Year of the Horse
Feb 12, 2026 by Tempe Javitz
The Year of the Horse
If you follow the Chinese Zodiac you will know that
2026 is “The Year of the Horse!” So, what does that
mean? Beginning on February 17th, this is a year for
action, innovation, and taking risks. You should pursue
new opportunities in your career and personal life. This is
about taking the reins in your hands and moving forward.
For the Chinese a horse represents momentum, strength,
and forward motion. (What would we do without Google?).
My challenge was to find the photos by my grandmother
Jessamine of horses showing all of those characteristics.
Here we go…
Polo in Big Horn, Wyoming? Yes. Big Horn was settled by
ordinary American settlers (1881-18820), but also by several
2nd and 3rd sons from wealthy families in Britain. They
came West to raise cattle, sheep, and horses. Their fine
thoroughbreds were so well known that in 1901 the British
Remount Service came to buy mounts to send to South Africa
to fight in the Boer War! Polo has been played in Big Horn
since the 1890s. The original field was at Oliver Wallop’s
Polo Ranch. It was moved in 1985 to the new Big Horn
Equestrian Center’s field on the Burns Ranch.
Grandmother Jessamine took several photos of the polo games
in 1927 and 1928. She captured the agility, strength and
athletic ability of these amazing polo ponies.
The race is on to hit that little polo ball on August 28, 1927.
Early ranches used teams of horses to build roads, pull wagons,
plow fields, stack hay, and move all sorts of loads. At the
Grapevine Ranch near St. Xavier, Montana Jessamine took
this photo of a wonderful team showcasing their strength
and obvious endurance for handling such work.
Ranch work requires horses that are intelligent and trainable
for many tasks. A cowboy or cowgirl learns early how to
work steadily and carefully with young animals so they
become dependable workers.
Cowboy George gentling ‘Honey’ for future work
on the Big Red Ranch in Wyoming in 1916.
Not all ponies were ready to be up at 4 a.m. to join the
roundup. In 1922 Gerald Milley mounted Cloudy, who
had other ideas about early morning rides at the X4 Ranch
in Kirby. How’s that for “forward momentum?”
Ranching for horses is all about versatility, or basically doing
everything at roundup time!! Here the team is waiting for the
cowboys to load the chuck wagon so they can start for the next
camping or branding spot. It’s August 16, 1928.
When dude ranching became big business, the Spear family started
the Spear O Wigwam Dude ranch high in the Big Horn Mountains.
Horses became beasts of burden carrying all of the food, tents,
bedrolls, etc. from one camping spot to the next. This photo is
from a pack trip in August 1936, when Jessamine’s dad Willis Moses
Spear hosted the Rudolph family on a wonderful mountain trip. Just
looking at the pack makes me tired. I can’t imagine how that horse
made it through the day without collapsing in a heap. Talk about
strength!!
Celebrating horses is easy to do if you grow up with such
amazing animals. I hope that somewhere and sometime you
get to have similar experiences with them.
Now dear reader, don’t shirk your job. Read more of my
blogs at: https://tempejavitz.com/
Or order my book if you haven’t done so already!
https://www.sdhspress.com/books/bighorn-visions
If you follow the Chinese Zodiac you will know that
2026 is “The Year of the Horse!” So, what does that
mean? Beginning on February 17th, this is a year for
action, innovation, and taking risks. You should pursue
new opportunities in your career and personal life. This is
about taking the reins in your hands and moving forward.
For the Chinese a horse represents momentum, strength,
and forward motion. (What would we do without Google?).
My challenge was to find the photos by my grandmother
Jessamine of horses showing all of those characteristics.
Here we go…
Polo in Big Horn, Wyoming? Yes. Big Horn was settled by
ordinary American settlers (1881-18820), but also by several
2nd and 3rd sons from wealthy families in Britain. They
came West to raise cattle, sheep, and horses. Their fine
thoroughbreds were so well known that in 1901 the British
Remount Service came to buy mounts to send to South Africa
to fight in the Boer War! Polo has been played in Big Horn
since the 1890s. The original field was at Oliver Wallop’s
Polo Ranch. It was moved in 1985 to the new Big Horn
Equestrian Center’s field on the Burns Ranch.
Grandmother Jessamine took several photos of the polo games
in 1927 and 1928. She captured the agility, strength and
athletic ability of these amazing polo ponies.
The race is on to hit that little polo ball on August 28, 1927.
Early ranches used teams of horses to build roads, pull wagons,
plow fields, stack hay, and move all sorts of loads. At the
Grapevine Ranch near St. Xavier, Montana Jessamine took
this photo of a wonderful team showcasing their strength
and obvious endurance for handling such work.
Ranch work requires horses that are intelligent and trainable
for many tasks. A cowboy or cowgirl learns early how to
work steadily and carefully with young animals so they
become dependable workers.
Cowboy George gentling ‘Honey’ for future work
on the Big Red Ranch in Wyoming in 1916.
Not all ponies were ready to be up at 4 a.m. to join the
roundup. In 1922 Gerald Milley mounted Cloudy, who
had other ideas about early morning rides at the X4 Ranch
in Kirby. How’s that for “forward momentum?”
Ranching for horses is all about versatility, or basically doing
everything at roundup time!! Here the team is waiting for the
cowboys to load the chuck wagon so they can start for the next
camping or branding spot. It’s August 16, 1928.
When dude ranching became big business, the Spear family started
the Spear O Wigwam Dude ranch high in the Big Horn Mountains.
Horses became beasts of burden carrying all of the food, tents,
bedrolls, etc. from one camping spot to the next. This photo is
from a pack trip in August 1936, when Jessamine’s dad Willis Moses
Spear hosted the Rudolph family on a wonderful mountain trip. Just
looking at the pack makes me tired. I can’t imagine how that horse
made it through the day without collapsing in a heap. Talk about
strength!!
Celebrating horses is easy to do if you grow up with such
amazing animals. I hope that somewhere and sometime you
get to have similar experiences with them.
Now dear reader, don’t shirk your job. Read more of my
blogs at: https://tempejavitz.com/
Or order my book if you haven’t done so already!
https://www.sdhspress.com/books/bighorn-visions
