Stories from the Corral

On a cold, windy night in April, I took the following Photo shortly after I arrived in Yellowstone. The snow-covered rails of the corral drew me in along with the backdrop of Yellowstone Canyon and the mountains beyond lit by the setting sun. It was hard to imagine what the Corral would look like with the snow gone, and what stories would come my way in the next seven months I would be spending in Yellowstone.

When I returned to the Corral in June, I found myself photographing more than just the landscape of the corral, a place where the first historic hotel in Canyon Village once stood. What I discovered were wranglers with stories and horses with personalities, and I knew this was a photographic story I wanted to capture and share.

The following selection photographs 17 wranglers and 81 horses from June until August. I listened to stories and pressed the shutter button to record their passion, love of animals they care for and their daily routine at Canyon Corral in Yellowstone National Park

David Gallipoli

The Horses

Apache Joe Badger Banker Bobo Bow Casino Chief Joseph Churo Cisco Cobbler Cochise Concho Deike Dick Diesel DJ Duffy Frito Gotch Gunsmoke Hondo Jimbo Leo Leroy Madison Mexico Mohawk Mort Nevada Poker Joe Powwow Quincy Ratchet Red Rock Rim Rock Ringo Rob Rocky Rooster Rosco Sage Sandy Scooter Senior Slippers Spud Stubby Taco Tator Tex Tiny Travis Trooper Tugar Tuscan Tyke Walley Will Wyatt Wylie Zepler

Hardware

“Horses make a landscape look beautiful.”
― Alice Walker

“He's of the colour of the nutmeg. And of the heat of the ginger. . . . He is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness while his rider mounts him. He is indeed a horse, and all other jades you may call beasts.”

― William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, scene 7.

The Wranglers

Katelyn Colby Christine Harry Elizabeth Colton Jake Lauren Maggie Claire Kyra Ali David Risa Karlie Billy Larry and his bride Myrna

“I want to get ‘if you are not prepared to die today, you have no business being on a horse’ tattooed on my side because that seems like a good way to live these days”

Claire Harnenz

Canyon Wrangler

2017

“All that a man really needs in life is a horse you can catch when you need him, a dog that will come when you call. A friend that owns an arena and a trailer that’s legal to haul. A pair of good spurs, a saddle that fits and a good one ton pickup that starts. Everything else is just window dressing.”

Colby Clark

Canyon Wrangler

2017

“Don’t Trip, Just live”

David Shirah

Assistant Head Wrangler

Canyon Corrals

2017

“The Corrals represent a home, our home, we make it and we define it. It is within this home that we build our “wrangler life” and a sense of family none of us will ever forget.

This place, these people. These horses represent a freedom, a simpler time, a time where life slows down and the TV fades out. Phones rarely come out except for photos. We make a point to talk to each other face to face, we become a family. We have fires, dinners and 13 hour days together, yet still we make plans together on our days off. Our common bond is the horses, no matter what our background, the horses bring us together. As the season goes everyone gets to know the horses just as intimately as we know each other, that is our privilege, that is our job. This place, Yellowstone is our freedom, this place is our home. This place, the Canyon Corrals is our American dream, if only for a summer, how lucky we are to live it.”

Christie Brazer

Head Wrangler

Canyon Corrals

2017

Thank you Ali Paquette for the above photo and helping me shoot the Wrangler wedding.

Safe Travels Wranglers. Thank you for inviting me into your summer home.