With her camera bag slung over her shoulder Debbie Hamilton of Bitterroot Equine Marketing Services films Rockey Lynn riding his 2-year-old stallion, Hollywood Music Man. Hamilton and her business partner, Bonnie Cazier, run the fledgling business together. They use video, still photography and a Web site to help Bitterroot horse owners sell their horses. Photo by JEREMY LURGIO - Ravalli Republic

A few minutes later, the two riders made their way past the haystack, through a pasture of more than two dozen of Lynn's mares on their way to the river bottom. All the while Hamilton captured the subtle movements of the horses for the videos that will help sell them.

"He's on a young stallion," she said, with one eye on the digital monitor. "It's highly impressive that Rockey is able to ride him through these mares. That's definitely something we want to capture on the video."

As the riders headed toward the river, Hamilton directed them each to negotiate opening and closing a gate to illustrate their respective horse's level of training. In addition to focusing on the horse and rider, the scenery-savvy videographer made sure to capture the beauty of the Bitterroot Mountain background.

"Horses are one of the hardest animals to film," she said. "To follow the subject you have to know the movement of the horse - you never know when he's going to move from a trot to a gallop. That's why a lot of people take lousy horse videos."

Hamilton's love affair with horses started as a little girl when she worked for two years at a local horse farm in order to convince her parents she was ready to own a horse. At the end of her two-year apprenticeship, her parents rewarded her with a horse of her own.

She continued in the horse industry, eventually working at such notable horse farms as Calais Arabian Farm under well-known Arabian trainer Ken Davis. She later served as manager and trainer for Silver Moon Arabians, Vintage Oak Cutting Horse Ranch and Double Bar H Paints in Arizona.

Along the way, the California-born horse woman learned a thing or two about making movies.

"Debbie makes Hollywood-quality movies," Cazier said as Lynn galloped around the lush green pasture on his young stallion. "That's what really sets us apart. Part of what we're selling is the Montana ambiance."

Cazier brings to the job more than two decades of advertising and marketing experience, having served for 10 years as senior art director for Browning/Winchester Sporting Arms. A lifelong horse woman, she specializes in equine photography and illustration. Since starting the horse marketing business 18 months ago, she said she has closely followed trends in the equine market place, attended numerous horse sales and tracked sales results nationwide.

By combining their diverse talents, the two equine entrepreneurs have created a unique business they both enjoy, she said.

"I guess there's worse things you could be doing today," Cazier said with a smile from atop the gentle gelding on the first day of autumn. "It sure beats sitting in an office."

Her partner concurred.

"You've got to love what you do," Hamilton said. "There's a sense of feeling good about what you do, especially when you're helping people get what their horses are worth."

The price of a horse will vary according to the horse's skills, color and breeding, she said. And what people are willing to pay for a horse often varies according to where they live.

"A gelding like the one Bonnie is riding would only go for about $1,500 here in the Bitterroot," Hamilton said, "but we've priced it at $4,200 on the Internet."

She said horse people in less rural areas of the country usually are willing to pay more for Western horses, so using the Worldwide Web to advertise Montana horses often helps local breeders get much better prices for their animals.

"People in other states don't have the capability to expose horses to the things we have in the Bitterroot - like streams, bridges and rocks," she said. "People will pay good money for that."

Cazier said helping breeders like Rockey and Betty Lynn get top dollar for their horses is satisfying to her because she knows how hard they work.

"My husband and I used to breed foundation quarter horses," she said. "But Rockey and Betty have been doing this for almost 30 years, and their efforts can be seen in every one of their horses. We've always admired their breeding program."

Rockey Lynn said he and his wife have been breeding working quarter horses since 1975 and for the last 19 years have sold most of them through an annual production sale in Idaho Falls, Idaho. They've always done well at the sale, he said, but since it only happens once a year they've needed another outlet.

Hamilton and Cazier, he said, have really been a big help to their business. "They've moved six horses for us," he said. "So they've helped us a lot."

Lynn's wife Betty doled out even more praise. "These gals are exceptional," she said. "Without them we wouldn't get these horses sold."

Cazier said they deal mostly with quarter horses, paints and Appaloosas because that's the market they know best, and almost every horse they sell comes from the Bitterroot. But they won't market just any horse, she said.

"We specialize in the higher-end recreational market," she said. "And the hardest part of our job is finding quality horses to sell. We turn a lot of people down.

"Our first rule is we can't market a horse we haven't seen."

After Cazier and Lynn guided their horses to the river bottom, Hamilton asked them to cross the waterway, one at a time, for the camera.

"You wouldn't believe how many people can't get their horse to cross a stream," she said.

At that moment, Lynn's stallion stopped at the creek for a drink before crossing. Then it stepped effortlessly over a downed cottonwood tree. Minutes later Rooster and Cazier followed suit.

Before heading back home after a day of making movies, Hamilton made one more request of her subjects.

"I want to get you out in this nice green field," she told the riders. "Arena shots are so boring."

Some of her best footage, she said, comes when the horse and rider are just playing around. "People see that in the video and they just love it."

After returning home with the raw footage, Hamilton said, it takes from four to eight hours to edit the tape and put it to music. Once she finishes a video on a horse, she makes copies to be sent to prospective buyers and saves one for the seller to keep.

Their Web site - www.bluequestfarm.com - is an integral facet of their business, Cazier said, allowing horse buyers all over the world to find out what's available in the Bitterroot Valley. And the quality photographs on the Web site are critical to luring potential buyers.

"People only take seconds to look at a picture on the Internet," she said, "so capturing their attention with a great photo really helps."

After a buyer contacts Bitterroot Equine Marketing Services about a specific horse, they are sent one of the videos and strongly urged to make a trip to the Bitterroot Valley to view the horse in person, Hamilton said.

"We try and encourage the client to come visit," Hamilton said, "and we try to flatter Montana."

Cazier said one couple who came to view a horse liked the valley so much they ended up buying a ranch in the Darby area.

"A lot of our friends said we should get real estate licenses," she joked.

The rapid success of their business has surprised them, Cazier said, and has forced them to limit the pool of people they represent.

"It's really taken off," she said. "Now we're to the point that we're limiting our business to professional trainers, breeders and horsemen - people that do horses for a living."

Perhaps what's most satisfying about their new business, Hamilton said, is the number of satisfied customers.

"About a month after a customer buys a horse through us, we call them to make sure it's a good match," she said. "They're almost always happy with their new horse."

Cazier nodded in agreement, citing repeat customers. "A couple in Tennessee has bought six horses through us."

For Betty Lynn, the thrill of the women's new business is altogether different.

"We're not just taking pictures," Lynn said. "We're making movies!"

Reporter Rod Daniel can be reached at 363-3300 or rdaniel@ravallirepublic.com

---

Reader's Comments >>

Name:

Email: (optional)

Comments:

Image Verification: (Case sensitive)   

---