NCHA Summer Spectacular Open Finals

After the sales I moved on to the Finals of the NCHA Summer Spectacular. I decided to feature the winner and reserve for the Open. The cows were quite difficult and all had many challenges in picking out their cows and separating them from the herd. Often two would marry up making it hard to hold which ever cow was
finally chosen for the cut. Eddie Flynn rode Stylish Baby Doll (SR Instant Choice x Stylish Oak Susie by Doc's Oak) to the championship with a score of 220.5. Walton's Rocking W Ranch, Inc is the owner of this mare. She was also in the Open Top 5 of the 2006 Super Stakes.
Paul Hansma and Sister CD (CD Olena x Little Babysitter by Dual Pep) were the Reserve Champions with a score of 218.5. Sister CD (gelding) is owned by Skip Queen and was also the 2006 Super Stakes Open Co-Champion.
These photos were taken from high above the working area in the bleachers. The point of view is from the back of the working area. Typically cutting photos are taken from the front at a level even with the chest of the horse. Since the area under the judges stand is where photos are typically taken, and this area was chock full of photographers, videographers (HorseTV) and Media from nearly every magazine featuring cutting, I have decided to not even attempt to shoot from there, but rather shoot from a different point of view.

Summer Spectacular Sales was a great success

The Western Bloodstock Summer Sales held in conjunction with the NCHA Summer Spectacular Cutting Horse Show in Ft Worth was a great success. The first Day was primarily 2 and 3yo colts and fillies which had been started. Most were demonstrated on cows as they sold. The 2nd and 3rd Days were primarily yearlings and mares (some with foals. Don Green (on left) and Steve Friskup were the Auctioneers.The ring men were there to help communicate the bids from the crowd to the auctioneer. The ring man on right is using hand signals to communicate with the bidder. The auctioneer "sings" out the current price and the ringman watches the crowd for bids. When he spots a bidder he shouts to the auctioneer the price of the offer. When a sale is complete the Auctioneer will say the name of the ringman who communicated the successful bid. As a sale proceeds a handler will lead the horse around the ring setting him up so that all
potential buyers can see. An announcer and pedigree man will stop the auctioneer from time to time with updates about the family line of the horse and the performance records of the family. He will also note any information that might have bearing on the soundness of the horse for performance or breeding.

Summer Spectacular Sales

Tomorrow I am on my way to the Ft Worth for the Summer Spectacular Sale at the Watt Arena and Justin Sales Ring. This year the first day of sales will be held at the Watt Arena with horses being sold as they are shown. Included in this day of sales will be the 2nd annual Waggoner Roundup of 3 and 2yo Buyer Choice Pairs. The photo to the left is of Peppy Playgun being shown during the 2005 Summer Spectacular Western Bloodstock Sale. The following two days of sales will be held in the Justin Sales Ring with production sales of weanlings, yearlings, 2yo, broodmares, and stallions. The Saturday session will include an offering of Buyers Choice Yearlings and Select Broodmares (2065-2081) from the Double Dove Ranch. The charcoal drawing to the right is of the Futurity Breeders Select Sale in the Justin Sales Ring.

From the Sketchbook

These sketches were drawn at two different times. The foal was drawn last evening from a photograph I took during a recent client advertising project. The foal is a red roan but drawing does not show the roan characteristics. The thumbnail above is a reining slide that I just quickly sketched out for a friend the week before.

Stir Fry For Supper

This vegetable stirfry pretty much invented itself. I started by cutting a rutabaga into strips and cooking garlic and ginger root in a skillet with olive oil. I added the rutabaga and mini carrots to the skillet and cooked them til nearly soft and then added sliced yellow squash. I then remembered I had some baby spinach that was passed the salad stage, so I added that too. I continued cooking til it was ready and the served with my baked Talapia.

Ranch Photography: 2006 Foals

Yesterday morning I drove out to Texas Rock Ranch and photographed four of the 2006 foals. I have photographed foals at my brothers ranch and was wondering how it would be photographing foals who did not know me, but all foals are pretty much the same. There are some that want to get right up in your face to see what you are up to, and others that keep a good safe distance. What is most fun is when they finally get used to me and go back to playing with each other. I was afraid the heat would be oppressive and the foals would not be active, but they were quite active and playing much of the time I was there.

2006 Foals in Mid July

Sunday evening I spent about a half hour photographing the two Doc O Lena Twist foals (again). The two foals are a colt and filly. They are now hanging out together, but the colt does get to be a pest after a while. Click in this Gallery to see the best images.

Eight o'clock Charlene

I have been working at the ranch for the last 6 days, and rarely got home before 9pm, which is why I have not posted very much. After the days work I often ride my horse, or walk down the hill. During these trips over the last month or so I noticed that at about 8 o'clock every evening a skunk found hunting grounds under the trees at the bottom of the hill. This skunk never took notice of anyone, horse or man except a few times when we surprised each other during a horse ride. I backed off and the skunk made his way back to his home. Today I went down the hill with specific plans to get a photo of this skunk. I started down the hill about 7:45 and when I reached the area where I had seen the skunk yesterday, I saw no signs of her. As an alternative I went to the horse pasture and spent a while photographing the foals some more. About 8:15 I looked over the fence and saw that the skunk had arrived. I stopped my horse photography for a bit and went over the fence and photographed the skunk.

Weekend Rose Country Cutting Horse Show

The Rose Country Cutting Horse show was a success with folks coming to try out the new dirt. The weather was quite hot for man and horse. It was a bit cooler outside in the breeze than inside the arena (oven). This time I photographed all or part of the $10,000NH,Youth/Medal, $50,000,$20,000,$2500 LR, with a few other special request images in the $3,000 and 1,000 NH classes. You can view the images from Saturday's show Here. If you are ordering it is best to go through my Americascutter.com website.

Penne Pasta with Tomatoes, Mushrooms and mozzarella

This is just the spinach salad with Asiago Caesar Dressing.
Click to see a pictorial representation of the preparation of Friday Night's supper.

Sketching in the Galleries with Takako Tenabe

Thursday evening we started a new month of sketching in the galleries with Takako Tenabe. Our assignment was to draw all or part of an Indian Shrine of silver and wood. This shrine as extremely detailed and presented sensory overload. How was I to draw such a complex sculpture? I started with a one corner of the shrine, drawing the shapes of elephants and riders and the columns which they supported. There was considerable perspective to consider. Detail was added with Marks suggesting the complex patterns stamped into the silver. As I draw I noticed another sketching student on the opposite side of this shrine and added her to the drawing. At the conclusion of the class I asked Takako why she had chosen such a complex subject for us to draw. She told me that was to help us see detail. If we had chosen a more familiar and simple subject such as a bench and cushion. We might have seen the general shape and structure of the bench, but have been blinded by familiarity and unable to show the subtle texture of the cushions and wood frame. In choosing a complex subject as the shrine we would be forced to confront the detail and find a way to draw this texture.

July the 4th

I spent the 4th and 5th of July working at the ranch. Duties included sweeping the pool (in order to finish the plaster surfaces), landscaping the area around the pool. There were also ordinary ranch duties such as watering and taking care of the horses and grounds maintaining. While filling the water troughs in the lower pasture, I always enjoy visiting with the yearlings and foals in the bottom pasture. The older foal (nearly weanling) filly is like my shadow when I am in her pasture. She loves the withers and butt rubs but still prefers I not get close to her ears or legs. With time I will be able to pick both feet up.

APHA Showcase Sale 2006

It has been a bit since I have been able to post to this blog. This has been a busy week. I started the this month last Saturday at the APHA Showcase sale in Ft Worth. 83 horses were in the catalog, all but a handful went through the sale, and at the end four APHA champions were added. The final horse in the sale was a colt started before the sale as part of a horsemanship clinic by Chris Cox. This is a new venue for the APHA Showcase sale. Western Bloodstock, Inc., produced this sale in the style they use for the NCHA Cutting Horse Sales at the W.R. Watt Arena. Consignors have an opportunity to demonstrate their sale horses in the arena as they sell. The photo shows Clint Haverty demonstrating Fancy Like a Diamond and his reining slide.

Sketchbook: The Last Respects

We spent the last Sketching in the Galleries of June in the Reeves Collection. The assignment was to chose a drawing in this collection and copy it. I chose a drawing of Henri de Talouse-Lautrec entitled The Last Respects. The original was ink and gouache, and I copied it with a water soluble graphite pencil. I was reminded of Remington and Russell Drawings drawn pretty much contemporary in the Western USA with Talouse-Latrec in the France. I added page two to this drawing, with a band and mourning crowd reminiscent of a New Orleans wake.

Mares and Foals

The other day when I wandered down the hill to the lower pasture to see what the horses in the lower pasture were up to, I found the mares and foals in the mare motel/loafing shed, each occupying their own section. The Colonel Freckles mare being more social came out to visit as soon as she saw me. The other mare does not really enjoy the company of people so she stayed put. Her colt showed lots of interest but did not move either. The Question Mark filly came over to see what I was doing with the camera.

Evening at the Ranch

I have been spending the last few nights at the ranch. Evenings are the best time out there. The heat has been turned down a few notches, the color is enhanced by the setting sun passing through the layer of dust, and the horses are refreshed after a day of resting in the shade. After a day of work, I head down the hill to the lower pasture to visit with the mares younger mares and colts. The filly above is a yearling. She and another yearling filly pasturemate are fast friends and it is almost rare to see her far enough from the other to get her photo alone. The filly with the question mark on her head is this years foal. She was born in early March. She dam has raised her without fear of people so she is now willing to come up and check out my camera, and even enjoys a good withers and butt scratch. This filly was following me around, all the time with a question on her mind about what I was up to.

Downtown Dallas

Thursday evening before my sketching in the galleries class at the DMA I went to the Ross Avenue Plaza and photographed the 100+ year old First Methodist Church against the background of modern skyscrapers. This is a photograph I have been contemplating for the past 2-3 weeks but had been hampered by a stage that was set up for the Jazz on the Plaza concerts. After taking this photograph a friend and I took walk into the northeastern part of downtown where I took some other images. These may be seen on my Downtown 2006 Online Gallery.

Black and White Cutting Horse Prints

How would you like a print like this hanging on your walls?

This is a virtual 6x9 image matted to 11x14 with a black strip frame. I used this image as the model for the watercolor below. I chose this image because it shows one of the best power positions for a cutting horse I have ever taken. Also the grey horse contrasts so nicely against the background of the dark cows. Please visit my B&W Gallery to see four more B&W images.

New Cutting Horse Watercolor

After a fiasco in rendering proportions with a cutting horse pastel yesterday, I decided to retrace my steps and try again in watercolor. This one worked MUCH better. If you did not see the pastel on this blog, it is too late, I took it off :) This time I carefully gridded my paper and the image I was painting. I carefully sketched my subject, and then moved to the painting table where I removed most of the grid lines and started the painting. This painting is on a 15x20 sheet of watercolor paper. Digitally photographing the painting really helps to see what works and what needs to be fixed or done differently next time. It is quite challenging painting a blue roan.

-JA

Indoor Soccer

Monday night I photographed a team of 8yo girls playing indoor soccer. This was one of my most difficult challenges. The lighting was poor so I had to shoot at F2.8 and I had to stay in a little box on next to the team waiting area. The game only lasted about an hour but the action was intense.