The Dutchman; Horses and Hollywood

You may have heard me mention the name "Dutch" over the course of conversations or perhaps noticed his name on our website (bearcreekguestranch.com) as a partner and special guest during the coming season.  If you have heard or seen that name you're going to get a kick out of the reality if you're so inclined to visit us up here at the ranch after the snow melts!  Dutch is going to be helping us put our spring cattle drives together and then add his lifetime of experience with horses and direct our week of "Pure Horsemanship" in early July.  I haven't yet explained to the reader yet who Dutch is but I can tell you right off the bat we're talking about a real heavyweight in the world of horses.  And above all, a real good man.

Dutch, and his wife Anne, own Ghostridge Outfitters, and have been providing horses to Hollywood for more than twenty years while also acting as a stunt double and wrangler.  Dutch has been on more than forty films and TV movies, including many of the big ones that you've seen, ie; Dances with Wolves, Geronimo, Hidalgo, etc. During that period he's been able to not only display the unparalleled level of horsemanship that was learned from being horseback at an early age but also the equine qualities that are unique to the Blackfeet people.  I've been around alot of the really handy Blackfeet cowboys and it wouldn't be a stretch to claim they are they best there are.  Pretty strong statement but pretty damned true.  You'll see for yourself.

So this blog isn't so much about Hollywood as it is about horsemanship, and Dutch.  If you go back a couple blogs you might want to go over the comments I made regarding horsemanship issues and opinions.  I did that piece not too long ago and so my visit with Dutch yesterday was timely as it evolved into a discussion of horsemanship and specifically as that subject applies to starting colts and bringing them up through the ranks.
I've known Dutch for quite a few years and although his reputation as a hand is huge I hadn't ever listened to him articulate that lifetime of experience with horses on the Blackfeet Reservation and beyond.  There's horse folks out there that can do alot of talking about horses but you quickly realize their knowledge is an inch deep and not very wide.  When I listen to a fellow like Dutch I know that wealth of knowledge is deep and wide.

I think the general theme of our discussion was the increased dependence and use of the round pen and arena as part of a colts' early education in this day and age.  Times have changed.  People have changed.  Even cowboys have changed, evolved if you will.  The Dorance brothers, Ray Hunt, Pat Parelli, and Buck Brannaman, to name just a few, have helped engineer a new dawn as that applies to more humane and cerebral treatment of horses in the earliest stages of training.  Gone, for the most part, is the physically abusive, punishing style of breaking that was in too many cases standard practice years ago.  But that was then and this is now.   I hear, as I listen to Dutch, a hard earned acknowledgement that those hard days gone by are exactly that.  But, what I also hear is a man telling me that quite possibly there has become too much dependence and use of the round pen and arena and that quite frankly there aren't enough cowboys and horses who are willing to spend the time getting themselves and their horses "out," where a real education is to be found.  Ahh yes, a kindred spirit.  I couldn't agree more.

To make a long story a bit shorter I urge you to follow my stories and comments as we move further on into the latter part of spring and on to the warmer months.  We'll be putting more activity and action into our (my) words and stories and will get away from the printed word.  With any luck if you''re able to make it up this way the coming summer you'll be able to meet Dutch and his great family.  He is what epitomizes real horsemanship.  Stay tuned.

Off Horseback and into Skis

Wow, what a day.  Saturday, with some good friends from the Flathead Valley, skiing Autumn Creek.  Many of you may have seen warm weather photo shots of the Autumn Creek Country posted on our website or facebook.  I think Autumn Creek has some Alaska type tundra country with the steep, hard rock mountains of the Summit Range towering over that area as you ski it, hike it, or ride it horseback.  My history in Autumn Creek has been long and always a marvel, an adventure.  Autumn Creek drops off the Continental Divide at Marias Pass and gradually meanders west from Three Bears Lake and towards the ranch, just eight miles from our back yard.  Pretty handy, huh?  I've skied Autumn Creek on a few occasions each winter for many years and I've never tired of it.  This past Saturday was no exception.  Hell, it's mid December and there could be well below zero temps but it sure wasn't this past weekend.  I think we were skiing in thirty to forty degree weather with a hit of chinook warmth and a bright blue sky.  It was windy up on top but just plumb fine as we skied in well over a foot of hard snow with an inch of powder over that.  My type of conditions.  Couldn't have been better.  I'm on Kahru 190's with medal edges, a fine gift from even better neighbors.  To be honest, I'm not a handy enough skier to know a real difference between good and real good skis but these worked well.   I don't get fancy.  I'm wearing Wranglers and long underwear.  Good enough on a mild day and my partners are carrying day packs with all the food and accessories I need.  Mikes' a doc in case of emergencies and Carlene's got plenty of good in case we get hungry.  No worries, Mate!

Well, if you know Autumn Creek you also know that for a couple miles you travel in a lodgepole pine forest with small meadows and springs here and there.  I know for a fact we're travelling in big elk country.  But it's winter and the elk are gone for the season.  Where to?  I've never figured that out.  But most of the Autumn Creek country is normally waist deep in snow by this time of winter and I've always recognized a migration occurring there although I don't know to where or when.  Bighorn sheep are usually visible up higher in the rocks and on the patches of grass above us and although I'm looking I don't see any evidence of elk or sheep.  However, I've heard from a couple ski buds of mine that there are sheep on Elk Mountain at the present time and there are wolves as well "minding the store" and since Elk is on the western edge of the Summit Range the sheep aren't far off.  Frankly, I'm really wanting to get a look at the sheep or the wolves in this drainage.  I hear there's some serious predation going on in the area between the two species.

We identify at least one set of large "dog" tracks about half way down the trail.  Quite obviously, they are wolf tracks,  bigger than you'd imagine, and fresh.  No snow in the tracks and they're real well defined.  Wolves for sure.  They're (wolves) relatively new to this area so this particular sighting is kind of cool.  The whole wolf issue is a hot potato and no sense going into that right now but I must say there is an added degree of excitement knowing they're around.  Wolves aren't yet dangerous, either, so as opposed to griz, we're not excited because we're in danger.  I've seen grizzlies up the rear end in this drainage and have always had to keep my shit wired tight.  But they're denned up and the country is safe!  And I kid you not.  I've seen four griz in a day here and many times at least one.  Autumn Creek during the warm season is prime grizzly habitat.

Years ago I did a special with ESPN and a show called Photo Safari and we spent an evening in Autumn Creek filming.  We got sheep, goats, and a huge herd of elk on film.  We were horseback and had two mule loads of camera gear with us.  It was a bit of a circle jerk but we got it done.  I still have that CD if any of you are interested.  And for the record, we've got Oliver Klink, one of the most widely known photographers in the world due out next May on a Photo Safari tour.  We'll be looking for griz, wolves, lynx, and wolverine in addition to other big and small game.  I think we'll get the griz, should get the wolves, may get a lynx, and the wolverine is problematic.  But don't bet against us!

Back to the ski!  Doc Mike and I continue on down the gradually steeper trail as Pat and Carlene head back to Marias Pass to get the truck  We've got a ways to go and as I'm already working steadily with a mild sweat on my back I begin to recognize the toughest part of the trip lies ahead.  The trail is hard packed now, more than a mild downhill ski, and tough to negotiate.  I find myself gaining speed too quickly and setting myself down on my rear end sometimes in a tangled condition.  After a half dozen wrecks I decide to take my skis off and walk out.  I've had enough punishment for the day.  But it's been worth it.

As Mike and I finally near our ending point on Hwy 2 I can sense the end of another grand day.  Although it's  
just 3:30 the sun is beginning to weaken and the sweat on the back of my neck is gone.  My wranglers are wet as are my gloves.  Enough is enough.  And I hear a vehicle on the road and a horn honking as well.  We're back.  And I'll be back as well.

Looking Ahead Pt. 2 Pure Horsemanship

I sit here on a winter day in December, at my desk banging out thoughts on the keyboard.  My mind is on being horseback, however, and so that's what comes out at the end of my fingertips, and from there onto the keyboard, and from there to the printed word on these pages.  It's alright.

I was thinking this morning, on the drive over the ranch from my winter part time pad in East Glacier, about some comments an acquaintance of mine had made regarding comments I had posted regarding a ride we'd done in what I called "sacred" country.  He wrote that if the country was sacred, what was I doing there?  Well, I don't know for sure if the country in question is sacred, in the purest sense, to anyone else.  It may be or it may not be.  I don't know.  I do know this.  That country we rode in on that particular day and which I've ridden many times with and without guests, is sacred to me.  That's what really matters.  That's why I was there.  I ride in alot of neat country, some of the best in the world, in my opinion.  And damn it, some of it is pretty special.  It's sacred to me.  Especially that piece of paradise that will remain undescribed and unnamed.

Back to the subject at hand, however, and I'll add to those thoughts.  Isn't the desire to ride a good horse in real special country why so many of us do it?  It's the second best feeling in the world!  On my way over the ranch I was able to think about that sacred ride on that very special day and why I did feel so good, so light over the course of those miles deep down in the bowels of the river breaks.  Why?  Quite frankly, I was on the back of my very special partner, Hombre, a helluva horse.  He's capable, big enough for me, and so light in my hands,  He takes me, guides us on the trail, cross country, up and down hills and mountains, and across  criks and rivers.  And we see the same thing.  Oh, he doesn't say much to me nor I to him.  But we do well together.  We share the day, sometimes deep in thought.  Both of us, although I suspect his thoughts are a whole lot more simple than mine.  Good for him.  I'm the complex dude.  But Hombre makes my life a bit more simple.  I love the day with the good horse.  He isn't the only good horse in the bunch but a day with Hombre is a day well spent.

Isn't that the cowboy in all of us?  Riding a good horse in good country, alone with our thoughts.  Our hopes, our dreams, our problems, and our frustrations, all there, but perhaps easier to understand and digest on the back of a horse.  Somehow it all seems easier, simpler, less complex, on the back of a horse.  The good days riding are great and the average days are good.  They all beat the hell out of driving on the freeway!

Over the course of my riding career, the last thirty five years or more, my riding emphasis has been doing exactly that.  Riding.  Getting in the saddle and moving forward, literally and figuratively.  That's what you'll do here, at Bear Creek Ranch.  We'll get a big fancy from time to time, particularly during our time spent training and riding in our round pen and arena.  You'll begin to learn how to move your hands lightly, softly.  You'll begin to understand lead changing and transitions from the walk to the trot and on up the gaited ladder!
We'll talk about and follow through with a consistent emphasis on riding with feel, the dominant theme of the great brother tandem of Tom and Bill Dorance.  That philosophy of riding with a light hand and mind will always be front and center during your week at Bear Creek Ranch.  And I don't doubt for a second that most of our guests and students will hit that learning curve a whole lot quicker than I ever did.

And perhaps most importantly, you'll be able to ride some of the same country I do.  That's where you'll put your ongoing equine education to work.   The ultimate classroom is the world outside the round pen and the arena.  I look forward to sharing so much of that with you.  That cowboy in you is right there ready to blossom.  One of these days, hopefully this summer, you'll see what I mean.

Looking Ahead, December, 2011

Well, maybe this is the start of a new relationship!   Who knows.  Only time will tell.  But, I will tell you the following; I've got a fair amount of time beginning today and extending through the winter and into spring to bring all our followers into an orbit of philosophy, personality, and business.  You'll get an adult dose of all three areas of life in the northern Rockies, and specifically those generated by yours truly at Bear Creek Ranch!  How's that so far?

For starters, I'd like to introduce you to some of the events that we are currently working on and in the planning stages at the present time as those pertain to the spring, summer, and fall programs at Bear Creek Ranch (www.bearcreekguestranch.com) for the 2012 season.  Specifically, I'd like to address our 3rd special event of the season, following our Photo Safari and Cattle Drives, and that would be the week of Pure Horsemanship, beginning on Sunday, July 1st.

To say the least, the following comment is a huge understatement, and that is this;  "horse folks have a million different opinions and they all think they're right!"  Well, I know that's not new to anyone who is remotely associated with the equine world.  But I will say this as well; as you move through the world of horses with us here at Bear Creek about the only real strong statement of feeling you'll hear from us is that to increase your experience level you've got to spend time in the saddle, period.  Oh yeah, for sure there is more and I know you could take issue with that statement but let's just leave it that.  You'll hear me make that comment on more than a few occasions and it's a truism.  Again, if you want to learn and experience, get saddled and throw you leg over.  There's no better way.

I would strongly recommend, that if you're a horse enthusiast wanting to spend a whole lot more time in the saddle, and then I should add as well, in a round pen, a sand arena, and then in the biggest arena there is, "the out of door arena," think about coming out and joining us for a week of "Pure Horsemanship."  We'll be limiting this particular week to 12 participants of either sex, doesn't matter a whit, to take part in what will be a completely holistic approach to riding.  You'll be hands on in the round pen, the arena, and the mountains, foothills, and prairie, a combination of venues and conditions that will expose you to a huge variety of conditions absolutely necessary to expand your equine education.

From that level of riding, you'll accomplish more in a week than you normally would in ten years of two day a week one hour lessons in a sterile indoor arena or a well groomed "forest" trail.  Over the course of many years of riding with our ranch guests I would probably argue that we've exposed what are in most cases very green riders to a level of riding that would normally be argued as being too aggressive, even dangerous in some cases.  And yet I know that given good horses and the proper instruction, like so much else in our world, it is amazing how much we can accomplish when we challenge ourselves, or are challenged by others.
I've had many guests leave our ranch after a week of hard riding well beyond satisfied feeling a real sense of accomplishment with their riding development.

For the most part, what you can expect more specifically, during that week beginning July 1st is both round pen and arena work in the mornings and riding "out" in the afternoons.  Don't plan on riding nose to tail,  There will be occasions during which you may be on a narrow trail in an informal line but more so than not you'll be on a fast walk or trot in open country.  The horsemanship that you want to develop can't be learned in a magazine article or in a book.  You'll be part of your education in the saddle, in real life, in the real world.
What you'll learn during the course of a week at Bear Creek Ranch will fill a dozen books you've already read but never really understood.

Stay tuned for more on "pure Horsemanship in the days ahead.  And Happy Trails.