Empire Ranch Roundup

It had been about six years since we last appeared at the Empire Ranch Open House. It is an historic ranch near Sonoita, Arizona that a group of people are trying to preserve for its historical significance. The annual open house has become quite a large affair and seems to be becoming more and more popular each year. We were well accommodated by our hosts who roped off a pretty big area for us to perform in. We started off with a modified cavalry riding demonstration similar to the one we perform on post. We had to tone it down a little as the ground was uneven and rocky in places but we were still able to put on a semi-decent show. After that we set up a combined weapons course so the troopers could show off individual riding skills. The course began with a series of pistol targets and jumps that had to be negotiated followed by an equal number of saber targets set at different levels and requiring different saber cuts. The saber target portion also included some jumps. The course was designed around a series of S-turns to keep the horse's speed down and to really make it challenging for the troopers. The guys had fun and the crowd really seemed to enjoy the show. The following photos give an indication of how fun it was. The photos are courtesy of Ty Holland.