Raymond Ordway epitomizes the essence of "The Legacy of the California Vaquero." As a participant in one of the film shoots on that project, Ray demonstrated the timeless and graceful style that began in the 1700's in California.

Born in 1924 in Sacramento, California, Ray comes from a family heritage steeped in Vaquero traditions and it certainly showed as he maneuvered effortlessly in his handling of the cattle, as well as with his horse, during the filming in October 2007. Undoubtedly, Ray was one of the most inspiring horsemen to watch and his on-camera interview captivating. In turn, Ray saw his participation in the Essential Image Source Foundation's documentary as a way of "passing it on". In fact, Ray has made it his life-long mission to encourage and support others in the pursuit of this artistic style of horsemanship.

Ray's father, Ira, was born in 1879 in Santa Cruz County, and at the age of 14, Ira joined his two older brothers in the cattle business on the Jesus Maria ranch (now Vandenberg AFB) in Santa Barbara County. So committed to learning from the vaquero masters on the ranch, Ray's father learned Castilian Spanish. Ira admired and respected the vaqueros' gentle way of working cattle, their use of the reata and the spade bit horsemanship. The skills acquired became a way of life and hence, were then passed onto the four sons Ira would have, including his third son, Ray.

Ray quickly became immersed in the lifestyle, learning from his older brothers, Kent and Oliver, with all of them becoming superb California reined horsemen. In 1942, at the age of 18, Ray, however, was drafted into the military during World War II, as was his younger brother, Jack, and thus it was necessary to sell their cattle business. At the end of the war, though, Ray quickly resumed his passion going to work on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley for some of the larger cattle companies such as H. Moffat & Company. Later after his older brother's death, Ray then managed his ranch, the Vasco, located in Livermore, California for two years. After working on and off for others, Ray, subsequently, went back into the cattle business on his own. Ray continued to be recognized, throughout his career and into retirement, as one of the best vaqueros state and country-wide.

Although retired now, Ray, at the age of 84, still enjoys pursuing the vaquero ways in Madera, California. His preference for a horse also continues to be the Morgan. Ray states, "This breed has all the qualities of a good stock horse. They are very smart, quick learning, gentle and enduring".

Ray and his wife of 50 years, LaVerne, quickly became supporters of the Essential Image Source Foundation's documentary particularly recognizing the need of such a project for younger generations. As Ray stated, "This documentary needs to be made because the traditions and heritage, along with the older vaqueros are slowly disappearing." Ray said he treasured being a part of the historical gathering of some of our country's best vaqueros at the October 2007 film shoot and was proud to see the respect these horsemen had for one another during those days. "That same respect is tantamount to the identity of a vaquero", said Ray.

During the film production, Ray also had the pleasure of being able to rope with Jay and Deeth Harney. This, as Ray noted, represented three generations of the California Vaquero with the men ranging in their 80's to their 20's. Ray, Jay and Deeth demonstrated the smooth and artful handling methods of the vaqueros with Ray roping the head of the calf, Jay roping its heels and Deeth roping the front feet to lay the calf down, all with the traditional reata (a rawhide braided rope). It is a memory, according to Ray, that he's continuing to carry to this day as being representative of his legacy - a legacy of passing on the vaquero heritage and traditions to future generations.

^{Photo of Raymond Ordway, Deeth Harney and Jay Harney roping calf by Jay Dusard;}

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