"Vaqueros and Californios"

This painting is very representative of the land and the cattlemen of the Central California Coast. This is an actual place, looking south from atop the grade south of San Juan Bautista, overlooking the Gabilan Range (Indian word for "hawk") and beyond to Salinas and Monterey.

This was the seat of many early vast Mexican land grants and the Californios who worked and ranched the land. They took great pride in their beautifully trained horses and riding ability. Their vaqueros, who worked the huge cattle ranches, adopted that unique style of training and riding, and had horses superior in performance on the range. This tradition of training has been passed down through the generations. The vaquero style is still in favor among the area ranchers.

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