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by Dennis Bright Our horse ranch business is constantly evolving as we develop new programs to meet the needs of our clients. I learned early on that if we were not growing and moving forward our business would suffer. My challenge has been to be true to our vision of helping people through horsemanship education and to recognize opportunities and be creative enough to benefit from change and not get caught up in the stale mind set of doing the same old things, no matter how well we're doing at the moment. Believe me, it's really easy to do as I struggle to keep up with the daily chores of feeding, cleaning stalls, fixing fences, doctoring horses and cows, not to mention my role as a teacher for my students and horses. Sounds a bit overwhelming, doesn't it? Then again, compared to my previous career in the broadcast industry, this job of riding horses is pretty darn good. The true unsung hero of our business is my best friend and partner in life, my wife, Kristin Marie Bright. In addition to chasing after our two year-old daughter Katharine, she is the one who does all the important things that make our business run so well. From scheduling the students' lessons and my day, to designing and editing the Bright Ranch newsletter. When we first started this business I tried to keep track of the details in my head. That never really worked very well, too many years of contact sports and rugby parties, I suppose. She is the one who designed our home office and filing systems and computerized our business. Speaking of systems, Kristin is constantly reminding me to stick to the system...write it down...file it...clean up after yourself...fill in all the blanks in the message pad, etc. You get the picture, and I wouldn't have it any other way. She is right, as much as I would like to kid myself, details are not my strong suit, but I really don't like to admit it to her very often because when I do she starts developing this "Goddess of Truth" persona that can be a trifle overbearing, if you know what I mean. Kristin is the salt to my pepper, the oil to my vinegar, the eggs to my bacon, in other words, we are a perfect match. We don't always see eye to eye and I keep telling her my height advantage more than makes up for her being smarter than me. Either she hasn't quite grasped my slightly warped sense of humor yet or perhaps she's just humoring me. This summer we hosted a young gentleman from San Francisco State University, Dave Luchansky, a photo-journalism major. Dave earned an internship with the daily newspaper, The Gilroy Dispatch, working as a staff photographer. His summer experiences here at the ranch reminded me of the novel, "A Yankee in King Arthur's Court." When he first arrived he looked the part of the hip city sophisticate, with his designer sunglasses and mod haircut, he even had the cool earrings that made the unspoken statement to those who cared to notice that he was a bit of a cultural rebel. But beneath the slick urban facade was a very genuine and sensitive young man who had a secret desire to be a cowboy, even if it was just for a little while. He described his role here on the ranch; " Just think of me as a fly-on the-wall," Dave was an observer, rarely a participant. That must be something they teach in the photo classes at S. F. State. I can just imagine the professor lecturing to his students, "Now class, as photo-journalists, I want you to give me your best fly -on-the-wall imitation for two minutes. Ready, go!" One of the requirements of the internship was for Dave to develop a photo-story that represented his summer experience. He decided the ranch provided the perfect opportunity and spent the better part of two months following us around with his camera during his free time. One of the benefits for Dave was that he had the chance to watch and listen during many of the students' lessons and seminars. What I didn't realize, was that he was really paying attention to what I was doing and absorbed a lot of good information about handling and riding horses. It wasn't until the last weekend before school started that he took me up on my offer to go for a trail ride at Mt. Madonna Park. So I outfitted him with a cowboy hat and a spare pair of boots and we were ready to ride. After arriving at the trailhead, I took a few moments to give Dave some riding tips and started the ride by leading him and his horse from my horse "Cap." About half-way through the ride Dave was handling his horse with ease and confidence, so I turned him loose to finish the rest of the ride on his own. I was pleasantly surprised at his newly acquired riding skills and jokingly asked him if he had secretly been riding when I wasn't around. He smiled and said, "I've been mentally practicing what you've been teaching your students." Here all along I've been thinking that I was the teacher and yet it was Dave who helped me realize there was more than one way to learn how to ride a horse. Last modified: Sunday, July 28, 2002 |
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