As a young cowboy, Laine Keyes has the wisdom of five generations behind him as he takes over the reins at a ranch in the scenic Turtle Valley, where men like Cecil Coburn rode 100 years ago.
Keyes is an experienced rancher and knows his livestock, especially how to handle horses. With his mom Renee Blanc, he operates Okanagan Outback Western Adventures.
“He’s the businessman,” chuckled Blanc as she nodded at her son. “I’m just a grunt cleaning up after the horses.”
As Blanc demonstrates her equine skills, it is evident this woman has a deep understanding of these sensitive creatures.
When Keyes and Blanc take a couple of their horses out for a demonstration of horsemanship, the gentle nature of the horses is evident, even with a stranger present. While Keyes goes to get his cutting horse named Daisy, Blanc heads to the training corral.
“We have a method of gently training new riding stock; you can’t raise a gentle horse through fear and aggressive behaviour,” Blanc remarked, as she walked the new stud on the farm, Wildfire.
“Wildfire is really smart,” she continues. “This is only the second time we’ve attempted to ride him. He got his name because he was conceived during the 2008 blaze that tore through the valley.”
Keyes arrives with Daisy, then leaves her in the adjacent barrel racing arena. He stands next to Wildfire, with Blanc holding the bridle. Wildfire seemed a little nervous at first with the camera pointed at him, but once he realized the threat was of low magnitude, he quickly seemed to relax, finally allowing Keyes on his bare back.
Blanc led Wildfire around the ring with Keyes riding, but the horse wasn’t quite ready to let Keyes stand up. Blanc showed a video on her smart phone of the first session a few days back, with Keyes eventually standing on the dappled tawny back of the young quarter horse stallion.
Next Keyes gets up on Daisy and they zigzag through pylons on the gallop, around barrels with speed and agility. There’s no question they are a team working together.
As she watches her son do the course in a cloud of dust, Blanc says she is still into barrel racing. With that sparkle in her eye, you just know she’s good at it.
Along with the trail rides, Okanagan Outback Western Adventures has a campground where dry RV spots are available, with corral space for visiting livestock.
Kids summer camps, therapeutic rides, or just plain old riding lessons – they’re all available and more.
Keyes may be carrying on a family tradition that goes back to the first settlers in the area, but his methods are current and state-of-the-art, with his trusty smart phone in hand and informative website speaking to the world.
Keyes’ recent experience as a participant in the Launch-a-Preneur event in Salmon Arm was valuable.
“The formal coaching on the business plan was particularly helpful, in looking at all the aspects of the operations,” said Keyes.
Keyes says he wouldn’t mind returning to competitive bull riding in the Canadian Pro Rodeo circuit but, for now, his focus is needed on the ranch.
For more information on Okanagan Outback Western Adventures, see the website at Okanaganoutback.com, or call 250-318-6019.
