Top level competitive horses
exude the attitude and spirit that enables them to win under stressful and
trying conditions. Their will to win is matched only by their beauty and
their honesty. Passion and transparent communication between the two
stallions is quite evident in
"The Rivals".
The foothills of Kananaskis Country in
south-western Alberta are home to a wide range of ungulate species,
including the elk or wapiti. Here, during a warm Chinook evening on a
hill top above the Sheep River, a small group of elk stands alert and poised
for flight.
At an elevation of 8000 feet a lone Park
Warden and his horses traverse Allenby Pass in southern Banff National Park.
Warden Dave Oickle riding Winston and leading Wasp, are on day two of a nine
day shift, patrolling alone a vast district of high mountain passes and fast
glacial fed streams.
Park
Warden Dave Oickle on his saddle horse Winston, and leading packhorse Wasp,
has reached the summit of Allenby Pass in Banff National Park. Ahead
lies a long a descending trail to the Warden Cabin at Bryant Creek.
As the day was ending, and I neared the end of
a hike in Elk Island National Park, Alberta, I entered a small clearing and
saw this herd of bison resting and grazing quietly along the crest of a
knoll. With the leafless branches arched over their backs and the
setting evening sun, the calm tranquility of the scene returns to me every
time I look at the painting.
The patrol horses of Canada's National Parks
have been the trusted companions of hundreds of Park Wardens for well over
120 years. Here, pack horse Ziggy has been packed and stands patiently ready
to begin another 10 hour day.
A bull moose stands in a boreal forest creek
in the first snow storm of the year. I had planned to cross the stream
on the beaver dam just upstream from the moose, but had to wait until he had
finished his watery snack before he casually wandered off in search of a
drier meal.
With just over half of the 17 km ride from
Stoney Creek to the cabin at Flints Park (Banff National Park), Park Warden
Scott Ward winds his way carefully through a strand of fire-killed pines.
Relying completely on his young saddle horse, Liquorice, to find her way
through the deadfall, and hoping that Kalua follows the same track, Scott
will make camp in another couple hours and settle for the 2nd night of a
nine day shift.
The group of pine and evening grosbeaks landed
on a balsam poplar tree outside our house one afternoon and the varying
textures of the bark, lichens, and birds demanded that I try to portray
them. The flicks of bright red color from the rose hips are carried
upwards through tiny patches of lichen to the reddish head of the female
pine grosbeak on the upper branch.
Since the late1880s, saddle and pack horses
have been vital to the protection of Canada's National Parks. The
cabins scattered across this vast wilderness system, used by generations of
Parks Wardens and their families, continue to stand as testaments to the
dedication and determination of the men and women who protect our special
places.
