The California Rangers
Southern California…August 2014
A troop of young women dressed like the U.S. Cavalry, except for their helmets, performed yesterday at the Ventura County Fair. There weren’t many spectators… the audience was made up of proud families who knew how hard the girls worked at their riding. I came to photograph draft horses and I wasn’t interested at first, but then reason kicked in and I thought, “I’m here. I might as well see what the Rangers are all about.”
I wasn’t disappointed. It was a thrill to see these young women perform exercises that cavalries the world over have done throughout the ages to prepare for battle. All the exercises were done at a brisk trot or canter. You wouldn’t know from watching that the girls were controlling the speed, the direction, the proper distance from the next horse, all the while carrying a flag and staying in formation and giving signals to the squad to prepare for the next maneuver. I’m sure there is more, but I’ve never done any riding like this. It takes discipline like all equestrian endeavors. They made it look effortless, the sign of a professional.
Checking the Line
Here are the Rangers in perfect formation…a result of hours of practice each week. Note the horses are all about to put their weight on their right front hoof. Amazing. The riders looked small to me, maybe 5 feet 4 or so, but they were athletes. They were relaxed and confident in the saddle no matter if their horse suddenly decided to take off. The excited animal was soon (imperceptibly) abused of that notion.
Wheeling to the Left
“Poetry in Motion”