Vaqueras

Story and photography by Jennifer Denison

During the late 1700s and early 1800s, Spanish vaqueros brought their horse-handling skills to the missions of early California, long before it became a state.  They were known as exceptional horsemen, who prided themselves on masterfully training their horses to work cattle on the vast ranchos with smoothness and finesse.  They were distinguished not only by their horsemanship and stockmanship but also their handmade gear, including braided rawhide reatas, bosals (hackamores) and romal reins, and saddles with large post horns to dally their rope slack.    

The temperate coastal climate allowed the horsemen to spend more time in the saddle than those who rode in other regions.  As a result, they took their time, training their horses using a transitional system from jaquima to freno, or hackamore to spade bit, that was designed to preserve a young horse’s mouth while it sheds its baby teeth and develops permanent teeth, as well as encourage balance, confidence, and lightness in the bridle.  In fact, the viejos (old timers) said that horses could eventually be guided with a thin string or horsehair attached to the bit.  Finished bridle horses continue to be coveted for ranching, Western equitation, reined cow horse, and traditional ranch roping and stock-handling events.  

Hannah Ballantyne-Prom ropes in the team branding event at the Brannaman Pro-Am Vaquero Roping. Growing up on ranches, she learned about vaquero ways from a young age. 

 One event where you can get a glimpse of vaquero heritage is the annual Brannaman Pro-Am Vaquero Roping.  This year’s event, held in August at the Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden, Utah, boasted more than 150 three-person teams.  A handful of teams included cowgirls, who expertly roped and handled the cattle.  More equally adept horsewomen and ropers, well-versed in vaquero traditions, attended the event but didn’t compete.  We visited with some of the women about their connection to the vaquero culture and why it’s important to pass down the traditions to future generations.

Jenna Fields

Jenna Fields grew up ranching in the heart of the old California vaquero country, and she continues the traditions today.

Growing up in Morgan Hill, California, 22-year-old Jenna Fields was immersed in the California vaquero style of riding and roping.  A sixth-generation cattle rancher, she has been horseback on her family’s ranch since childhood.   

“I was  fortunate that my family had a lot of good horses they could put me on from a really young age, and it was a privilege to go out with them and do a lot of the things on the ranch and learn from some really cool bridle horses along the way.” 

Nearly every horse she has swung a leg over was started by her father, Justin Fields, a traditional California bridle horseman.

“I was exposed to [bridle horse traditions] for a long time, and it was a really good foundation,” she says.  “Now, I’m starting some of my own horses.  We start most horses in a snaffle and once we have a feel and are confident on them, we put them in a hackamore.  I don’t have an exact formula—I judge what’s best for the horse.

“The California style of doing things is based on tradition, but also there’s a practical application to the things we do,” she adds.  “We’re making a horse that’s capable of doing a job.”

One of the aspects of bridle horse training Jenna respects is the time horsemen take to go from the hackamore to the two-rein (the phase between the hackamore and bridle that involves riding with a combination of a thin, pencil bosal attached to mecate reins and a full bridle with bit and romal reins) and then to the bridle.  A horse might not go into the bridle until it’s 6 or 7 years old.  

“I think one of the things that has been the most apparent from my parents and a lot of the other influences I’ve been fortunate to grow up with in our area is that a lot of time is taken bringing up a horse through the California style,” she says.  “You don’t have a timeline, so if a horse needs to stay in the two-rein a little longer or go back to the hackamore, you can take that time and build the horse up step-by-step.  In the end, I think it creates a more well-rounded and complete horse, which is really an asset to have in the long run.” 

A lot of time and pride not only goes into training the vaquero horsewoman’s horse, but also making her gear.  While she often rides with custom-made gear, including a slick-fork (no swells) saddle, braided rawhide hackamores and reins, and silver spade bits, Jenna says  it’s still “gear that goes to work.” 

“I’ve heard it said before that it’s kind of a way of honoring your horse and the work that they do, but there’s also a lot of tradition that goes into our gear and we take care of it so it’ll last.”

The large post horn wrapped in mule hide on Jenna’s slick-fork saddle allows her to dally her rope slack, rather than tie off hard and fast.  She can slide the slack, which is less stress on the cow and horse.  

“There’s a lot of consideration toward animal husbandry and the health of an animal—it’s slower and easier on the livestock.  We consider the type of roping shot we’re throwing and what’s going to best suit the horse, cattle, and situation.  My dad is a big proponent of the figure-eight loop when handling cattle,” she says.  “I’ve heard it said before, sometimes slower is faster when working with livestock.”

With an agricultural communications degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Jenna has a photography business, day-works on local ranches, and helps with the family operation.

“Ranching is ingrained in me and part of who I am,” she says.  “I want to stay in it partially because it’s what my family has been doing for generations, but more than anything it’s because I enjoy the long days of being horseback and working cattle.”

Ceily Highberger

Ceily Rae Highberger has spent the majority of her life working for cattle ranches and starting colts using California-style techniques introduced to her by her father and honed through time by the horsemen and stockmen with whom she worked. 

At the 2023 Pro Am, 31-year-old Ceily Highberger was among six women on teams who qualified for the final round with her teammates, Bodie Scruggs and Caleb French.  Though they didn’t take home cash and prizes, it was still an accomplishment for the horsewoman to get into the finals.  But she’s most proud of being able to make a living in the ranching industry on jobs that require her to use horsemanship and stock-handling skills rooted in the California vaquero ways.  

“I’m happy I’ve finally reached a point in my life where I can go to a competition like the Pro-Am and feel comfortable competing,” she explains.  “I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I got to this point and, honestly, it’s because I had to physically work in the industry and make a paycheck based on my cowboy skills.  It can be hard to get hired on at a ranch, sometimes more so as a woman, but when all said and done, I earned it myself and that’s given me confidence.”  

Raised in Redding, Montana, Ceily first learned about vaquero horsemanship from her father, who spent most of his young adult life working as a ski patrolman in Mammoth Lakes, California, and packing into the Sierra Nevada for the United States Forest Service.

“He got a taste of the California style of horsemanship and brought it to Montana,” she says.  “He always jokes that he was one of the first guys in our area to ride with a slick-fork saddle, and he always made sure we had nice horses and quality gear.  We would pack quite a bit and help the neighbors brand, but we never had any cattle of our own.”

To get experience working cattle, Ceily worked on a guest and working cattle ranch from the time she was 14 years old until she left for college at Montana State University, Bozeman.  After college, she day-worked and helped start colts for various ranches in several states, but mostly in Nevada and California.  Her experience also included a stint at a feedlot in Idaho.  

“I never really expected to spend most of my life horseback, but it’s how it turned out,” she says.  “I’ve pretty much made my paycheck since 2014 horseback and ranching.”

Riding a variety of horses in different stages of training, she admits that she hasn’t had many opportunities to finish her own bridle horses, but she continues to follow the training process her mentors have taught her.  

“I’ve learned something from everyone I’ve been around and am so fortunate to get to see so many aspects of this traditional way,” she says.  “I don’t claim to know much, but I do know that I want my horses to feel a certain way.  Really, I just want a nice horse that I can trust to jump on and get done what I need done and not have to worry about getting hurt.”

The past few years she has learned a lot more about the hackamore and admits it’s been a learning curve going from the direct rein pressure of the snaffle to the more lifting motion of the hackamore.  She looks forward to moving her horses into the two-rein and bridle.  

“To me, the whole point of a finished bridle horse is to be able to get a job done efficiently and ethically, so it just makes sense that the horse should be able to cue off your legs and stay in your hand, leaving you free to rope or do whatever else you need to do.  I’ve been around a lot of other styles and there’s more than one way to get the job done, but being in the saddle every day, moving cattle and roping, this style of horsemanship is the epitome of that ideal.”  

“My former boss, Lorenzo Larrucea, is an example of someone I think is a great stockman; there’s so much to learn from him,” she says.  “Whether he’s working cattle in a pasture or a corral, he can move his horse to get exactly the results he wants.  It’s so subtle that a lot of folks wouldn’t even notice.  That’s the kind of stockmanship that really fascinates me because, at the end of the day, getting your job done is the whole point of why we do this.”

Addy Hill

Addy Hill brings her vaquero horsemanship background to the breakaway roping arena in Utah.

Addy Hill has competed on teams in the Pro-Am twice, but with a new baby and her boutique business, Sagebrush Dolls, she decided not to rope this year and instead support her husband, Cody Hill, and his teammates.  

“I love the stockmanship and horsemanship here,” she says.  “I think it keeps the legit cowboy way of life going.  This is as realistic as it gets other than being out in the pasture doing it.”

Addy brings her bridle-horse and roping experience to the breakaway roping arena, where she’s a Women’s Professional Rodeo Association Wilderness Circuit champion (2020 and 2022).  Her main mount is a 13-year-old mare her father, Shane Haviland, trained and showed in reined cow horse futurities.  Addy showed her in cow horse events in the Utah High School Rodeo Association before making her a breakaway horse.   

“A lot of rodeo girls use their horses only for breakaway, but I like that I can go work cows on my horse, compete in ranch rodeos, do anything on her.  I think that says a lot about a horse and its training when you can go do lot of things on it.”

The daughter of horse trainer, Addy spent hours riding and showing reined cow horses before setting her sights on rodeo.  But growing up with a foundation of riding bridle horses influenced her horsemanship and taught her the value of riding a solid horse.

“I go to rodeos and people compliment me on my horse,” she says.  “I think it’s because of my dad’s training.  He has very soft hands and is so patient and knows the end goal.  It’s really cool to watch him go through all the stages of starting a horse in a snaffle and hackamore and then going to the two-rein and bridle.  Just to watch him and learn from him and then hopefully do that with my own horses is pretty cool.  I’d rather get compliments on my horse than on my roping.”

Addy and her husband of three years, Cody Hill, recently built their own arena near Tremonton, Utah.  Cody trains roping and ranch horses and day-works on ranches, practicing the vaquero ways.  Addy helps when she can.  

“I was thinking about it the other day when I was roping the dummy in my bridle and romals  that a lot of breakaway ropers don’t do the bridle horse thing,” she says.  “In the summertime, my horse is more of a breakaway horse than anything, but I can also put her in the bridle and do that kind of stuff, too, and it’s so good for her mind.  We try to get our horses to be able to do whatever we need them to do, and I think that makes them better and last longer.”

Abby Klassen

Abby Klassen competed at her first Brannaman Pro-Am Vaquero roping in August on her horse “Curly Sue,” and made it to the finals on two teams with John and Dalton Darnell of 3:10 Ranch in Oklahoma.

Before she left her home in Ardmore, Oklahoma, Abby Klassen set a goal to make it to the short round at her first Pro-Am competition.  She achieved it not only on one team, but two, which is really good considering she’s only been roping about two years.  With the unwavering confidence and proficiency of a seasoned professional, the 18-year-old on her red roan, “Curly Sue,” ended up sixth on a team with Dalton Darnell and pro Matt Clark.  A no-time kept her other team out of the money.  

“We’ve been putting so much work into practicing,” she says.  “That it’s like we can do it and it falls our way, that’s great.  If it doesn’t, it was a blast meeting people.”

Though she’s always been a horse lover, Abby didn’t know anything about roping.  When she was introduced to John, Joni, and Dalton Darnell of the 3:10 Ranch at church, she learned they were looking for help with their retail, educational, and ranching operations.  Through their platform 3:10 Ranch Life, they educate subscribers on vaquero traditions and ranching, host clinics, and sell ropes and other products.  Abby went to work for the Darnells two years ago, and she hasn’t looked back.  

“I didn’t know roping was a thing, and as I started to learn I was like, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” she says.  

In Oklahoma, the vaquero style of riding and handling cattle is an anomaly, but that didn’t faze Abby.  

“I like how smooth it is and the big loops,” she says.  “We don’t tie on hard and fast [like the Texas and Oklahoma cowboys].  You can go fast, and I do like that, but we like to do everything  on a slick horn.  I rope with a 60-foot rope, so I have the option to dally and slip rope and not have to run my horse really hard.  It’s easier on the stock and on your horse, and it makes everything fluid.”

Roping is a way of life for the Darnells, and Abby found herself practicing with her 60-foot rope at least a few hours every day with them, and as her skill set grew John began taking her to 3:10 ranch roping clinics to help teach others to rope.  

“Abby has become an extremely valuable asset to the 3:10 team,” says John.  

“I fell in love with this style of roping because it is such a challenge,” says Abby.  “This style of roping requires a high skill level, not only handling your rope but also your horsemanship and stock-handling skills, and oh, by the way, I like a good challenge! 

 “Learning to dally, we would sit on the four-wheeler and practice taking wraps and running rope, and we roped the dummy over and over,” she adds.

She caught on quickly to the fundamentals and more advanced roping shots such as turnovers, scoop loops and houlihans, which earn extra points in ranch roping competitions and present options while branding and doctoring cattle.  

“There’s are a lot of different angles that present themselves at brandings and while doctoring,” she explains.  “If you can throw [different loops] from father distances, you have more of a chance of catching.  I typically have an idea of what I want to throw, but being willing to swap in a moment is very important [for success and the safety of the livestock].  It also makes the roping easier when you learn how to control the stock.” 

She’s building her gear collection, and right now her favorite pieces of gear are her Brad Tarp hackamore and her Wade-tree saddle made by Ben Geisler Trail’s End Saddle Shop in Alabama.  

“It’s super comfortable and the horn makes it easier to run rope than on a small horn,” she explains.  

In her last year of high school, graduating is the priority.  After that, Abby plans to further her education at 3:10 Ranch, continuing the skills in the trade she wants to do for the rest of her life. 

Keily Stewart

Canadian horsewoman Keily Stewart has found her calling in developing horses on the ranch she works on in Alberta.

Keily Stewart has spent her life trying different things with and without horses.  A Canadian horsewoman, she’s packed into the mountains of her native British Columbia, helped at her father Glenn Stewart’s horsemanship clinics, served as the Calgary Stampede Princess, worked as a Western lifestyle photographer, and she recently spent time furthering her education on a working ranch.  Outside of the horse world, Keily is a classically trained ballerina.

“I started at a very young age and danced competitively until I was about 16,” she says.  “If you wanted to be a professional dancer, it usually required moving to a larger city as a child or young teenager, and I wasn’t prepared to leave my family and the horses.  I loved its art form and expressing myself through movement.  Ballet translates to horsemanship and having a deeper understanding of your body, expression and weight and how it transfers over to a horse.”

After high school, Keily attended Olds College of Agriculture & Technology and graduated with a diploma in Land Reclamation.  This spring, she started on a working cattle ranch southwest of Longview, Alberta, while also training client horses and developing her own horses to sell at prestigious sales such as Art of the Cowgirl in Queen Creek, Arizona, where her consignments have has landed consistently in the high-selling horses.

Of all her experiences, riding in the mountains with her family has had some of the most influence on her.

“My Dad worked as a guide on hunting outfits for 25 years in northern British Colombia, 21 of those years at a horse ran outfit my uncle owned and operated, 160 kilometers [99 miles] from the nearest road,” she says.  “Over the years, dad transitioned from guiding hunters to focusing on his horse program and developing the 200-plus wild horse herd.  These horses were prepared for people from all over the world, with varying degrees of horse experience, to be safely ridden throughout the Canadian Rockies.  My first trip in there was when I was 4 years old, and I consistently returned with my family and my father’s students for 18 years.  

“Leading a string of pack horses through the bush in unchartered areas felt as close to familiar as anything could,” she continues.  “I am who I am today greatly because of those adventures and experiences.  It’s given me confidence in what horses are capable of and what we can accomplish together.  That country was so big, and the days were long.  I feel less intimidated now in new areas and on big operations.”

At home on her family’s ranch in Fort St.  John, British Columbia, Keily developed her horsemanship while actively participating in her father’s horsemanship clinics and focusing on his program.  The family often traveled with him when their busy schedules allowed.  Growing up, Keily rode a variety of horses in different disciplines but has grown fondest of working cattle ranches and developing horses that can join her on the job.  In recent years, she has focused on learning more about incorporating the phases of making a bridle horse.

“I am very fascinated by all the different directions and ideologies regarding horsemanship,” she says.  “Given the foundation I grew up with, it has been a great pairing and transition into the vaquero style of riding.”

The last two summers, developing a deeper understanding of vaquero horsemanship and stockmanship, Keily has spent her time applying herself at the OW Ranch under the mentorship of the Gabe and Reata Clark and has participated in Buck Brannaman’s colt-starting clinics held annually at the Houlihan Ranch in Sheridan, Wyoming.  As she’s delved into ranch work, the 25-year-old horsewoman has not only found her passion, but she’s also noticed a difference in her horses and horsemanship.

“The progression I’ve seen in my horsemanship and in my horses has been significant since I started working around cattle and giving my horses a job.  Plus, I love the adventure it entails,” she says.  “I’ve gotten to ride alongside and study folks that are very reputable, humble, and generous teachers.  I feel honored and blessed.”