. Along with action goes the risk of penalties; out of position, reining, and many others, not to mention a severe penalty if a cow is lost back into the herd." * as defined by Canadian Cutting Horse Association As you can see the two different styles of working a similar horse in a similar area can be quite different. One is about control of horse through reining abilities, & the other actually has reining listed as a penalty. Too be good in both styles it takes great equitation skills, & lots of time to improve these skills, along with the allotted skills needed for each style. The remaining pictures above, including the top picture, display yet two more different events in which on can participate in. The two styles above would be a Tail class & an example of an English event class. A definition of both can be found on the American Quarter Horse Association website, along with the many different competition classes one can participate in. The horse competition world is varied, & each type comes with its own history that connects it to the working world it developed from. All share one thing in common that the people & horses that participate in it work hard to be able to display their talents with pride. There is something for every type of person out there, & there is tons of knowledge to learn. I am looking forward to spending much of my life learning all I can about the various styles out there. This past month I got to also take in branding (without the iron brand). It was a very interesting day as I got to see just how hard of work ranching activities can be. I got to enjoy the faces of many young calves, & watch how they interacted with all the people that worked with them. The people there worked through all kinds of weather, & it was an interesting, along with enjoyable, experience to say the least. I will forever value the things I had a learned while out there. Finally, in the last couple weeks I got to take in one my favorite sporting events, Rodeo. As I watched from the side lines I enjoyed the power I seen out of all the animals & the skills that I had seen displayed. I thought back to everything I had experienced in the past months, from the horse shows & to the branding. I could not then, nor now, understand how one is allowed to share challenging activities in such varied ways in one area but not another. There are some out there that say rodeo is not based on anything, but from my time out the branding it was made very apparent that rodeo is in fact based on a ranching history.
I won't argue that doesn't look different, because in fact what happens in a rodeo area looks different than what happens in a cattle pen. However, the difference to me seems t0 be the same amount there is between each of the varied horse competition events. It has the same amount of difference that each of those events shares with the history they are based on. Rodeo also shares in common the drive to be best in the skill sets it takes to accomplish each event. I have yet to meet a rodeo person who doesn't show respect for the animals they work with, or take any easy way to do their event that would harm the animals they work with. They show the same amount dedication to their sport, event, & teammates that I have seen displayed at horse shows. I will admit I fell in love with rodeo because it doesn't look as "pretty" as the other events. There is no doubt that rodeo is rough around the edges. However, the part that wins my heart is the way that the "rough around the edges" personality of the animals is allowed to run free in that rodeo arena. Every animal is bred, trained, & encouraged to do their best to deter the rodeo contestant from completing their job (exceptions to this would be the working horses, barrel racing & chuckwagoon/chariot racing). The sense of pride felt from the stock contractors & from the contestants can be felt everywhere around the rodeo arena. Pride in themselves, but most importantly the pride in the animals. There are people in society that think when rodeo personal discuss their animals that by calling them "animal athletes" this somehow belittles the animals. Where this thought process came from I will never understand, since I have seen nothing but empowerment come from that way of seeing the animals. By using this term they put the animals they work with equal to themselves, even the calves. This respect for equality & acceptance of the rougher side is what won my heart over, & over again. It has allowed animals to be truly what they are, & take pride in it. If you ever had the pleasure of watching cattle in a rodeo I hope you made note of the pride displayed in every animal that did it's job well. I have seen many bulls, steers, & even calves, prance around the arena as the contestant sat in the dust. The horses are always busting out of themselves with excitement to get the job done that it takes great handlers to be able to rein that horse in until it is time to be unleashed. I am very proud to be supporter of the sport of rodeo & because of this you will find me, with every opportunity life allows, up against the fence capturing the event with my camera. I was very proud in the last few months to be able to take in & capture all the events, in their various forms, that I did. I am glad to share this world that many don't get to see, & hopefully be able to tie people back to a past that wasn't long ago apart of many people's day-to-day lives. This past weekend I got to spend some time taking in the great smells of the barn, while watching & learning the finer points about the sport of barrel racing. It was an excellent way to spend my weekend getting to know some new things, & getting to know some new people. The weather could have been a bit warmer for my liking, but I suppose a person can't have everything. All round my time spent out at Sabre Quarter Horse Ranch was a great time. I enjoyed the time I got to spend with Gunner, the handsome man you see up there on the right, with him rubbing up against my leg looking for pets. Learning the finer points of the ground work that goes into preparing barrel horses for the work they do in arena was very interesting. I came out learning a lot of the weekend, and I will for sure be out for many more days like this one. After my time spent at the barn I had to do a bit of exploring of the Qu'Appelle Valley hills. With the snow on the south facing hills decreasing I can only hope that this means spring is coming in slowly. While out I found another sign of spring... the Geese are back for another season. Spring must be getting closer! I am so lucky to live so close to such a beautiful landscape, & get to watch as spring blows in more on each breeze. While out on the landscape I also got to enjoy watching some deer explore some sunset dinner. I was very happy to see their numbers, since this past winter was very cold & hard on them. It is a tough question to answer how many are truly out on the landscape after this tough winter, but as I see these guys in the spring I can only hope it wasn't as tough on them as it seemed. Each day brings us closer to spring here in Saskatchewan, & with each setting sun a part of me gets more excited to see the spring mud that is coming. I can't wait to wake up to mud & rain, and seeding season. Hopefully, soon the wind will blow as warm as the sky looks as the sun sets each day.
December was a month of snow, and temperatures that made me hide in the house. Winter isn't exactly one of my favorite seasons. I thoroughly dislike it in true opinion, but I know two things about winter: 1) A snowy landscape can be a pretty amazing thing, and 2) Winter is an excellent time to slow things down, and prepare for the upcoming year. I did manage to take in a few amazing snowy sunsets, a great fishing day, and some beautiful country drives. There were definitely sometimes in December that reminded me what a great season Winter can be... even if I was only using it to recover with some much needed TLC. At the end of December I had the excellent opportunity to take in some rodeo practice at a local arena. It was exactly what I needed. It was great to be out around so many friendly faces, and be able to take in some of my favorite things without having to concentrate to much on anyone thing. The arena was beautiful, and had great light which was a big bonus when practicing shooting. I haven't had my camera in hand much in the past month so I was I a bit rusty. Even that day I did more socializing than having my face behind the camera. Which to was a very good idea, because it can be very lonely always having your face behind a camera. It was a good day to practice, meet people, and just take it easy in a good environment. December was an excellent month to remind me that sometimes the best thing you can do is NOT pick up your camera. The best thing to do is to take a break, and indulge in the things you love for the pure love of it rather than concentrating on capturing it. December left me feeling refreshed, and ready to take on the New Year. I can't wait to show you all the great things I got in store for this next year! Happy New Year! May this New Year find you happy, healthy, and creative! |
Categories
All
|