Here is a little background on Richard and his beliefs.  Other articles will be added at a later date.

A True Buckaroo at Heart

                                                                                                                                                 By Dana Martin,  2006

     From his wide-brimmed hat and neck scarf to his boots and short, slip-in chaps called armitas, Richard Caldwell portrays a deep sense of pride in his heritage.   
     "My first love is buckarooing," says Richard, who spent 30 years working ranches in Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and California while rearing three daughters. (Currently also has seven granddchildren!)
     But as the years passed, Richard realized the need to move on and do something that would make their future more financially secure.
     "There just isn't any way you can get ahead in life working as a buckaroo," says Richard.  "Ranches are bought and sold, and there's just not enough security anymore."
     "Back when my grandfather buckarooed, you could do it until you were 70 and 80 years old.  They would find chores for you to do and you had a job for life.  Back then, they took care of you, but today ranches change hands to often nobody cares about you."  
     In June 2003, the Caldwells settled near Alturas, completing a barn and arena and diving into the business of training reined cow horses.
     As a certified journeyman farrier, Richard's primary income comes from his shoeing business.  He travels to large stables in Southern California and Central Oregon to shoe performance horses.
     The stables are booked on a regular schedule, so when Richard is not on the road, he can be home training horses.
     Using horsemanship skills he learned while working as a buckaroo, Richard trains horses in the vaquero style, following old California traditional training methods.
     Richard says the Spanish vaqueros brought their horsemanship traditions to the California cattle ranches in the 1700s.  With no specific deadline for finishing a horse, the vaqueros took their time in training, paying attention to the temperament and capabilities of the horse.
     While this method takes lots of time and patience, the result is a responsive, fine-tuned horse, Richard says, noting that makes all of the work worth it.
     "You go through all the little steps in putting a trained horse together and the horse tells you how far you can go," he explains.
     Richard follows the vaquero method of starting a young horse out in a hackamore.  He incorporates snaffle bits into his program so he can compete in snaffle bit futurities.
     "I'll ride a lot in a snaffle bit, but my goal is to always put a horse in a hackamore, because it's a traditional method," says Richard.  "The hackamore breaks the horse more at the withers rather than at the poll like a snaffle bit."
     Breaking a horse at the withers allows it to collect up easier, since it moves the process through the body of the horse, Richard explains.
     "A hackamore sits on the nose, so when you drive them up, they break at the withers," he says.  "It makes the horse's body more round, and they enjoy their job more."
     Richard rides a  horse in a hackamore until it reaches 4 to 5 years old.  At about the age of 6, or when the horse is ready and consistent in the hackamore, Richard introduces the two rein, which includes a smaller diameter bosal or bosalito worn under a bridle with a bit.  Both bosalito and bit have a set of reins attached, which results in the term two rein.
     Richard uses either a half-breed or spade bit with his bridle, disputing the notion spade bits are cruel.
     "They are just misunderstood," Richard says, noting the spade bit is just a bar with a spoon on it.
     The spade is considered a signal bit, as opposed to a snaffle, which works as a pressure bit.
     "Sometimes I leave horses in the two rein for two years," says Richard.  "I'm using the bosalito setup without putting any pressure on the bridle reins for three to four months, so the horses develop a mouth for the spade, and they know how to hold it and pick it up.  Then you start incorporating the reins with it."
     He compares the results of a spade bit to a car with power steering.  "There is no comparison," he says.  "It's so much nicer and easier."
     Richard's goal is to have a horse totally finished or "straight up in the bridle."  Depending on the horse, that can take seven to eight years.
     "It's a long process, and that's why people don't want to take the time," he says.  "But if you ever have a horse like that, you'll get the feel of it and there will be no comparison."
    Richard enoys his horses, but must sell them--they fetch as much as $50,000 each--to keep his business going.
     He is proud of their versatility.  "Each horse has his own personality and specialty, but what I'd like for people to think when they get on of my horses is they can do just about anything they want to do," Richard says.  "They can go rope, they can go cut, they can take long rides ... They aren't trained for a specific event.  They are just well-rounded horses that can do just about anything."
     Richard and Nancy have 13 horses of their own.  Five are in training.  The Caldwells have had impressive performances at National Reined Cow Horse Association events, such as the Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno.  Richard also enjoys participating in Big Loop roping competitions.
     For Richard, the most important thing is to never lose sight of his roots.  He is a buckaroo.  "I show in a buckaroo-style saddle and always dress the way I am now," Richard says, noting a vaquero portrays a sense of pride in everything he does.
     From the well-polished silver on his saddle to every piece of clothing that has a purpose, Richard transmits this pride to his horses.
     Although he has left the range, Richard will always appreciate the buckaroo way of life.  He is proud to represent the culture through his training and performances.
     "I do it for those guys out in the brush who don't come to town to compete, but they are the real horsemen," says Richard.  "That's the real deal out there, and I admire those guys who stick it out and stay out there.  Those are the guys I rode stirrup to stirrup with.  They are the ones who taught me about horses and cattle, and that's what it's all about: the guys out there."