Dunrovin Ranch

On Thursday, June 26th, the students participated in an outing to Dunrovin Ranch, just south of Missoula, in Lolo, Montana. The wonderful staff helped the students observe the herd of horses at the ranch, carefully watching their interactions and understanding the hierarchy of the animals. Which horses butted in and made sure they got a taste of each piece of hay dropped? Which horses stayed back until the others ate, then got their pick of whatever pile they wanted. Which horses seemed polite? Aggressive? Timid? Supportive? What does going to a ranch and observing horses have to do with the theater? Everything.

Cool shots of the bridles.


The Dunrovin Ranch brand, which is applied to an anesthesized horse by freezing it into the fur with liquid nitrogen. The freezing destroys the hair follicles and the brand remains.


The students took notes on their Dunrovin Passports, observing the behavior of the horses and how they interacted with each other.


Here is Sue explaning the hierarchy of the herd at Dunrovin. The students were a little surprised to see where some of their horses fell in the pack.


Sue then led the students through an exercise describing the hierarchies in the students' lives, helping them to understand how they view themselves and how they fit into their own surroundings.


Next lesson: learning how to attach a lead, build trust with your animal, and lead him into the arena. This helped students overcome some fears they had of the animals (they are BIG, trust me), and to help them learn to be aggressive or gentle when necessary. The students learned that with a small jab of a pinkie finger, they could move these massive creatures.


Cherish learns how to tighten and where to place the lead.


Liz is gentle, but firm with her horse.


Trey looks like an old pro (and a cool pro, with those great sunglasses).


After lunch, lessons for the ranch. Students rotated through stations to teach them roping, fly-casting, and horseback riding.


Here's Trey with a tricky little rope. It's much harder than it looks. It's all about rhythym.


This was like a lasso noodle casserole at times...


I love this shot of Logan framed in the lasso. Right place, right time :)


And of course, the parental warning "don't try this at home". haha


Molly proved to be a natural fly-caster. And this was casting INTO the wind...much harder, trust me.


You have to afford me at least one or two creative shots per day. It's in my contract (kidding!). Thanks for humoring me, Eric.


Next up. Leading the horses through an obstacle horse, further developing skills to lead and command with different types of techniques.


Teaching the students how to hold the reins.


Sami has a good laugh.

It was great to watch the students bond and laugh in the arena.

I think they've done this once or twice before...

Nicky trots away...


I haven't seen many times when Wynston doesn't have a smile on his face. It's contagious.


Petrea let out a delightful squeal just after I took this image...


Taylor looks like she had a great time, too.


Aw....a tender moment...


Lacy and Cherish had some good discussions with their handler...

Jenna kicks back for a minute.


Horse hoof shaving...I'm not sure why...this just looked fascinating to me...

The staff at the ranch talked about the hierarchies among the students, both in this group as well as in their personal lives, how they interact with the world around them, and also the importance of making observations and watching interactions and how those observations could later be translated to the stage. Through their interactions with the horses and staff, students were able to challenge fears, open themselves to new experiences, and build trust in themselves and one another. Greg challenged the students to take each and every experience at Next Step Prep and find a way to incorporate even the smallest lessons into their personal lives. It was a powerful day.




Next up...dance and vocal instruction.