Ellensburg, Washington – Cowboy Capital

by Bennett Owen

“He could ride…woah he could ride. Yakima Canutt could ride the devil off a horse’s hide. Woah he could ride, he could ride, ride, ride…by God that Yakima could ride.”

Juni Fisher        

Ellensburg, Washington – Only about 90 miles southeast of Seattle but separated by that magnificent lifestyle divide known as the Cascade Range…home to one of America’s oldest, biggest and most prestigious Rodeos

Photo courtesy of reverendkomissar.

and for the past seven years, the Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering, a winter weekend celebration of cowboy music, poetry and the western mystique.

The headliners here aren’t selling out football stadiums. But they are committed and supremely talented musicians nonetheless and their songs are poetry born of understanding, for they are historians as well. One has the feeling these performers are cowboys first and foremost and their biographies provide the pedigree.  A perfect fit for Ellensburg.

Photo courtesy of reverendkomissar.

Photo courtesy of FreeOperator

Downtown USA, a showcase of 19^th century western architecture, you know, the kind that makes you wonder why you ever left home.

Ranch roping, a chuck wagon cook off, square dancing, fiddle contests…sounds like quite a weekend. I suspect Ellensburg put its music festival in February to lighten up the winter doldrums a bit, since a recent peek at the online edition of the Daily Record newspaper headlined an avalanche on Snoqualmie Pass and the highlight on the event calendar was Contradancing.

But Ellensburg has plenty of local color and in an ongoing effort to serve our loyal readers we offer some friendly sightseeing advice:

• Central Washington University - The lovely campus actually holds a dark secret…yes, Kamola Hall is said to be haunted by a one-time co-ed who hung herself from  the rafters after hearing that her beloved had been killed in action… though there is speculation as to which war.

Photo courtesy of Pictoscribe

• The Yellow Church Café – Located in an old German Lutheran church, the food is heavenly, service is non-denominational and my advice is to pray for a miracle to get a reservation.
• A look at my trusty “Roadside America” App dictates a must-stop at “Dick and Jane’s Spot.” A quirky artist colony whose proprietors live by the dictum, “one hearty laugh is worth 10 trips to the doctor.”  Now those are words to live by.

Photo courtesy of Ellensburg.com

Here’s Don Edwards performing Little Joe the Wrangler:

Sundance Film Festival: 'Buck'

by Bennett Owen

(updated February 3, 2011)

“Nobody votes for a new idea. It’s something you have to grind out by yourself.”

- Robert Redford –         

 

The Sundance Film Festival is well underway, with a new Documentary Premier section, intended to put greater focus on the independent edge of the fast-growing documentary market. Among those being screened this year is a doc entitled Buck, an impressive story of the original Horse Whisperer, and fellow Montanan Buck Brannaman. Take a look at the (horse) trailer:

Of Course Sundance founder Robert Redford directed and starred in the 1998 feature film, The Horse Whisperer, a story based on Buck:

I sense closure in there somewhere. Say, are those White Boots that Robert’s wearing?

Photo courtesy of qbac07.

I believe even Buck would have met his match with Nicky, the obnoxious Shetland pony we had as youngsters. The first thing he did (after bucking me off for the first of many times) was chew all the outside water fixtures off, so we had to use a pair of pliers to water the yard! God, just thinking about that awful creature makes me wonder why anyone would want a pony.

To set the record straight, I come from solid, pedigree horseman stock. My great grandfather Marchesseault was a pioneer freighter with a proud herd of Percherons and my grandfather, R. D., was a consummate cowboy who liked to say that “all a man needs to be happy is a good horse and a loyal dog,” to the great consternation of my grandmother.

Despite those differences they produced four sons (my uncles - the four on the left in the photo below) who have spent the better part of their lives in the saddle.

My grandpa Owen was a champion rodeo rider and his brother founded a big ranch just north of the border in Alberta.  So ... all of that experience and still Nicky had to be re-broke every spring. Grown men being thrown around by a pint-sized pack of dynamite with nothing but evil intentions.  And I personally think Nicky would have put the “buck” into Buck Brannaman too.

See Sundance fans discuss 'Buck':

Update:

Getting Some Bucks out of Buck

The documentary Buck won the US Documentary Audience Award at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival, along with standing ovations at many of its screenings. Critical reviews have generally been positive as well. Here’s a sampling:

Film.com

The LA Times

Deadline Hollywood – a write-up of director Cindy Meehl

The reviews tend to focus on the film’s surprisingly emotional impact, with the LA Times correspondent describing sitting next to an inner city rapper reduced to sobbing at some of the scenes. Meehl came to Sundance without a distributor but based on its success she’s now talking to several, so…coming soon to a theater near you.

Buck’s money quote: “All your horses are a mirror to your soul and sometimes you might not like what you see in the mirror.”

So what does that say about my sister and me if our souls were mirrored in that vicious little powder keg pony named Nicky? He tried to roll on Donna in a creek! He launched me a half-dozen times and earned my Grandpa’s respect by keeping pace with the saddle horses. HE CHEWED THE CAST IRON WATER FIXTURES OFF THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE!

But since our original post on Nicky, friends and relatives have been mailing us pictures to prove that not all ponies are pernicious. Send us yours as well! We're going to post them under PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE.

And finally, I get the feeling that Jerry Seinfeld had a Shetland Pony when he was a kid…. follow this link, and please scroll down for the comments!