There are so many images that pop into the mind when you think about Los Alamos in the Ranch School days. I’m always reminded of the popular photo of the boys skating and playing hockey on Ashley Pond in their shorts. Then there are photos of boys gathered around the fire. Photos of classes with the school masters. And, of course, in our last blog we talked about the Pond and Connell method of advertising the ranch school using beautiful photos of the boys set against the dramatic backdrop of the Jemez Mountains.
I think when we’re looking at these photos its really important to consider one thing. How difficult is it to learn to navigate a pack train like the one in the photo? The answer is: pretty darned difficult!
Horses were a huge part of ranch school life. I sometimes chuckle to myself that I know a lot of young ladies here in town who would have loved ranch school life just because of the horses. Yet they would’ve been down at the Brownmoor School in Santa Fe because the Los Alamos Ranch School didn’t take girls.
We’ve talked a lot about the healthy promises made by the Ranch School to the families of their students. Promises about the clear mountain air, clean living, activities, and outdoor pursuits guaranteed to make men out of any boy. But even if potential students enjoyed good health, many of their parents sent them here to Los Alamos to be toughened up. And the horse centric school curriculum was a big part of that toughening up!
Every boy was assigned a horse when they got to school. Once they’d hit the trading post for the school supplies and gear, they were taken to the barn. Mack Wallace, a student at the Ranch School in the 1930s shared his memory of that event with John D Wirth and Linda Harvey Aldrich in their book about the Ranch School years.
[There were about thirty horses] “gathered in the corral when we approached it. We were first ushered into the tack room within the big white barn, and our saddles and brides were pointed out. Back in the corral, on the first day, a young man haltered a horse and watched while I painstakingly put on the bridle, then placed the saddle blanket and saddle on his back and fastened the girth. I was wise enough to note that my mount had ballooned his belly and with a great heave on the girth I countered the measure. As we rode back to the “Big House” horse and rider became acquainted. His name was Nogales, and he was magnificent. This was an animal that I came to love and trust, and I think maybe he reciprocated in his way.”
It might seem almost shocking to hear that it was estimated every boy who attended the ranch school had at least ridden a horse once or twice before. Some had been frequent riders. But at this time, horses were still a large part of life, even in the city. Not that many of the students had ever learned to balance a load on a pack horse, tie a Los Alamos Diamond Hitch Knot, and figure out how to avoid saddle sores for the rider and the horse while spending days camping on the trail.
Horse shows and horse racing were considered an important part of the social season. In fact, the National Horse Show began in 1883 in New York City at Madison Square Gardens before moving to the Horse Park in Lexington KY in 2011. Other huge horse shows such as the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and the Washington National Horse Show soon became popular. The enormous amount of publicity eventually became part of a Disney movie plot in 1968 when “The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit” gave little girls everywhere stars in their eyes for the big gray gelding Aspercel jumping in the Washington International Horse Show.
Elizabeth Taylor was a well known and frequent attendee of the big horse shows and was often photographed on the opening night. In 2006 there was a popular Animal Planet show called, Horse Power: Road to the Maclay. But many people don’t realize that the ASPCA Maclay is an equitation class started in 1933 at the National Horse Show by Alfred Maclay. The purpose was to award the top performing young riders in America. The Maclay is still going strong today and is a big deal if you’re an equestrian in the hunter jumper world.
Horse racing carried a similar high society stamp of approval, hence the still current trend of ladies in enormous and elaborate hats at the Kentucky Derby! Believe it or not, but the entire country used to follow horse racing. The racing exploits of horses like Man-o-War, Secretariat, Ruffian, and Seabiscuit were a big deal for everyone back then.
But you’re not going to herd cattle or put a pack string together for an overnight camping trip with a show hunter. You need a great all around working horse for that! And those working horses in Los Alamos had to do a little bit of everything. Boys were taught to ranch ride, but they were also encouraged to ride well in any kind of saddle, or “the eastern style” as it was called back then. Opportunities abounded for students to play polo, jump, learn to drive the wagon team, and hunt from horseback.
In the remaining lists of Los Alamos Ranch School Horses in 1942, you can find the horse Mack Wallace was talking about, Nogales, or “Nogal” as he was officially listed. In 1942 he was 14. Which probably means he came to the ranch as a 6 or 7 year old and likely spent quite a lot of time with Mack in the later part of the 1930s. The oldest horse on the list from 1942 was 23 years old. Most were saddle horses, but there were several work horses for the wagons and other ranch activities as well.
The average age of a ranch horse was in the mid to late teens. Truthfully, back in those days, having working horses at 20-23 years old meant they were taking great care of these critters. What I know from my own daughter’s interest in riding is that a teenaged or even twenty something horse is a wonderful teacher. It seems likely that’s exactly what these horses were doing for the boys!
Some of the boys referred to the horses as “ego-wounders”, but all agreed that these horses gave the students an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of themselves, to learn patience and self-control and respect for living things who have thoughts, feelings, and personalities all their own.
Several of the young men were quite good in the saddle, an English saddle that is. Several of them had come from ranching families and knew their way around a western saddle and even cattle. But one thing most of those boys agreed upon was that they’d never had to care for and manage their own horses the way they did those at the ranch. Pampered scions of well to do families rarely did barn chores in those days. They would have had several grooms or ranch hands for that sort of thing. At school, the boys were the grooms and ranch hands.
A saddle maker in Silver City created the distinctive high cantle saddles the boys used at the Ranch School. Each boy was responsible for keeping their equipment in top condition and repair. They groomed their horses, oversaw their general care, and were responsible for keeping them healthy on the trail. It was a daily list of tasks that each boy grew to enjoy. Considering the love that each master and the headmasters had for horses, ranching, and western culture, it’s no wonder the boys enjoyed this new life at the Ranch School on the Pajarito Plateau.
Horses are still a big part of life in Los Alamos. We love to hit the Posse Shack for a Cowboy Breakfast the first Sunday of each month and head out to walk the stables for a visit. The Fair and Rodeo Parade and events take place in August with several days of rodeo fun and there are plenty of County sponsored horse exhibitions and fun days. We have a thriving Pony Club for those who’d like to join a club for kids who want to learn about horse care and management. Or you can take a few lessons and learn exactly how the boys were taught patience, tenacity, and self-awareness by a four legged master.
Ranching and outdoor pursuits are still important on the Pajarito Plateau today. We might not be riding our horses to work, (which would increase commute times but seriously decrease driving and traffic issues!), but we can still enjoy the amazing beauty of this small town on a big plateau. And if you’ve got a house in Los Alamos you’d like to discuss, give me a call. I’m your hometown real estate broker! I’d love to chat Los Alamos real estate with you!
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