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Sonny Keakealani, one of the most respected cowboys in the community and patriarch of the Keakealani family, chases a few stray cows while moving a group of cattle from one pasture to another in Honakaa, Hawaii. Sonny has mentored many younger cowboys over the years and while now offiially retired from Parker Ranch, still works a few days a week for a ranch in Honakaa and is often called on by old friends and ranch owners to help out with branding, weaning and moving cattle. "I first learned how (to ride) when I was three years old. My dad used to bellypack me on his horse. I learned from dad riding, breaking and making cowboy horses," he says, reflecting back on the beginnings of his life as a cowboy. In the distance one can see the Pacific ocean along the Kohala coast where Keakealani says he frequently sees whales breaching.

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Hawaiian_Cowboys52.jpg
Copyright
Julia Cumes
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5256x3438 / 3.4MB
Contained in galleries
The Last of the Hawaiian Cowboys
Sonny Keakealani, one of the most respected cowboys in the community and patriarch of the Keakealani family, chases a few stray cows while moving a group of cattle from one pasture to another in Honakaa, Hawaii. Sonny has mentored many younger cowboys over the years and while now offiially retired from Parker Ranch, still works a few days a week for a ranch in Honakaa and is often called on by old friends and ranch owners to help out with branding, weaning and moving cattle. "I first learned how (to ride) when I was three years old. My dad used to bellypack me on his horse. I learned from dad riding, breaking and making cowboy horses," he says, reflecting back on the beginnings of his life as a cowboy. In the distance one can see the Pacific ocean along the Kohala coast where Keakealani says he frequently sees whales breaching.