Pendelton Round Up
November 1, 2010 by Michael Cassidy · 1 Comment
Aloha Everyone, Sorry I haven’t posted earlier but I’ve been on the road quite a bit so will try to catch up in the next few days with a couple stories. I had the great pleasure to attend in September the 100th anniversary Pendelton Round Up courtesy of good friends Curtis and Kathryn Baker. We had front row box seats as good as it gets. This rodeo is like The Masters golf tournament of rodeo. The history behind it is really rich. It was a visual feast for me and I’ve started painting some historical Pendelton images. My first painting is of black cowboy George Fletcher who along with Nez Perce Indian Jackson Sundown and John Spain was involved in the most famous saddle bronc riding final in Pendelton history. ( The subject of a Ken Keesey novel. ) Although Spain ultimately won the event the crowd believed Fletcher was the real winner and jeered the announcement of Spain as winner and cheered Fletcher instead. Pretty remarkable for 1917… 53 year old Jackson Sundown won the all around… 53 years old! One tough cowboy and anyone who knows what a beating those guys take over a career knows how incredible that is… Every old cowboy limps for good reason. Some have broken most of the bones in their bodies at one time or another and are frequent customers of the local emergency room. Watching the energy with which these horses and bulls come out of the chute is incredible. Look how high off the ground the horse is in the picture above…with a rider on his back no less! Pendelton is a repository for American history and tradition and honors the character, honesty and toughness of a lifestyle that is fast disappearing. A real slice of American history with real Americans…
One of the great things about Pendelton is the association it’s had from it’s inception with Indian people of the Northwest. There’s an Indian horse race that has to be seen to be believed. One rider rides 3 different horse around the track which his teammates hold. He rides at full gallop one lap around the arena jumps off that horse ( at full speed ) and right back on to the next one which his friends try ( often unsuccessfully ) to hold still. There is no saddle or stirrups. They grab the horse’s mane to swing on. There are 4 different teams all doing this at the same time on the same side of the track so pretty much every race has collisions and falls. The energy is unbelievable. a rider might go from first to last or the other way around in a heartbeat. There is in addition to that dancing competitions with tribal groups from all over the west. The main drag in Pendelton is shut down for rodeo week and filled with musician’s stages and vendors. We stayed in a really great old hotel that had been the town brothel up until 1964! The Baker’s rented the whole thing for their pals. I was honored to take part. I’m really inspired to paint this imagery and will post pictures as I finish them.
Battle Of The Paddle Aftermath
June 21, 2010 by Michael Cassidy · 4 Comments
Aloha Everyone,
Just back from Honolulu and The Battle Of The Paddle. Lots of hard work and long days but a really great time. The artwork for the event was a hit across the board. I’ll have some posters from the event in a few days after they get shipped over. I had a great time hanging out with Gerry Lopez, George Kam, Dale Hope, Wendell Titcomb, Kimo Akaka and many others. I had the great pleasure of spending more than an hour talking story with George Downing who in his 80s is the senior leader of the Hawaiian surf tribe. Uncle George is the man who decides whether or not the Eddie Aikau contest at Waimea goes off or not. His knowledge of Hawaiian waters is without peer. He had a lot of complimentary things to say about my art and some good advice on life. To hear his stories about the “old days” of Hawaiian surfing is a real treat. I also spent some time with his son Keone who won the Eddie a number of years back. I saw many old friends and made new ones as well.
After the event we had a chance to surf for a couple days in beautiful offshore turquoise Waikiki. Had a great time at Number Threes, Paradise and Poplars. The timing of the swell coinciding perfectly with the end of the race. Will have some info on the posters shortly and let those of you that have inquired know. Aloha, M.C.
Battle Of The Paddle Hawaii
June 6, 2010 by Michael Cassidy · 10 Comments
Aloha Everyone, Here’s one my latest projects. This is for a stand up paddle board race at Duke Kahanamoku Beach at Waikiki. It’s the Rainbow Sandals, Gerry Lopez Battle Of The Paddle. Along with my good friend George Kam we did all of the art and most of the marketing for the event. There will be posters, t-shirts and magazine ads. I’m headed over in the morning to Honolulu. The event is June 11-13. Had a lot of fun with George and Gerry working on the concept for the event. The story behind this Duke image starts with a man named John Zabotacky who surfed stand up or “Beachboy” style for 60 years virtually by himself. George Downing went to have a talk with him and when he asked John where the inspiration came from he said he saw Duke doing it one day… So Duke is not only the father of modern surfing but the father of stand up! So with that back story we thought it appropriate to use this image of Duke to kick off the first annual event. Will have more to post soon as I’ve finally learned how to do it…I’m computer challenged… Stay tuned. Aloha, M.C.
