09/01/2025
🙌 Horsemanship heroes 🙌
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Tom Dorrance (1910–2003) is remembered as the quiet genius of the horse world, often called the father of natural horsemanship. He didn’t believe in breaking horses through fear. Instead, he believed in listening—communicating with “feel” and patience until horse and rider moved as one.
His older brother, Bill Dorrance (1906–1999), carried the same wisdom. A rancher steeped in California’s old vaquero traditions, Bill worked alongside Tom to preserve a gentler, more respectful approach to training. Together, they planted the seeds of a revolution.
The man who carried that revolution forward was their student, Ray Hunt (1929–2009). Hunt became famous for traveling the country teaching riders how to “think like a horse.” He showed cowboys, ranchers, and rodeo riders that trust and respect could achieve more than force ever could.
Though none of them sought Hollywood lights, their philosophy echoed all the way to the silver screen. Trainers and wranglers who had studied under them—or under their students—brought that authenticity into western films. The smooth horsemanship audiences admired on screen often bore the quiet imprint of the Dorrance brothers and Ray Hunt.
By the time they passed, they had become more than horsemen. They were teachers, philosophers, and guardians of a tradition that valued partnership over domination. Their legacy still rides on every time a horse and rider move together in trust, whether on a ranch, in an arena, or in a western film.
~Old Photo Club