From his earliest memories horses have been a part of Keith Stewart’s life. From the time he was old enough to walk he would be put on a quiet saddle horse in a pack string and head into the back country of
Banff
National Park. Keith’s father worked as a federal park warden and the family would spend their summer months in remote warden cabins in
Banff
and
Riding
Mountain
National Parks
.
As kids, Keith and his brothers rode daily and it was nothing for them to saddle up first thing in the morning and not return home until well after dark on tired horses. The boys would spend their days exploring the park’s back country.
Keith began starting colts and taking in outside horses for training as a teenager working after school. Word got around how the horses he worked with turned out to be gently a reliable mounts. This kept Keith busy and paid the bills for his personal passion – rodeo. He had always wanted to be a saddle bronc rider and followed the rodeo trail for more than fifteen years.
Riding colts and rodeoing seemed to be a natural fit and because he could ride broncs breaking horses to ride wasn’t a big deal.
Keith had never heard of Ray Hunt and his training methods until his brother Mark returned from college in
Montana
in the early 1980’s. Mark told him about some of Ray’s methods he had learned. At that time this didn’t mean much to him because he was “getting by” with his horses and didn’t think he needed any help.
Riding horses was something Keith enjoyed but as he got older he wasn’t as keen on making those bronc rides. Keith then realized that if he wanted to continue starting horses that he would need to find a better way.
Keith headed south to
Montana
where Buck Brannaman was having a colt starting clinic and what Buck had to say and the training method he demonstrated really blew him away. That first day of the clinic Buck had started 7 young horses. Keith had started enough horses to know that of the seven horses started that day two of them would have darn sure been broncs had they been handled differently. Buck rode them all that first day and none of them bucked, though to start with some sure acted like they would. Seeing this “new” method and visiting with Buck Keith started on a path that he is still travelling to this day.
Following Buck’s clinic Keith was on fire but says that he “had learned just enough to be dangerous”. With a lot of trial and error and help from some exceptional hands including Buck, Curt Pate and Martin Black Keith is still travelling on the trail to good horsemanship. Keith believed that good horsemanship is a journey, not a destination.
Keith and his wife, Denice, operate the Key Ranch, SW of High River, Alberta were they, along with their two daughters, work their horses and customer horses daily. Whether starting colts or working older horses with people problems. They also host guest clinics, private lessons, working cattle and ranch roping practices. It’s a busy life but one that they enjoy.
Keith's accomplishments as Canadian Ranch Roping Champion, Calgary Stampede Novice Saddle Bronc Champion, ranch rodeo competitor, judge and arena director have all helped Keith to achieve his lifelong goal to work with horses.
Keith considers himself to be a lifelong learner and is constantly seeking information to improve safe human relationships with horses.
