Monday, August 31, 2009

four amigos


I am a terrible spontaneous photographer. That is one reason I do not take many action shots.


On Saturday evening Jiggs and I returned from our evening walk. Usually, I would go upstairs to start cooking dinner.


That night I decided to take a look at the beach. Just as I opened the gate, I saw four horses. Not that unusual. There are lots of horses and mules traversing the sands of Melaque.


But the riders were unusual. Instead of the usual adults, these were four young boys.


And they knew what they were doing. Their mounts were wheeling and rearing. And then I saw why. The boys were showing off for some young girls. A universal of the beach.


Two rode east; two rode west.


If you know me well enough, you will immediately know what I tried to do. I tried to shoot a photograph without the rider noticing. He did.


Instead of a glare, he looked at me. Smiled. And called all of his companions over for a photograph.


The result is at the top of the post. I should have taken my time. Instead, I snapped it off -- expecting that the boys would be on their way.


Instead, they sat there and told me their names and the names of their horses. The breed and age of each horse.


Then they asked questions about Jiggs and me.


At one point, my NOB mentality kicked in. "I wonder if they expect a fee for posing?" That happened to me several ties in Brazil. But these boys were simply interested in showing how proud they were of their horses.


(As I write this, I realize they were expecting one thing that I could and should have done: to see the photographs I took. Another lesson to remember.)


And then they were on their way. The boy who spoke the most reared his horse several times for me. My digital camera simply would not cooperate. But his smile says everything.




As they were leaving, I realized I knew these boys. They were my 4-H classmates who had that mystical relationship with large animals.


For a moment, I was transported back to 1950s Oak Grove. And watched part of my past ride away down the beach.

18 comments:

Mic said...

What a fun experience!!...and good photo shots too....happy young smiles can really make a day/evening :-)

Frankly Ronda said...

What a great occurance! You did great with the photos. The boy's smile is joyful.

Chrissy y Keith said...

so what breeds were the horses?

Anonymous said...

what a nice experience. maybe next time you see them you can show them the pix-perhaps make paper copies for each one. the horses are beautiful and the boys so cute. the smiles show the pride in their horses.

have a great week!

teresa

Babs said...

It looks like the horse is smiling too in the bottom photo! Cute......

Unknown said...

Puro "Steve in Mexico",

great start for my day.

Thanks.

Anonymous said...

It looks like 3 and a half amigos to me. Keep those horse tales coming.

Horst

Steve Cotton said...

Mic -- They were four very happy boys.

AMM -- I just wish I had caught all four of them together better.

Chrissy -- If my Spanish had been better, I could answer the question.

Teresa -- That was the first time I saw any of them, and I have not seen them since. Four Horsemen of the Apoca-beach?

Babs -- I suspect he is waiting for that bit to be pulled back again for another rearing episode.

Charley -- Happy to be of service.

Horst -- Or should that be Horst tales?

Unknown said...

And isn't Horst his first AND his last name?

Steve Cotton said...

Charley -- That would be a Horst of a different collar. (I know I am going to get an email on that one.)

Unknown said...

That's a good one, Steve. Wish I had written it.
It is a post concerning photography, so that's why I thought a Horst would comment.

Steve Cotton said...

Charley -- At least there is no danger that I will be going by "Horst P.Horst" -- not when I cut my subjects in half. More like Mandrake the Magician.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures.

I am sure Darrel would like to share his horses with you when you come.

Mom

Steve Cotton said...

Horses and children I can do without.

Anonymous said...

I had a horse at that age. She was my best friend, and we had lots of adventures together, riding though the coastal redwood forest of Northern California.

Thanks for the wonderful post. Brings back fond memories. And those boys look happy and innocent, quite a cheering image.

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we have horsepower without the horses. Kind of a pity, really.

Anonymous said...

Steve: Your photos and story made my day.

Anonymous said...

Steve,
If you're interested in the 'relationship of man or woman' with their horse', you'll find scads of opportunities in Melaque and Mexico in general, to explore this, both socially and via photos.

what we might understand, something like 'cowboy culture' NOB, percolates through quite a lot of la vida mexicana.

Steve Cotton said...

Kim -- They were four of the happiest kids I have seen on the beach. The skim boarders, like snow boarders, are too intense.

Anonymous -- Making a day is something I aspire to.

Anonymous II -- I feel as if I could be living in a town in eastern Oregon.