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@thunderbirdequine
I come from a large ranching family in Colorado—our roots here run deep, having homesteaded the land before Colorado was even admitted to the Union. (I’ve actually written a story about that which I’d be happy to share.)
My dad trained racehorses professionally in Texas, which is where he met my mom. Due to a strained relationship with his father, he eventually had his brother buy him out of his share of the family ranch when I was around 15. Still, we remained involved—helping with brandings, cattle gathers, and anything else that needed doing whenever we could.
In 1996, my parents and my maternal grandfather bought a place down by the river, where they trained horses for the public and ran cattle. That’s where my siblings and I really learned to ride, rope, and develop horsemanship skills. I caught the horse bug early and hard. So much so that, despite starting college with the intent of pursuing a PhD in astrophysics at ASU, I eventually came home to follow my heart and start my own horse training business.
Today, I start colts and show in CoWN, our regional Stock Horse of Texas association. I currently work on a seedstock cattle operation—one that my family still buys bulls from. The horses I train not only get used in real-world ranch work, but they’re also shown, making them truly versatile and dependable all-arounders. That philosophy comes from the horses I grew up around. My Uncle Larry and Grandpa Chuck were inducted into the U.S. Team Penning Association Hall of Fame a few years ago, and the horses they competed on were the same ones they used day-to-day on the ranch. It was the same story with my dad’s racehorses—many of them went on to become calf horses for him or barrel horses for my mom. Horses had to prove themselves both in the arena and in the pasture, and that’s a standard I’ve carried forward in my own program.
@Lerouxxphoto
I have been doing photography for over 12 years now, and running a full blown business since covid hit. Western and aviation images are some of my favorite things, so I’m blessed to be involved in the two communities that allow me to capture them. When I’m not doing photography I work for the Colorado Brand Board.