Editor's Note

Here’s a selection of recent letters we were unable to run in the magazine due to space limitations:

Thanks to Bill Reynolds for his “Buckaroo Bookshelf” [October 2009 Western Horseman]. I teach many of his excellent selections in my Western Literature and Culture course.  I want to suggest an additional book:  David Dary’s Cowboy Culture.  It may be a scholarly book, but it covers its subject beautifully, from the coming of Columbus, to the end of the open range with the advent of barbed wire. It’s an indispensable book for Western studies.
Phillip A. Snyder
Associate Professor of English
Coordinator, English Department Advisement
Brigham Young University

In the November 2009 article “Desert Bloom,” Dennis Moroney states that the younger generation is not interested in farming and ranching, and that this is leading to the downfall of the culture, lifestyle and business [of agriculture]; he is not alone in thinking this way. We would love to ranch or farm. We have been looking for several years at different properties and have a solid business plan regarding how to make an operation profitable. Ironically, we can’t afford to be ranchers. The starting capital required is astronomical, and loans are impossible to get, especially in the amount needed by a young person. Private investors don’t see farming or ranching as lucrative, and would rather focus on real estate. Even the best business plan won’t help you to start ranching. We are educated people with experience and knowledge, and would love to put that to everyday practice, but can’t afford to.
Ellen Kmack
Desert Hills, Arizona

Thank you for your story about the 47 Ranch in Arizona [“Desert Bloom,” November 2009 Western Horseman]. It makes me proud to be part of an American ranching family when I read about people like Deborah and Dennis Moroney. They have taken an industry with deep roots in the past and brought it into the future with great innovation and smart dialogue with government and interest groups. This gives me hope for my own son, now just 6 months old, (yeah, I’m planning ahead a bit) and hope that, one day, he will feel the pull of the range and see, as I have, the value in protecting open country. Pass my thanks on to the Moroneys for their incredible work.
Kelly Ann Hodges

Californios producers Gwynn Turnbull Weaver and Dave Weaver recently released the second DVD in their Traditional Stockmanship series. Produced over an 18-month period, during which the Weavers shot footage at ranches throughout the Great Basin, Branding (subtitled Roping & Stock-Handling Techniques in the Great Basin & Old California Traditions) features instructional segments on rodear-style branding and interviews with working buckaroos, who explain the mindset required for responsible stockmanship. Veteran hands such as Martin Black, Buck Brannaman and Larry Schutte are among those sharing insight. Learn more by clicking here.

In its efforts to preserve traditional cowboy crafts, the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association offers one-on-one mentoring opportunities for students, as well as spring and fall workshops for craftsmen hoping to progress in the trades of saddlemaking, silversmithing, rawhide braiding, bitmaking and spurmaking. In advance of the 2009 TCAA show, held September 26,  silversmiths David Alderson and Mark Drain conducted a four-day engraving workshop at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Alderson and Drain shared insights on design, tools and techniques. Students included veteran craftsmen from across the United States, Canada and Australia. The museum will host a TCAA leather-carving workshop in February 2010.

Ideas for engraved designs first take form on paper.

TCAA silversmith David Alderson demonstrates a technique for transferring a sketched scroll pattern from parchment to sterling silver.

Alderson's pattern, transferred to silver, is now ready to be engraved.

Students observe as TCAA silversmith Mark Drain demonstrates engraving techniques.

Drain’s pattern nears completion.

The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum hosted the 11th Traditional Cowboy Arts Association show and sale on September 26 in Oklahoma City. TCAA members include some of the world’s best saddlemakers, bit and spur makers, rawhide braiders and silversmiths. Their annual show features one-of-a-kind pieces from each member, and showcases the best possible craftsmanship in each discipline represented by TCAA. Click here to view the sale catalog online or to order a printed catalog. Here are a few samples from the show. Click the accompanying links to learn more about each piece.

Three-piece buckle set by Idaho silversmith David Alderson. Click here to learn more.

Santa Barbara-style spade bit by Texas bit and spur maker Wilson Capron. Click here to learn more.

Las Cruces bit made by Nevada bit and spur maker Mark Dahl. Click here to learn more.

Curb bit with Salinas-style shank by Texas bit and spur maker Greg Darnall. Click here to learn more.

Gold buckle by Washington silversmith Mark Drain. Click here to learn more.

Spanish Colonial spurs by Idaho bit and spur maker John Ennis. Click here to learn more.

Half-scale saddle by Nevada saddlemaker Bill Maloy. Click here to learn more.

Lady’s saddle by California saddlemaker Pedro Pedrini. Click here to learn more.

Mother Hubbard saddle by Alberta saddlemaker Chuck Stormes. Click here to learn more.

Our November 2009 issue includes my feature article, “Desert Bloom,” about Arizona’s 47 Ranch. Jay Dusard was the natural choice to photograph the story. In addition to being one of the most gifted photographers to ever come out of the West, Jay happens to live near the 47, and cowboys there on occasion.

Jay’s exhibition The Cowboy West is on display at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport (Main Gallery, Terminal 4) through November 30. He also has planned a great lineup of photography workshops:

* Landscape and the Scope of the Land, November 7-8, The Amerind Foundation, Dragoon, Arizona; to learn more, call (520) 586-3666.

* Cowboys Through the Lens: You Can’t Fake It (with Kurt Markus),  January 26-27, 2010, National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Elko, Nevada; (775) 738-7508

* Images of the West: An Integrated Design Approach to Subject Matter, February 21-27, 2010,  Sunglow Ranch, Pearce, Arizona; (617) 513-3947

* Shooting the West, March 10-14, 2010, Winnemucca, Nevada; www.shootingthewest.org

* Death Valley to the High Sierra: The Highs and Lows of the American West (with Bruce Barnbaum and Jack Dykinga),  October 24-30, 2010,  Photographic Arts Workshops; (360) 691-4105

Jay’s work may be seen at www.tinysatellitepress.com; his 2005 book Horses, with essays by Thomas McGuane, is available at www.rionuevo.com; and a leather-bound, limited edition of his classic book The North American Cowboy is available at www.oldcowdogs.com.

Scott Grosskopf, with the Northern Range Ranch Roping Series, sent the poster art (above) for the upcoming NRRRS Finals, scheduled for October 10 and 11 at the NILE stock show in Billings, Montana. Admission, as the poster notes, is free. Learn more about the Northern Range series at www.ranchroping.com.

We recently recieved this note from Alice Stebbins, regarding Montana horseman Jon Ensign:

Dear Friends:

On July 12th, our dear friend Jon Ensign had a very unfortunate accident; he was kicked by a mule while helping a friend. He was kicked on the outside of his left leg at the joint of his knee, and it dislocated. His knee had to be reset. Unfortunately his ACL, PTL and MCL were torn completely in half and he had to undergo surgery. The surgery took longer than  expected, as the damage was much worse than the surgeon had anticipated. Jon is on crutches and doing daily physical therapy. In approximately two months, after tissue has healed from the first surgery, he will have to undergo an additional surgery. Jon’s doctors are hopeful that he will walk again in four to five months, but, worst case, it will be six months before he can resume normal activity levels.

We would like to invite you to a benefit fundraiser for Jon on October 3, 2009, at 14 154th Drive SE, Snohomish, Washington, starting at 5:30 p.m. We are asking for donations and/or silent auction items. You can contact me  at 425-788-1154;  ajstebbins at aol.com; 20340 Mountain View Road NE, Duvall, WA 98019. Please make checks payable to Jon Ensign. Your donations are greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Alice Stebbins

My September 2009 “Leading Off” column on revered cowboy artist Joe Beeler was prompted by meeting his son, Jody Beeler, at the Claggett-Rey Gallery’s 20th Anniversary celebration in Vail, Colorado, this past July. Jody shared a few anecdotes about how his father’s cowboying experiences often inspired his paintings, illustrations and sculptures. Unfortunately, Joe passed away in 2006, suffering a heart attack while dragging a calf to a fire at an Arizona branding. His work, though, provides a certain immortality, and a permanent connection to those he left behind.

“Every time I see his work, I see a different piece of him,” Jody told me. “He put so much of his soul into his work, into everything he did. Every time he put a brush to canvas or a pencil to paper, he left behind a piece of who he was.”

The September 2009 issue of Western Horseman is available on newsstands beginning mid-August. To subscribe, visit www.westernhorseman.com.