All About Teamwork

"All About Teamwork"

Charcoal/graphite

25 1/2" x 33"

(click on photo for closer look)

Watching ranch roping events highlights one feature in a major way....and that is teamwork.  Beauty flows in the attentive and responsive way the horse interacts with his rider.  The horse seems to intuit when to pull harder or slacken the rope, where to be at just the right time.  I love watching the interplay between horse and rider.

Teamwork also shows up between team members as they work to bring a calf down. With smooth understanding of where each horse and rider needs to be, both pairs execute their tasks efficiently.

Working on this large drawing has been a special pleasure for me.  The cowboy in the black hat is my son Elijah Patterson.  I believe he was born in boots and a saddle.  This kind of work is his great love.  And he is skilled at it.  Elijah has a way with horses.  I have watched him quietly and successfully train wild mustangs and work with other problem horses.  

One sad note about this drawing is that Elijah's horse Ally had to be put down on Elijah's birthday this past fall.  Ally was severely tangled in a barbed wire accident.  He was a great cow horse and long time companion of Elijah's.  Ally...you will be missed from the team!