Description
The Lazy VV Ranch was a 1,000-acre ranch established by Lynn W. Van Vleet primarily devoted to raising cattle. Looking for saddle horses to work the ranch that were nimble, strong and adaptable to the high altitudes and rugged terrain of the Rockies, Van Vleet decided Arabian horses were the most promising breed and began raising them in 1938. In the same year, he established an Arabian horse stud which became world renowned. “Boss” Van Vleet began opening his Lazy VV Ranch to visitors in June 1939. By March of 1944, when an article about the ranch appeared in Western Horseman, Van Vleet’s herd of 69 purebred Arabian horses had “drawn the interest and admiration of horse breeders everywhere.”
Tad Horton was active as a professional photographer in the mid 20th Century. He worked as a photojournalist for Look Magazine and as an advertising photographer for numerous corporations including Kellogg Company, Union Carbon and Carbide Company, and the American Can Company. He also developed several electronic lighting devices for use in on-location photography.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning, wear, handling.
References:
“Lazy VV Ranch postcards: photo 1.” Carnegie Library for Local History. Lazy VV Ranch postcards: photo 1. (10 June 2025).
O’Shaughnessy, Bob. “Van Vleet’s Arabian ‘Laboratory.'” Western Horseman. March-April 1944. Online at Windt im Wald Farm: http://www.wiwfarm.com/VanVleet.html (6 August 2012).
