Rodeo Tales & Gypsy Trails: Ranch School 101

Ranch School 101

On our way to the Bruneau Cowboy Christmas, Lil' Red Roan had the chance to debut the book Ranch School 101. I'd heard talk of the new book from Stoecklein Publishing and was excited to get my hands on it. It was even better than I had hoped for and I knew I just had to share it with my friends! Not only am I going to share one of my favorite new books with you, David Stoecklein and Don Gill were kind enough to give me a quick interview about Ranch School 101!

Drum roll.......rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................ Ranch School 101.....

Over the many years of photographing the west, David Stoecklein experienced Ranch School 101 first hand as he traveled to working ranches across the west.

Dave told the story of his first time at the Wine Cup Ranch. "I'll never forget Martin Black telling me Dave don't climb over that gate. It's going to sag soon enough but you don't have to speed it up"

Dave wanted to share the years of knowledge gained as he photographed the west. The Ranch School 101 has been on the To Do list for quite some time. Originally, the book was planned to be paired with Stoecklein photography but Dave soon realized that it would take years to capture every principle he wanted to touch on.

Don Gill, good friend of Stoecklein and talented artist, lives right down the road in Gooding, ID. Dave commissioned Don to draw the illustrations for Ranch School 101 and an amazing collaboration was born with both artisans bringing amazing ideas to the table.

Don was kind enough to stop for a few minutes in Vegas and visit with me about Ranch School 101. I was curious as to how this project got started. Dave had approached Don about the idea 4 or 5 years ago and after long hours in the drawing room Ranch School 101 makes its debut.

During the course of our chat, I asked Don about his inspiration for the book and loved what he had to say, "Whether they are a good hand or a bad hand, you can usually learn something." He learned and observed many of these first hand from the cowboys he worked with over the years. "Everyone is an inspiration in their own way" ~ Don Gill

When asked about who Ranch School 101 was for....both Dave and Don answered ...EVERYONE!
Don said, "I wanted Ranch School 101 to reach everyone from the backyard horse person to an old rancher."

They are absolutely right! There is something in Ranch School 101 that everyone can relate to.

Here is a sneak peek at some favorites from the book!

When asked about his favorite Ranch School 101 scene....Dave had too many to list but here is one of the list of favorites

"Always Check the Trailer Latch Yourself"
~ Ranch School 101
pg34

One of Don Gill's favorites:

"If you can't pee off the porch, your neighbors are too close"
Ranch School 101
pg 68

"Rabbit Fast, Turtle Slow"
Ranch School 101
pg 68

Oh doesn't this just take you back to being a little kid driving the feed truck and getting cussed for driving too fast and hitting every bump. Pretty sure in later years my siblings and I would argue about the same things. If you are feeding...it's always too fast :)

"Always make your wire gates loose enough for the wife and kids"
Ranch School 101 ~ pg 36
This one reminds me of being a little and riding home from Grandpa's place with my brother Eric. It was shorter to cut through our fields to get home but there was 3 wire gates in our route. I would get off my horse, fasten Eric's rope around the gate, and he would back the Blond Bomb workhorse up to get it loose enough that I could open the gate. :)

Last but certainly not least....my favorite....

"Never run from cows, it teaches them bad habits"
~ Ranch School 101
pg 51

Thank you so much for traveling the Gypsy Trail with me today and getting a lil' Ranch School 101 education :) Hope you enjoyed the ride!
~ Mindy

p.s If you liked Ranch School 101 check out Stoecklein Photography Workshop

Rodeo Tales & Gypsy Trails

is proudly brought to you by
Lil' Red Roan

BRAND NEW BOOK ~ Ranch School 101!
Available now from Lil' Red Roan!