Farm work is rarely glamorous. But with the Beck sisters, it was fun to put on the creative lens and allow their love of their horses to shine beyond the grunt work. It reminded me of my roots in the Angus cattle community. 

I’m the daughter and granddaughter of some darn good cattlemen. We are very proud of having the oldest Angus herd in Indiana. When working on the farm, I take my responsibilities very seriously. Over time my responsibilities have ebbed and flowed. At times, I’ve been an important decision-maker for the inner workings of the farms. Other times I could only guess what was needed for the evening chores.

All of that aside, there is an instant connection with people who have livestock. We have our own culture and speak our own language. Those who work with cattle and horses know exactly what I’m talking about. In the western part of the United States, working cattle goes hand in hand with riding horses. You don’t move cows without horses. You have horses to move the cows. 

I remember the first time I rode a horse. I felt like the coolest cowgirl in the world. My dad bought an old horse from a family he knew. He was warned that this horse wasn’t just old, but ancient. With a “Good luck”, Eagle was ours. To the little pig-tailed Sarah he seemed like a champion thoroughbred. I still look back with love on the pig-tailed photos of myself learning all about the equestrian world. Unfortunately, Eagle didn’t live long after moving in with us. Looking back, it was for the best since we were moving to Ohio the next summer. The winter that Eagle died, I learned that I had fallen in love with the ranching lifestyle. When you fall in love with ranching you fall in love with the struggles and the joys. I knew that I wasn’t going all the way to Ohio just to live in town with a mediocre backyard. I wanted life to be the same way that it was in Indiana with the space filled with cows, horses, barn cats, and more. 

15 years later and here I am at home in NW Ohio. I’m living on my family’s Angus cattle farm extension of my grandpa’s herd, with the barn cats, and dating a born and bred horse boy. Life is sweet and my dreams of continuing the legacy of our herd are only beginning. 

Sarah and Elizabeth Beck are sisters with a passion for all things horses. They might be the sweetest, smartest, and best horseback riders I know. They too take pride in their family’s herd and they manage their nine horses with grace. The connection to the land, animals and the western way of life drew us three together. I am so grateful that I was able to document a small part of their story: Two sisters upholding the cowgirl dream gifted to them as kids.