Ed’s Western Decor

Change, most of the time, is a blessing and not a curse.  We’ve been talking in previous blogs about Clinton Anderson’s Reining Training Sessions for a safe and fun riding experience with your horse.  Anderson’s own stallion, “JAG,” became injured, and a door was closed for Clinton’s horse training series.

After back surgery, JAG sucessfully became a stud horse for Texas A&M’s horse riders’ programs.  Bloodline of JAG’s breeding contributed to A&M stock horse events and reining competitions with other universities.

For more information about JAG, Clinton Anderson, and the A&M riding and reining program, read the Horse & Rider magazine, April 2009, pages 46-51.

If you love horses, the mountain range cool weather, and the romance of meeting new friends, take a horseback riding vacation. It will be an adventure of a lifetime, and not all that expensive.  A list of 15 riding vacations can be found in the Western Horseman magazine, February, 2009, pages 44-51.  Take a week-long riding retreat, work on the ranch, or experience a roundup by choosing a horseback holiday.

For bookings, prices, locations, and dates, check out the USA listings for Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, California, Montana, Texas, Colorado, Idaho, Nebraska, and foreign listing for Austrailia, Chili, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico.

Take in a rodeo and get out of the summer heat by spending a little time in the Oquirrh Mountains of Utah.  The rodeo schedule and other activities in Tooele County are published in the Western Horseman magazine, February 2009, pages 53-60.  Go horseback ridin’ while yer there!  The fun begins at the Deseret Peak Complex just southwest of Salt Lake.  For more information and directions, call 1-800-378-0690. 

Here are a few dates:  July 3 & 4, Tooele Bit and Spur Rodeo . . . Jul7 27 - Aug. 1, Tooele County Fair . . . Aug. 28 & 29, Indoor Arena Horse sale . . . Sept. 4 & 5, Grantsville High School Rodeo . . . Sept. 25 & 26, Little Buckaroo Rodeo . . . Oct. 23 & 24, Little Buckaroo Rodeo and finals.  The activities are all happening at the Deseret Peak complex. 

There’s a certain tradition associated with the Old West and times that were much simpler, and introducing Western lifestyle in the home can help to relieve stress and remind us of times that were much less complicated. Western lifestyle is more than just interior decorating, it’s a state of mind. But in order to help us get into that state of mind, it’s a good idea to decorate our homes accordingly. Consider Western images to decorate the home, and be sure to use a lot of earth tones for the walls and even carpet. Don’t forget to infuse the interior with a little flavor of the Southwest, including carpets, rugs, and paintings. It’s also a good idea to consider rustic furniture, and accessories like clay pottery and cacti.

With these in place, the home will feel much more inviting and more like it would have in centuries past. Western décor goes well in any room in the home, and it can be used throughout the home just as easily as it can be designated to a specific area.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announcement of euthanizing older and unadoptable wild horses set off an alarm.  In response, a wild horse conservationist came forward to their rescue.  A Texan, Madeleine Pickens, married to oil billionaire T.Bone Pickens, has a big heart for helping the wild horses.  Madeleine Pickens proposes a wild-horse sanctuary by ultimately adopting the existing 33,100 horses . . . and providing open range land to roam freely over 10 western states.

For more information, read the published article, “BLM Bailout.’ in the Western Horseman magazine, February 2009, pages 29-30.

Cowboy Poet Waddie Mitchell gives us many interesting cowboy images of his alternative energy lodge-style home.  The article I’m referring to is an informative story written by Jennifer Denison and photography by Ross Hecox, in the Western Horseman magazine, pages 112-119.  Jennifer tells briefly about Waddie and Lisa Mitchells’ 5000 sq/ft log-type home and their desire to preserve the cowboy lifestyle.  They are using self-supporting solar panels and wind-energy power systems with large battery storage capacity to operate their home on the high desert ranch near Elco, Nevada.

With extreme weather conditions on their 720 remote acres, the Mitchell’s home has extra insulation for protection from the radiant heat of the summer and the cold stormy blizzards of the winter months.  This is a unique cowboy image that Waddie and Lisa Mitchell are giving . . . they are true Western Conservationists.

There are many cowboy philosophies about training horses.  For horsemanship on his Texas ranch, Jimbo Humphrey uses an approach called “having a relationship with horses.”  Developing a relationship is working regularly in ranch-horse versatility competition situations.  This daily routine develops confidence, trust, and comfort between the horse and rider.  Personally training his horses gives Jimbo opportunities to build trusting relationships with each one of his four horses.  This trust is extended into Jimbo’s competitive shows and teaching as well.

To get further acquainted with this competitive cowboy, Jimbo Humphry, read the Western Horseman magazine, March 2009, pages 69-78.  This is a wonderful philosophical view of another western lifestyle.

Rodeo competitions are big events in Houston, Texas and Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Rodeos are also a big deal in smaller towns throughout most of the Western States in America.  Personally, the smaller county rodeos are exciting with great talented cowboys, cowgirls, and livestock as well.  The smaller rodeo is the place for acquiring skills, experience, and a little money along for the ride.

Thanks to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys’ Associations (PRCA) for their efforts to support smaller rodeo events.  PRCA is bringing better pay for better athletes, good quality livestock, and entertainment.  It’s a means of keeping this western lifestyle alive.  It’s the American Way!  Read the Western Horseman magazine, March 2009, pages 66-67.

Reading about cowboys and cowgirls has broadened my appreciation for America’s Western Lifestyle and the working horsemen on the ranch.  The Dorrance Ranchers, operate their ranch on Mount Torro just outside Salinas, California. Patience and kindness seem the best way of working and training their horses.  Patience is a virtue that we can all strive for, especially while working with animals, humans, and let’s include industrial machinery and computers. 

The article I refer to is about Leslie Dorrance’s experience in training and riding horses.  It’s published in the Western Horseman, March 2009, pages 81 and 82.  The article also shows a photo of Leslie, mounted on her pride and joy of 15 years, called Drummers Ebony.  This great photo of Cowgirl Leslie and Ebony together can easily be transformed into cowgirl images and cowboy decor. 

“Harnessing Horse Power” is the title of an article in the Western Horseman magazine, March 2009, pages 24-28.  It gives the reader images of how a ranch operated before high-tech mechanical equipment arrived.  For many ranchers and farmers in our western states, nothing has ever changed.  Horse power gets the work done without the pollution of our environment, yet provides nature’s benefits of fertilizers for gardens, crops, and landscape projects, both rural and urban.

Another bonus to these benefits is during winter months, when the tractor or truck doesn’t start, the warm bodies of a faithful matched pair of draft horses working together bring satisfaction and accomplishment that has been serving generations successfully for years beyond my imagination.