Photos from the past... see if you can identify these ranch photos from years gone by.

Today's game on the Hunewill Blog: identify the people in these photos from the past.  Some of these people are still around, some are no longer with us, and of course some have grown up and changed.  Bonus points if you can identify the horses too.
The answers are at the bottom- let us know how you did on our Hunewill Ranch photos from the past quiz.
 Photo 1

 Photo 2

 Photo 3

 Photo 4

 Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photo 10

 Photo 11

Photo 1- Longtime Hunewill Ranch wrangler, Art Black.  In the 1980's
Photo 2- Jeff Hustace ( wrangler) and Leslie Hunewill- around 2003 -bonus the horse is Tweedy
Photo 3- Denise and Blair Hunewill - sometime in the mid 1980's
Photo 4- Art Black, Megan Hunewill, and Leslie Hunewill  mid 1980's
Photo 5 -Dalton Hunewill Wright ( in back), Tyler Hunewill Elliott ( red shorts) and Raymond Gaffney ( blue shorts) around 2003
Photo 6- Jeff and Jaime Hustace- Jaime is now the Hunewill Ranch Vet- she was a wrangler in those days.
Photo 7-Hal Houts- Hal Houts managed the Hunewill Ranch Barn for 20 plus years- around 1984
Photo 8-Sallie Knowles Joseph and Donna Knowles Hustace reciting poetry at talent night.- Sallie is still wrangling on the ranch today and her sister, Donna, comes and gives lessons once a week. photo from around 1984
Photo 9- Jan Hunewill at a branding- Mid 1980's
Photo 10- Dalton Hunewill Wright- photo taken by former Hunewill wrangler KT Merry, early 2000's- bonus the horse is Rex
Photo 11-  Wranglers, Amy Smith and Megan Hunewill- mid 1980's-


Bonus at the bottom- turn your head and identify who these youngsters are... sorry I didn't get my photo turned...

Jon and Betsy playing guitar in the mid-80's at a Hunewill Campfire!

Ranch Ties

There are bonds between creatures, bonds between men, and bonds between creatures and men.  There are old ties and new ties, close ties and loose ties, and here are a few ties captured on film.
                                                       

Enjoy a few examples of "ranch ties".

Tyler Hunewill Elliott and Rhiannon Hunewill Wright enjoy a partner lope thru the summer meadows.

Ted Holloway and "Tres" the Corgi/Queensland cross, enjoy a companionable ride on the wagon.

"Calliope" the cat insists that Betsy is her personal transporter.

Jon Elliott and Dave Stamey share bonds of music, humor, and history.  Some say there is even a physical resemblance... you decide.

Ice skating on the pond at the winter ranch.  The conga line consists of (L to R) Aspen, Rhiannon, Ashley, Dalton, & Tyler.  Nice jacket Dalton.

Billy Bob Tennison holding Rhiannon Wright when she was very young.  Though he is no longer with us, his wisdom, wit, and humor linger on. 

Jon Elliott rubs and strokes a calf after tagging it, so it remembers human contact in a good way.

Cousins, Tyler Elliott & Dalton Wright getting ready to ride a bronc. 

 Sometimes a calf loses it's mother. 

Australian cattle dogs, "Ranger" and "Rocky" meet for the first time.

                                                               Stan and Jan Hunewill.

What do they do in the Winter? A look at Hunewill Staff and how they stay out of trouble in the Winter.

  We in the Hunewill Family are so fortunate to be able to work with such a great staff at the ranch in Bridgeport in the summer. So, I thought I might share a few of the things that those great members of the Hunewill Ranch staff are doing this winter.

 Wrangler, Benny Romero is working in his shop in Bridgeport on woodworking projects.  Here is a picture of  some saddle racks that he constructed to take to the Winnemucca Ranch Rodeo the first weekend of March.

A look inside Benny's shop.

Wrangler, Jay Joseph is helping watch Stan Hunewill this winter. Stan suffers from Alzheimer's and so we have five great caregivers who help make his life at home safe and pleasant. Wrangler, Raymond Gaffney and kitchen staff, Ashley Murray are also helping with Stan.

Ted Holloway, our wagon master in the summer just built this beautiful door to his underground root cellar in Smith Valley. No it isn't a gold mine despite the pick in his hand.

 

Ted training a big draft colt to pull a tire. Preparing it to become part of a team.

This week Dwayne and Dee Leonard are delivering  some of Dwayne's photographs from the Hunewill Ranch Cattle Drive in November to Chicago, Illinois. The photos complete with Dwayne's handmade wooden frames will hang in a restaurant owned by a Hunewill Guest in downtown Chicago.  Speaking of Dwayne I hear that he and wrangler, Sallie Joseph, are working on a calendar with her cowboy poetry and his ranch photography. We'll have to see if we can find out more about that great sounding project.

This week wrangler, Sierra Hunewill, is home in Smith Valley on spring break from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.  She, Ashley Murray, Sim Quintero, Dalton, Rhiannon, and Aspen Wright all helped load bulls last Sunday at the Snyder Livestock Bull Sale in Yerington, Nevada.  Hunewill Ranch also bought three red Angus bulls at this same sale.

Leslie looking at Bulls at the Snyder Bull sale last Sunday.  The ranch bought three Red Angus bulls- which is the predominant breed here on the ranch. Incidentally these are Wagyu bulls she is looking at in the photo. Wagyu literally translates as "Japanese Cow." We don't raise any but Leslie and I were tossing around the idea of breeding them to our first calf heifers. 

 

So this is a look at some of our great staff and what they are doing when they aren't working at the ranch. Of course this is only a few of the many so stay tuned and we'll try to catch up with others.This week's blog was brought to you by Megan Hunewill.

Ashley Murray and Sierra Hunewill at the Snyder Bull Sale. Ashley is a junior at University Nevada Reno and Sierra is a freshman at Baylor University in Waco, TX.

Winnemucca & Calving

This past weekend a few of us drove to Winnemucca, Nevada for the annual Ranch Hand Rodeo, Horse Sale, and Bull Sale.  We go to watch friends compete in the rodeo, look at the sale horses to see if any would suit us for use on the ranch, and sometimes we buy a bull or two.  There are a number of vendors who sell saddles, ropes, bridles, boots, and all the other gear and accouterments that go along with the ranching/buckaroo/cowboy lifestyle...which usually means a lot of gorgeously engraved silver (very habit-forming and pricey!), beautifully braided rawhide, and handmade leather gear that would make anyone want to check the balance in their bank account and wish they could buy it all.

Getting ready for some action at the ranch rodeo

A pair of the most beautiful earrings on the face of the earth made by Mincer Silversmiths.  I absolutely love the detail!

Some of you may have ridden a horse that we purchased at the horse sale in Winnemucca--leave a comment if you recognize any of the names or have ridden any of these horses:

Cedar, Corazon, Giterdun, Grayson, Jada, Lorna Dun, Paycheck, Rocky, Santiago, Scarlett, Suede, Thumper, Topaz, and Wabuska.

We are always curious to see what the high-selling horse brings--usually between $12,000 and $13,000.  Roeser Ranch in Idaho always brings a few really nice horses to the sale that sell high, and this year was no exception!

This is "Legends Red Pepper" ridden by Dan Roeser; lot #10 in the sale

He competed in the Stock Horse Challenge before the horse sale and did very well--2nd or 3rd place

Any guesses as to what this horse sold for?  Here's a clue:  we didn't buy him!  He sold for an incredible $26,500.  We were amazed at the price but pleased for the Roeser Ranch.  

We didn't purchase any horses or bulls for the ranch this year, but Jan bought a nice little black mare that we all are eager to take turns to ride (especially Aspen).  She doesn't have a name yet, so if anyone has any suggestions, Jan would love to hear them!

Is Aspen hoping for an early birthday present? 

Smiles all around...except the mare, who appears to be asleep

Calving season is also in full swing here, so we are busy feeding, checking cows, watching heifers, and hoping for some more rain or snow.

Our lead cow ("LC") has designated herself the official babysitter while the rest of the mothers go eat.  With those horns, who would dare harm these calves?  Luckily LC is a really nice cow to people, but to coyotes, she is a black devil!

It's a beautiful day to be a calf!

Is that Fabio?  Nah, just Tucker, going to help feed the cows.  That is one happy dog!

The Hay Wagon

Last spring we unveiled our new hay wagon.  We turned our Wagonmaster Ted loose on the project and were delighted by the results.  Here are a few photos from the maiden voyage down the lane in late May:

 Ted put his considerable talent to good work creating a unique masterpiece.

 Ted stands proudly by the new wagon before climbing up and taking the lines.

 The grass is green, the horses lively and the riders excited to be aboard.

A beautiful May evening, the perfect setting for a hay ride.  All photos are copyright Blair Hunewill 2013.

Toes in the sand, a great booth, and a little mishap...

We certainly have been busy the last few weeks!  The Dude Ranchers' Association Convention was held in warm, sunny San Diego in January, followed by the Horse Expo in Pomona.  All this was happening during the usual winter activities of checking cows, feeding livestock, doing rain/snow dances, and getting ready for the summer.

Megan, Blair, and Jennifer attended the convention in San Diego and came back with a lot of great information from fellow guest ranchers--and maybe just a little bit of a tan!

Are they barefoot or wearing their suits under their clothes?  Blair and Jennifer had a great time at the beach while Megan was behind the camera.

The Horse Expo in Pomona was a huge success.  Dee, Dwayne, and Jennifer went down to set up and man our booth, which looked really spiffy!  It was great to see those of you who have been to the ranch and stopped by to say hello.  If you weren't there, we will be going to the Horse Expo in Sacramento (June 13-15, 2014) and hope to see your smiling faces there!

  

It looks empty now, but it was jam packed when the Horse Expo began!  

In other news, it has been VERY windy in Smith Valley and Bridgeport in the last few weeks.  A few miles from us in Smith Valley, a wheel line (used for irrigating large sections of our neighbor's alfalfa field) blew across the road and up into a tree.  Last week on the blog, you saw the effects of the wind on another neighbor's hay barn, so you can imagine the wind speeds we get here!

Just down the road, our neighbor's office succumbed to the strong Nevada winds not once but TWICE.  Good thing no one was conducting any business in there...

A Winter Escape

During our busy summers, guests ask us, "What do you do in the winter time?"  Last week Jeff and Denise took a few days off and headed south to Santa Ynez, California seeking refuge from seven inches of snow and ice at the Smith Valley ranch.

Why Santa Ynez?  We wanted to see "Early Californios Skills of the Rancho", an event showcasing classical California horsemanship.  These skills were practiced in the 1700 and 1800's on the ranchos of early missions.

A capable team in the alley sorting competition.

A great example of Vaquero gear and attire.

It turns out that we also ran into a lot of guest ranch friends who came to see great horses, ridden well, and decorated with lots of silver (horse jewelry).

Mike Giacapuzzi on his awesome horse preparing to rope in the Sort and Rope competition.

TEMPTATION!  A collection of classic silver mounted spade bits.

A side benefit of our trip was that we missed the worst wind storm to hit Smith Valley since 2001.  Blair was feeding hay to cows from the back of a flatbed truck during the worst of the windstorm.  Blair, 600 pounds of baled hay and 3 dogs were blown off the back of the truck during the powerful wind storm.

Was part of Blair's trouble his driver?

Blair and Haley's dog kennel was blown into their pond, and thankfully, the dogs escaped unharmed. The wind blew a neighbor's hay barn roof over the power line and onto the highway.

The worst windstorm since 2001 and we missed it.

All this happened while Denise and I were hundreds of miles away watching buckaroos (Californian for cowboy) sort and rope cattle while a playful breeze rustled through the Live Oak trees.

Careful cattle handling is the trademark of the this style of stockmanship.

This powerful storm melted the snow in Smith Valley and left many feet of badly needed snow in the Sierra.  Denise and I came home to cows happily eating grass that had been snow covered when we left.  The family members that stayed home handled the weather event fine without us.  We should go on vacation more often!

Jeff on vacation.