Rider and Producer Share the Reins

Northern Wasco PUD
Rider and Producer Share the Reins
Two generations
cross a technological
span to document
equestrian history
By Lori Russell
When history buff and equestrian-club member Linda
Wilson decided to make a
documentary about the Fort
Dalles Riders, she expected to
spend hours sifting through
old photographs, newspaper
articles and newsletters.
She did not anticipate her
project would lead her to
the basement of The Dalles
Wahtonka High School and
into a partnership with a techsavvy teen who dreamed of
Linda Wilson, left, and Zoe Ley have put together their documentary an hour at a time in the video production room at
The Dalles Wahtonka High School.
becoming a filmmaker.
As a member of the group
for more than three decades, Linda has
County PUD, Linda frequently worked
Portland film festival.
promoted equestrian-related fun in
with businesses and organizations on
“I really enjoy working with Zoe,” says
Wasco County from riding lessons, clinlocal projects. She knew things went
Linda. “She brings a different perspective
ics and training to horse shows, play days smoother when the right people worked
to the project.”
and trail rides. Members have ridden in
together.
Teens who have grown up with comdrill teams and parades, and even square
“I figured I could take a class and learn puters, iPods and smart phones are used
danced on horseback.
how to do all this myself, or find someto receiving information in short bursts,
The club’s junior riders program
one who already knew how,” she says.
with lots of images, rather than leisurely
encourages the next generation to join in
She contacted Lynn Ewing, who
slideshows with lengthy narrations, Linda
the fun.
teaches video production at The Dalles
notes.
To celebrate the group’s 60th anniverWahtonka High School to see if a student
Linda spent hundreds of hours sorting
sary in 2007, Linda decided to chronicle
might want to help with her project.
through photos and memorabilia, and
the club’s history, but “there was nothing
Advanced video production student
interviewed past members. She followed
written down,” she says.
Zoe Ley volunteered. Although she
clues, ran into dead ends, backtracked
She began collecting and cataloging
had only ridden a horse a few times
to grab a story thread that took her
decades of memorabilia and created a
in her life, the high school junior was
one direction and then another as she
narrated slideshow on DVD.
considerably more experienced with
unwound the history of the club and its
When she decided to further explore
the tech side of the project, having promembers.
the group’s history in a documentary, she duced a public service announcement
Tracking founding member Blanche
knew she could not do it alone.
for YouthThink and a silent film, “The
McGaughey’s career proved a challenge
Before retiring from Northern Wasco
Art of Success,” which was screened at a as her name was frequently misspelled
4
j u ly 2 0 1 3 Left, the Fort Dalles Junior Riders, 1954.
Above, Fort Dalles Riders’ founding member and cowgirl Blanche
McGaughey rides at Winnipeg, 1913.
at events where she competed. A former
traveling Wild West show performer, she
won the cowgirl bucking contest at the
Pendleton Roundup in 1912 and again at
the first Calgary Stampede. Blanche went
on to become the first woman to bulldog
a steer at Madison Square Garden.
Linda wishes she began her history
project 30 years ago.
“People who knew the stories about
the early days are getting older and
dying,” she says. “Not everyone remembers stories the same way. I had to decide
how to handle that in the documentary.”
Linda and Zoe eventually chose to
let the people tell their tales as they
remembered them rather than trying to
determine which version was historically
accurate. They included other interviews,
narrative voiceovers, cowboy poetry,
articles and photos to clarify details and
create a cohesive and entertaining story.
Kevin Malcolm of Haystack
Broadcasting recorded the narration
and helped select western music for the
soundtrack.
“Music tickles memories,” says Linda.
“We use it with the photos to set the tone
for each section.”
Zoe layered the video, still photos,
voiceovers and music together using the
high school’s computer and Apple iPhoto
and iMovie software. She added pan and
zoom motion effects and fine-tuned the
cuts and transitions.
Linda and Zoe worked on separate
aspects of the project and then met at the
high school an hour at a time to combine
and edit their efforts.
In addition to the main documentary,
the pair is creating three stand-alone
shorts about group members Blanche
McGaughey, Eleanor Borg and Ernie
Kuck.
“Working on the project, I am learning things about the community I never
knew,” says Zoe. “The documentary tells
the stories and history of the community
from a unique perspective.”
Zoe received class credit for her work
on the project, and will submit the completed documentary as part of her senior
project required for high school graduation. She plans to pursue a career in film.
“I haven’t had many opportunities to
help the community until now,” Zoe says.
“It has prompted me to want to do more.
It is an awesome thing to do.” n
Linda will show the short film, “Blanche
McGaughey: An American Cowgirl,” during
a presentation Saturday, July 13, at 2 p.m. at
The Dalles Wasco County Library.
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