Day Two in Montana, Riding with Ted Turner

September 1, 2009

Day Two in Montana, Riding with Ted Turner

On day two of our visit with Ted Turner at his Snowcrest Ranch in Montana, we woke up early in anticipation of a personally guided tour of the 13,343-acre ranch on horseback. Greg Pole, Ted Turner's equine manager, saddled up the calm and intelligent Quarter Horses, six of the forty horses Ted owns. Ted likes to ride every day when he is in Montana and I was thrilled to have him as my guide. Starting out, we crossed the beautiful Ruby River and headed up to a hilltop in search of antelope. The views of Montana's mountain ranges were spectacular. Ted spoke of his love for the land and what he is doing to preserve it into perpetuity with conservation easements. He is deeply committed to the environment and to its native species. Bison, for example, were nearly extinct until Ted helped stop that from happening. Today, Turner Enterprises manages over 50,000 head of bison across the various Turner ranches. What Ted Turner is doing for this planet is most admirable.

: A golden eagle flew overhead as we were getting ready to ride.

: This pile of driftwood was a good ‘hideout’ for one of our cameras.

: We forded the Ruby River several times.

: I felt very comfortable atop the beautiful, Kootenai, the name of a Native American tribe from the Northwest.

: We looked just like a trio of cowboys.

: Gary used a long lens to capture the incredible beauty of the ranch.

: The life of a real cowboy must be really lonely at times.

: Dan is an excellent rider and a true cowboy.

: Kootenay loved to eat any chance he could – a bad habit.

: On day two in Montana, we got up very early and ate breakfast before beginning the ride with Ted Turner.

: As you can imagine, there is taxidermy everywhere in the lodge.

: Such a sweet buck

: Gary Nardilla has worked with me for fifteen years – he directs, lights, and is also the cinematographer.

: Chris Meagher was our second camera in Montana.

: Dave Minerva was one of two grips – they take care of moving equipment, raising screens, creating shadows, etc.

: Our horses were lined up and ready for the ride. We used Quarter Horses from Ted’s ranch.

: There’s Ted on his dapple gray.

: The equine manager, Greg Pole, was knowledgeable and a really good guide.

: One of Ted’s two black labs – they are very loyal and cuddly.

: Ted uses a saddle with special leather covers to protect the toes of his boots.

: The grand vistas in every direction were expansive and beautiful.

: Some of the numerous film crew waving at us near the bison herd.

: Ted discussing the trail with Greg

: The skeleton of a bison – a recent death – the bones were picked clean by coyotes and vultures – there is quite a food chain.

: This formation is a very ancient bison wallow – the sandstone has been worn away by bison who scratch themselves to relieve biting insects and lice.