The rider sits lonely on the horse, contemplating the wide open spaces, the western sun setting gently behind. It could be anywhere in the West, but it’s here in the heart of Wallowa County. It’s the cover of the 2017 Western Horseman calendar, a collaboration between local model Elsa Steen and local photographer Robert Dawson.

The honor is nothing new to Dawson. Over a 20-year period, his work has graced the pages of Western Horseman, as well as Cowboys & Indians and other magazines. The long relationship with Western Horseman doesn’t guarantee he’s a shoe-in when it comes to submissions.

“They take submissions from several different photographers,” Dawson said. “Over the past 10 years I’ve been lucky enough to have the front cover maybe four or five times.”

Earning her Western authenticity credentials early, Steen moved to Wallowa County with her parents at age 2. She started modeling for Dawson at about age 10. She’s also modeled for Pete Saloutos, a photographer operating out of Bainbridge Island, Wash.

Steen’s work with Dawson isn’t limited to Western Horseman. She recently appeared as the cover model of the Swedish riding magazine Lucky Riders, and she is the subject of a number of Dawson’s prints, stock photos, calendars and posters.

For this shoot, Dawson knew what he wanted.

“I just called Elsa’s dad (Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Fred Steen) and said I needed to get some shots for the Western Horseman calendar. We probably spent about an hour out there (at the Steen ranch) shooting with another girl, too, (Belinda Biden, the model for the calendar’s August page). Dawson took about 150 shots during the session. He said three were suitable for submission.

Dawson chose the Steen Ranch on the Zumwalt Prairie for the shoot because of its wide open spaces.

“Everybody’s doing the mountain thing. Western Horseman wants those wide open spaces. They don’t want to see mountains.”

Although Steen is welcome to offer her own suggestions for the modeling shoots, she seldom does.

“As far as the settings go, he really has an idea, and I just go with it because I know it’s going to turn out great.”

The cover photo features Steen on a horse named Steve that belongs to the Steen Ranch and sees a lot of photographic action.

“We usually just use him for photo shoots or just gathering,” Steen said. “We don’t bring him out a whole lot, but he sure does take a good picture.”

Steen considered modeling for the high-fashion world, but one trip to Los Angeles with Dawson dispelled that notion.

“The more I worked with Robert, the more I got interested in that kind of modeling and put together a portfolio. We met (semi-retired supermodel) Tatiana Patitz. … She looked over my portfolio, and she told me I was too sweet of a girl to be put in that field. It’s really a dog-eat-dog world, and coming from where I’m at, it would be difficult to make that change. It’s still something I would love to do, maybe not for high fashion, but for Western magazines. It’s more of what I can relate to.”