Partners on the Range

Horses carry with them centuries of meaning, tied to legend and myth, romance and intrigue. Their origins began fifty million years ago, having been traced from North America through Asia to the plains of Spain’s Andalusia, and then back across the Atlantic to the ranges of the American West. Few pairings have ever produced a more perfect partnership between man/woman and animal. In most parts of the country horses have become creatures for pleasure having lost their work function decades ago. But, on Southwest rangelands, horses continue to play a valuable role as hardworking and loyal companions.

These images were made at various locations in the American Southwest, and over a period of several years. From a remote corner of North Western Colorado, where the Sombrero Ranches are keeping alive a vanishing part of western heritage, to the Dugout Ranch perched smack in the middle of Utah’s red rock country, and closer to home, New Mexico’s Bonanza Creek Ranch, “Partners on the Range” hopes to convey the power and pride of these stately animals and the working relationships shared with their human partners.