Rock Springs Guest Ranch Presents
2008 Annual Rock Springs Ranch Photographer's Round-Up and Horse Drive
For almost 30 years, Wilma Roberts, a
Fellow with the Photographic Society of America, held an
annual horse photography workshop at Rock Springs. This
event featured Rock Springs Ranch's renowned horse
drives as the major photo opportunity. Wilma
was a good friend of Rock Springs founder, Donna Gill,
and continued to come and bring this unforgettable
experience to so many over the years. After turning 90 and
still hosting the 2004 drive herself, we all decided that
Rock Springs should take on the responsibility in order to
carry on the tradition. NW Style did a news piece on Wilma and the horse
drives which you can see online. Our program for 2008
will be September 2 - 5.
Join us next fall for the old west horse
drives and workshop. Your photographic experience begins
with your arrival here at the ranch. Starting with the
first evening, as the sun begins to set our cowboys are ready
to stir up the dust and have the horses charge by as you take
those unforgettable shots. During the remainder of your
stay we have three more drives; one more from the horse vantage
point and two overlooking the action from atop the rocky
cliffs. In addition to the drives we also offer other
photo opportunities with the horses, cowboys, and
cowgirls. To bring you a little closer to the horse and
rider we offer a session with two horses and riders in a
beautiful setting to get more still shots as well as
panning. 
An expert angler will also wade into our
stocked pond for some casting shots followed by horse and rider
in the pond. In the evening the cowboys bring their horses by
the campfire and there is always our barn full of saddles,
bridles, and western gear for you to shoot.
Included in our rates are all meals, lodging, four horse drives and photo opportunities on the ranch as well as exclusive use of our facilities. Accommodations are in comfortable, well appointed cabins with all the amenities provided for you. Our Northwest cuisine is served buffet style and includes something for every appetite. We are happy to accommodate any special dietary needs.
Rates for the 3 night 2008 horse drive
will be:
$1,250 for single occupancy and
$1075 for double occupancy.
We are working out plans for a workshop, starting a day earlier, about how to get the most out of your experience shooting here. This will include a workshop going over what to expect, tips, and a trip to the horse drive site to start your first drive prepared.
We will also be adding workshops and educational opportunities during the 3 days of the clinic, and will have more available as this comes together.
To reserve your space please contact Tricia Maxson at Rock Springs. You can reach her by phone at 1-800-225-3833 or by email, tricia@rocksprings.com. A deposit of 40% is due at the time of booking and the remainder due by July 1st. After that date there will be no refunds.
We have once again found photos taken at our horse drives winning awards. Currently, Jody Miller has two photos on display at the Phippen Western Art Museum in Prescott, AZ, one of which won the Phippen Award. You can see more information about their Fresh Eyes exhibit on the Phippen Museum website. A few months ago, Smithsonian Magazine's photo contest honored Judy Helderman for a shot of Hud Crites chasing a horse here at Rock Springs! Also, Willis Price has a winning photo featured on the Sacramento Bee website Sacbee.com
Also, a couple of our guests e-mailed us links to their website on which they show and sell pictures from the horse drive. You can view Tony Bonanno's photo gallery at http://www.bonannoportfolio.com/ and Jody Miller's at http://www.millersreflections.com/index.php. Tony's "Hooves and Dust" series is covered in the Spring 2006 Horses in Art Magazine, and has been getting rave reviews on http://www.pbase.com/tbonanno/hooves, a photography website where they are posted. Tony has also just been featured in Rangefinder Magazine, which you can read online at http://www.rangefindermag.com/magazine/Jan07/showpage.taf?page=30.
