Riding horses and roping calves don’t seem to have much in common with catching waves and riding surfboards, but in Southern California’s artistic lifestyle the opportunity to do both is a cell phone call away. Catch up with leather artist R.P. Kidd of Baja Malibu and you’ll be on your way to mastering the skills of both endeavors. The Long Board Cowboy “organization” came to be one year during the Vaquero Days celebration in San Diego County’s Descanso when the late great surfboard maker, Dale Velzy, came to play with the Californios.



Trading surfboards for saddles a group of us realized we had the two sports in common and should share this with ourselves and anyone else who cared to learn. Some of us are more cowboys than surfers and others were more surfers than cowboys, but the mix was nice and there is no more fun than sharing what you love with someone who is interested in your passion, hence the LBC came to be.
Our first training session came this September at Rancho La Mentada just to the east of La Mission and the surf breaks south of Rosarito in Baja. What started out to be 13 ended up at seven and a Magnificent Seven we were, until we caught up with our fearless leader and then we were eight. Not finding “Boub,” that’s Mexican for Bob, at home in his beachside resort we excitedly headed for the Ranch; only to find him at a full rest in a hammock swinging in the shade of the eucalyptus trees while the local construction crew filled the swimming hole with spring water from a water truck. After a round of greetings, salutations and introductions our host Enrique Lopereno invited us to lunch and cold drinks of our choice, the cold liquids took the edge off the 100 degree reading on the thermometer, while Rosita’s fresh vegetables and homemade tortillas and beans assured us that we were in the right place.
The idea of a siesta was on the minds of a few, but Jerry Tindell soon ended that idea with the cry of “there’s roping to do,” as we grabbed our ropes and headed for the roping dummy in the same shade where the hammock was swinging. For being 100 degrees out it sure didn’t feel like it. We caught that dummy from more angles and with more different throws than I knew were possible. Not only were we learning the cowboy way, but we were also learning a little Spanish too; I looked at Tindell and asked if he was having fun yet and he answered “si.” That guy really learns fast. Our instructor Enrique or “Chapo” paid plenty of attention to our methods and would correct us as needed and had all of us ready for live target practice in no time. We marched out to the corrals where there were a few horses standing around having the siesta that we only dreamed about. They sure came to life as the ropes started to whirl, in fact the young blonde I dropped a Houlihan on cleared the water trough and took off with my rope. Chapo gently approached with the assurance of a loving father and lightly retrieved that necklace from her.



All his horses get used to having ropes on them as they start their education in the world of ranch horse living. They learn to yield to pressure quickly and give their undivided attention to the handler. Back in the corral, a seasoned ranch horse by the name of Garbanzo was standing nice and quiet as we continued to barrage him with loops that didn’t reach their target; but eventually our aim improved and he would smile as we had to remove three or four of those nylon necklaces.
Our first day of three ended as the sun set and we had a chance to rest our weary souls in the fresh spring water of the swimming hole. You could tell who the real surfers of the group were - they’re the ones that just drop their pants and have their trunks on underneath their Levis and are ready to get in the water at a moment’s notice. The rest of us had to change in the bedrooms we had assigned to us. The real cowboys didn’t even bring a pair of trunks with them. I guess they are used to washing their clothes while they rinse their bodies.
More of Rosita’s fine cooking brought us back to the mess hall, adobe style, where she topped off her fresh presentation with fried platano type bananas smothered with whip cream. I never had those before, but they had to be good for ya. The campfire chatter always seems to default back to our accomplishments of the day, and my shoulders get bigger each time as I learn to carry the burden of harassment, earned from my personal successes as a roper wannabe.
Enrique reminds us that there will be coffee at 6:30 and breakfast at 8:00, which translates to about an hour of roping the dummy and sharing ideas of different ways to hobble your horse, braid ropes or change the attitude of a rank cow by tying her to a tree. Kyle Bowers gave us a real nice talk about his ranching days in the 1940s and 50s in Eastern Oregon and Northern Nevada, and the use and training of Spade bit horses as was the norm during this period of cowboyography. They had the time and took what they needed to bring a horse to the maturity of the spade bit, which most people today cringe and exclaim what a torture that must be to the poor horse. It must have been something to see pastures of horsemen and their spade bit horses handling the cattle in the old “California Way.”
After breakfast we received our horses and saddled as instructed. It sure is a pleasure to ride string horses that are better than we have at home. Chapo buys and sells a lot fine horses and keeps only the ones that work well for a variety of riders. Anyone who has taken home a mount from Enrique’s collection knows what I am talking about, and I hope to be among them soon.
To continue our education we roped the dummy from the back of a horse for a while, but soon headed for the pastures to find some critters to work. We found a group of mothers pretty quick and moved them to the ranch next door where we were scheduled to join another group to brand, castrate and earmark the bunch of them. Unfortunately the owner had got the work done the week before. To no avail we rode the perimeters of the ranch finding a few out of place and moved them home and eventually took our little group back to the corrals at Chapo’s place. Along the way our “herd” broke through a downed fence and headed for freedom - here is where you separate the cowboys. Chapo stepped over the barbed wire and took off hell bent for election to bring them home. These Baja cowboys can really ride the brush and hillsides, and won’t stop until they bring them in. What a sight. After roping the leader they found their way back to the home corral and we settled in for two more days of practice.
In the 50 foot square corral nine of us took our turn at heading and healing the 15 or so calves with Enrique watching over and correcting us as needed. We sure kept him busy - missed shots with ropes too high or too deep, tangled or mixed. He casually would straighten out our mess, and back at it we went.
For any and all who want the opportunity to learn about cowboyography or just want to experience trail riding on an old California ranch be sure to visit www.ranchomentada.com, or if you are more diverse www.longboardcowboys.com provides opportunities to enjoy horses or waves and make new and lasting friendships and learn the art form of both sports.
Vaquero Days in Descanso on October 20-21 will bring you in touch with Enrique, “Boub” and the rest of us. So come and enjoy the fun of our California Ranching Heritage.