The Cowboys in my life: a special portfolio shot by Bruce Weber

Cowboys are the only people who can do anything in the world. They can fix fences, ride horses standing up on the saddle, cook a grand meal over a small fire in the wilderness, and write poetry, which they recite at the Annual Cowboy Poetry festival in Big Timber, Montana. They give their bulls and cattle pet names, and their dogs are their most loyal companions. Cowboys drink anyone under the table, get pretty good at square dancing and are known to be great at romancing that special someone in their brand-new Ford pickup. I once asked Mike Bowman, the cowboy who takes care of my ranch in Montana, why I never see cowboys swimming in the lakes and streams. He thought for a long time and then quietly said, "Because we got white legs."

As a young boy, Patrick Wayne grew up with two fathers-his dad, John Wayne, and his surrogate dad, John Ford. What was so incredible to me was how Patrick had this tradition of the west in his blood and he was able to continue it with Anthony.

The wonderful thing about Tom Saunderson, and other cowboys, is their bond with animals. That painted horse of Tom's was his favorite. He used to stand on him looking out over where he was born.

The great thing about cowboys is their sense of being their own person. Whether they're a man or a woman, they're what we like to describe as characters.

COPYRIGHT 2006 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning