Below you will find a few photographs from my weekend with the Vaqueros De Los Ranchos. These images are from the 2009 annual trail ride which was held April 1 - 5. This years ride was held on the beautiful Porter Ranch located east of Santa Maria in California. This is not an official site for the Vaqueros. The Vaqueros is a private club made up of 110 men from the California Central Coast. Each member invites about three friends to attend the trail ride and share in four days of horseback riding, rodeo competitions, shooting, horseshoe pitching, fishing, socializing and plenty of fun . The club and ride is comprised of several camps that represent the local communities of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Los Alamos, Santa Ynez, Nipomo and Guadalupe. The annual trail ride has been happening since 1938. It is an event that is rich in history and tradition. On this page you will find a small sample of the images from this event. To view more and purchase images from the trail ride click on the image below.
On Thursday the Vaqueros rope, shoot trap, spend time at the fishing pond, eat (a lot!) drink (a little) and socialize around the campfire.
On Friday, Vaqueros go on a horseback ride around the ranch.
some Vaqueros ride mules
most Vaqueros ride horses
Vaqueros get hot and thirsty....so they drink...and then.....
run through the water
The photo above is me running ahead of the ride hoping for a great picture. All of the photos above have been taken April 3 and 4. The photos were taken by Brian Kent and Luis Escobar.
Here is my Vaquero report Saturday, April 4, 2009. On Saturday, Vaqueros wake up at 6:00AM to very loud Mexican music. Then Vaqueros eat a big breakfast, play some horse shoes, shoot trap, have lunch and then......play Vaquero games.
Vaqueros enjoy boxing. Sometimes Vaqueros enjoy boxing while blind folded and wearing a women's dress.
Vaqueros really like picnic games - like tug of war.
...and the egg toss is very popular too.
apparently, Vaqueros don't have iPODs or DC players
Vaqueros love horse races.
this is Bacon
my friend Mr. T
and Joe
so that's it - the 2009 Vaquero ride as a great success. We all had a good time and look forward to doing it again next year.
to view a few hundred photographs from this years ride click here
click here to see more Vaquero fun.
Please feel free to contact me at
www.luis@reflectionsphotographystudio.com