Richard Winters: Ride the Rancho
May 13-19, 2022

A TRUE HORSEMANSHIP EXPERIENCE

Our eighth "Ride The Rancho" event will help each rider expand and improve their horsemanship in a myriad of practical and fun scenarios in and out of the arena. We're going to take advantage of this beautiful 20,000 acre cattle ranch and explore some of the hidden areas of the V6 Ranch that oftentimes visitors never see.

You will continue to learn and grow from Richard's solid horsemanship techniques and support. You'll be challenged and excited about the format and feel for this 2022 "Ride The Rancho." As always, arena time, big country riding, real life obstacle course and cattle working will all be a big part of our week together. Those who would like to join us for a short Cowboy Church are certainly welcome! This event allows you 5 full riding days. We are excited to be having Dave Stamey join us for a private concert on Wednesday evening!

This ride is organized by Richard and Cheryl Winters.

Richard Winters: All Women’s Horsemanship Retreat May 10-13, 2022

Many people only dream of being able to make a living working with horses, for Richard Winters it is a reality!

Our ladies have a great time each year and this year promises to exceed participants exceptions! This is an opportunity where women with the same interest and love of horses are able to be pampered and enjoy each others company as they spend hours with their equine partners. This event allows you two full days of riding.

​Participants will arrive Tuesday afternoon, anytime after 2:00 p.m. to get their horse and themselves settled. We officially begin with dinner around 6:00 p.m. followed by orientation. Participants stay on site at the V6 Ranch and enjoy three meals a day on Wednesday and Thursday in the outdoor Round Up Room or out on the trail. We are all doing our best to practice good Covid protocol. Our time will first be spent making sure each rider is ready to head out on the trail. Richard will be available to help with issues as they arise. Cattle working is always a highlight! We will head home after breakfast on Friday morning.

This will be a great opportunity to connect with your horse, enhance your own horsemanship skills, and make some lasting friendships.

This ride is organized by Richard and Cheryl Winters.

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Piper Mackay Spirit-N-Light Photography Workshop - March 29-April 3, 2022

Understanding how to see, work with, and manipulate light is one of the most important elements in creating dynamic photographs. Yet, grasping the technical side of natural light and artificial light (flash) is challenging, which is why we drop you into an inspiring environment, with interesting subjects, to learn these valuable skills. Focusing intensely on one important element over several days, hands-on, can have a great impact on immediately elevating your photographic skills. This is the perfect workshop to help you prepare for a trip to an exotic destination or to increase your ability to capture powerful images that stand above the sea of snapshots flooding the internet. We don’t just set up shots so you can take pretty pictures, we actually teach you the viable skills you need to improve your own photography.

Nestled in a valley, surrounded by majestic rolling hills, this workshop takes place on a true working ranch in central California. The wranglers will run the horses through the stunning landscape, creating loads of photographic opportunities for action shots, clouds of dust, roping steers, water spraying, lasso-tossing silhouettes at sunset, and depicting the adversity of ranch life, allowing you to capture the essence of a uniquely American culture. Amongst the action, we will mix in environmental portraiture, straightforward portraits, and close-up work with the horses and wranglers. Although there will be a concentrated focus on dramatic lighting, we will also work on creating interesting compositions, pan blurs, and adding motion and emotion to a still image.

This Spirit-N-Light It Up workshop adds simple flash techniques that will add a “wow” factor to your photographs. During the first few days, you will work with natural light, learning to see and use light and to manipulate your settings to create intriguing and unexpected images. We will then introduce the basics of fill flash, how simple it is to use, but how powerful a tool it is. By the last evening, our goal is to have you comfortable enough to try using off camera flash. For most photographers, adding flash seems overwhelming, too technical, too difficult, or just too much work. This is why we will work side by side, guiding you through the process and working hands-on in a real life photographic environment.

During mid-morning through early afternoon, when the light is harsh, we will teach through instructional slide shows, image reviews, and one-on-one troubleshooting. You can also plop down on the comfy leather couches with a cold drink and learn from each other or relax on the porch while taking it all in.

Our goal is that, regardless of what you know coming into this workshop, you will leave with the confidence in “seeing the light,” have new skills to create more intriguing photographs, and have a stunning portfolio of western images. Come prepared to get out of your comfort zone, work hard, and laugh hard; everyone has a great time during the Spirit-n-light workshops.

To maximize our time in the field, we will stay on the ranch in a log cabin lodge, built by the owner’s hands. The lounge area has shelves filled with books, a stone fireplace, and tables to sit and review images, and this is where we will meet for lectures and to share stories. You can even take a dip in the pool or a long soak in the hot tub adjacent to the main lodge. Owned by the ranch, we will take our meals at the Parkfield café, which is so rich in ranch life atmosphere, it can be a photographic destination.

This workshop is limited to only 9 participants.