Beau Simmons American, b. 1990

Artist Journal Entry:
This was one of the most challenging photos I have ever taken. To go back to the beginning of how this photograph came to life, I was introduced to a cowboy named James Jessop, who works with mustang horses throughout predominantly Arizona and Utah. He showed me a video he had taken with his drone of himself and a buddy of his walking on this massive arch with horses not far from the town of Escalante. I knew immediately after seeing it that I wanted to capture a film photograph of it. After coordinating with him and planning everything out, we loaded up the horses early morning near Colorado City, AZ, and began our 3.5-hour drive north to where we would begin our trek. After arriving to pull out on the side of the road, we mounted our horses and began to ride throughout the vast desert full of sandstone rock formations, cactus, and juniper trees. The ride was about five miles to where we needed to go to where I would then separate from the two cowboys and find my spot where I would be capturing a photo of them from above the arch. Before that could even come into play, we entered an area with nothing but slick sandstone ledges, which our horses had to traverse. We came up on a small ditch where our horses had to leap over to the other side to continue on our path. As I kicked my horse and held the reins straight in an effort to push her forward, she slipped as she leaped forward, causing her to spin while falling backwards with me still in the saddle. In a split second, I bailed out from the stirrups, crashing down onto my back and crawling backwards just in time so she didn't land on top of me. My face was full of dirt as I quickly sprang to action to catch her reins and calm her down before getting back on. I wiped the dust from my face, smiled with dirt in my teeth, and continued on full of laughter and adrenaline with the cowboys. As we made our approach to the arch, rain started to pour down on top of us, creating a situation that could have left us stranded in the case of a flash flood or slick terrain, which would be nearly impossible for the horses to traverse back to the trailer. Coming up over the last ledge that zigzagged back and forth with just enough room for the horses to walk along, two of our horses, including mine, slipped, causing us to bail once more. As I stepped off to remove my weight from the saddle, I was able to lead her with the reins and take it slow the rest of the way before tying her up to an old juniper tree. Once I arrived at the arch, I scrambled down to a spot that was perched just above it, dangling my legs over a 180-foot drop to set up the composition I was after. The two cowboys slowly walked their horse down onto the arch after the rain had lifted, creating one of the most epic photos I have ever captured. In the chaos of it all, I am very happy with the final result and will probably never see a photo like this again, at least in my lifetime. Dirt in the corners of my eyes, ripped shirt, bloody elbows, yet full of life and an adrenaline high that now leaves me with an amazing story to tell. This one is called, On The Edge of Time.