Ranchers, musicians, actors and more gathered for this year’s spring fashion photo shoot at TR9 Ranch.
For C&I’s spring fashion shoot, we wanted to highlight the classics of Western style: denim, lace, fringe, turquoise, and natural neutrals that reflect the beauty of spring. The influencers chosen to showcase these classic styles also reflect the West.
The backdrop for the spring fashion shoot is TR9 Ranch, home of the Teton Ridge Performance Horses. Located outside of Weatherford, Texas, this ranch is spread across acres of picturesque scenery, providing the perfect setting for a shoot focused on classic Western style.
TR9’s larger vision is to create a center of excellence in horsemanship, breeding and training. By carefully selecting the best breeding stock of stallions and mares, TR9 Ranch builds a tradition of elite performance horses with the goal of competitive success through world-class breeding and specialized performance training programs. is focused on.
Introducing some of the fascinating Westerners who bring our fashion to life in the pages of our April issue (on newsstands now and available here).
castellose
Neo-traditional country music trio The Castellows embody the phrase “family tradition.” The band is made up of sisters Ellie (lead guitar), Powell (banjo), and Lily (vocals), who hail from small rural Georgetown, Georgia, but now call Nashville home. Castellows’ sound is traditional and authentic, but with a modern flair. What this trio has in common, other than their DNA, is an affinity for stunning three-part harmonies. They blend together to create one singular voice, almost angelic. The Castellos’ skill as songwriters is as robust as their voices, and is evident throughout the trio’s debut EP, A Little Goes A Long Way, released earlier this year. The band wrote or co-wrote six of the seven songs that make up this record.
The band began attracting the attention of music industry insiders in January 2023. By spring of that year, The Castellos had a record deal. They tapped veteran producer Trina Shoemaker (Sheryl Crow, Nancy Griffith, Queens of the Stone Age) for A Little Goes A Long Way. One year later, the three Georgia feedlot sisters are still garnering attention, including on CMT’s “Listen Up,” Pandora, Country Now, and Nashville Lifestyles’ “5 Groups You Should Know.” It has been placed on multiple 2024 “watch lists.” They also announced a 21-city tour to promote their new album.
Powell (left): Stellar felt hat in buckskin, baileyhats.com. Diamond Horseshoe Necklace, readjewelers.com; Rough Top, doubledranch.com. Wedding leather cape, helgasdesigns.com; Idyllwind boot cut jeans, bootbarn.com. Vintage Belt with Navajo Sterling Silver 5 Turquoise Stone Buckle, lelarose.com. Turquoise feather cuff, abilenesky.com. Jaycee clear leather boots, alcalasboots.com.
Ellie (center): Pecan felt hat with multicolored band, resistol.com. Brim biter, hallettpeakleather.com; leather vest, schaefferoutfitter.com; marble polka dot dress, tuckerbrown1986.com; glow-in-the-dark floral embroidered boots, coralboots.com.
Lily (right): High Desert felt hat with concho band, charlie1horsehats.com. Plain weave dress, stetson.com; high horse caramel leather cape, shopwesternandco.com; turquoise ring by Linda Yazzie (Navajo), coloradojo.com. Victoria Tan Boots, blackstarboots.com.
HB Riordan
HB Riordan is Castellose’s day-to-day manager and administrative coordinator for makeup wake artist Luke Combs. After graduating from the University of Georgia, HB packed his bags and headed to Nashville to pursue country music management. She started as an intern at Make Wake and officially joined the team in January 2022, working as an administrative coordinator for Nico Moon, Haley Witters, Brent Cobb, Drew Parker, Cooper Allan, and Luke Combs. In just one year, she was promoted to day-to-day manager and launched the career of the breakout up-and-coming country band The Castellos. HB has spearheaded the project with Castellos and team, releasing the first single “No. 7 Road” and a follow-up EP.
Stella chocolate felt hat, baileyhats.com; snake hat band, brim biter, turquoise ring, hallettpeakleather.com; aviator jacket, lindseythornburg.com; dog scarf: Pueblo with copper neckerchief, athomewithray.com.
Jeremy “JP” Gauna
Jeremy “JP” Gauna (Choctaw) stumbled into acting on his way to work at the Dallas Morning News. He landed a background role on Queen of the South and met Zahn McClarnon on set, who told him they needed an Indigenous actor and suggested he take acting classes if he was serious. Therefore, he took that advice and never looked back. Since then, Gauna has appeared in multiple TV shows (Yellowstone 1883, Queen of the South, Armor of Washington, The Battle of Honey Springs) and movies (Terror on the Prairie, The Last Son, Fairhaven, Birdslight, Buckskin, Harbinger ) is appearing in. He expanded his skills into set management and modeling. He will soon appear on TV’s American Primeval and in the upcoming Cottonmouth movie.
Chocolate Stella Felt Hat, baileyhats.com. Leather jacket, scullyleather.com; turquoise snap denim shirt, stetson.com. Aztec bolo tie, hyosilver.com; ring (model herself). Turquoise cuffs, hippiecowgirlcouture.com. Silver and turquoise oval cuffs (made by the model). Belt and buckle (model’s personal belongings). Jeans, wrangler.com.
finnis smith
Finnis Smith II grew up and lives on the Barr Double Diamond Ranch between Breckenridge and Graham, Texas. His father raised longhorn cattle and trained trick horses. As a young boy, he traveled with his father and mother to Western festivals many times, listening to the radio and singing old songs. He was introduced to and spent time traveling around the likes of Lynn Anderson, Mentor Williams, Johnny Western, Red Stegall, Don Edwards, and Rex Allen Jr.
When Finnis was seven years old, his great-grandmother inherited a violin.
His love for music blossomed while attending Tarleton University and he began taking fiddle and guitar lessons. Finnis also raises Hereford-Angus crossbred cattle at his ranch in Ivan, Texas. He runs a small ranch in Possum Kingdom and has modeled for Cavenders, C&I, and other clothing brands. He has performed at the Round Up Gala for Autism, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, Tuff Cooper’s New Year’s Eve Roping, Pearl’s Dance Hall, the West Texas Fair and Rodeo, and the Trio Club. Ta. He plans to release two new songs in 2024.
Ivory Forest Straw Hat, baileyhats.com. Cody James War Hunt Snap Western Shirt, bootbarn.com. Jeans, kimesranch.com; belt and buckle (model’s own).
hunter page
Hunter Paige is a social media content creator in the Western fashion, lifestyle, and country music space. She loves to share everything with her followers on social media as she has always been in love with lifestyle, western style, and trendy songs. Hunter grew up on her family’s ranch in Arkansas, which is where her fondest memories come from. She is currently attending university to pursue a degree in public relations and social media. She feels that social media has opened doors for her that she never could have imagined. She has worked with country music artists such as Dolly Parton, Toby Keith, Parker McCollum, and Miranda Lambert to promote their music, as well as Justin Boots, Wrangler, and Boot Barn. It has also promoted Western brands and companies such as. Career highlights to date include participating in the Warner Music Creator Hub during CMA Fest, working with the PRCA during the NFR to interview round winners and raise awareness of rodeo sports, Justin She has also served as a model for Boots campaigns.
Buckskin Stellar Felt Hat, baileyhats.com. Echo canyon necklace, denisehagoodstudio.com; pearl embroidered snap shirt, stetson.com; vintage leather belt, lelarose.com; turquoise buckle and cuffs, hippiecowgirlcouture.com. Shyanne High Rise Flare Jeans, bootbarn.com.
Header image: [Powell (left)]: Trilby hats from American Hat Co. in Silversand, besthatstore.com. Ben Nighthorse (Navajo) Horse Head Earrings, sorrelsky.com. Denim Peasant Blouse, stetson.com; Enamel Horseshoe Rings, readsjewelers.com; Vintage Navajo Silver Conchos with Turquoise Belt, Billie Slim Features, lelarose.com. Gray Lab leather shorts, tuckerbrown1986.com; Dani tan suede boots, stetson.com. [Lily (middle)]: Stellar felt hat in buckskin, baileyhats.com; turquoise bar necklace, cowboyjewelers.com; Kristopher Brock x Tecovas Ava dress, tecovas.com. Fringe denim jacket, scullyleather.com; emmer blue boots, oldgringboots.com. [Ellie (right)]: Carlsbad straw hat, outbacktrading.com; Verde Valley turquoise earrings, lauraingallsdesigns.com; Ben Nighthorse (Navajo) horse head pendant, sorrelsky.com. South rim cuff, vogtsilversmiths.com; denim short sleeve jacket, doubledranch.com; Idyllwind floral drive jeans, bootbarn.com. Victoria Tan Boots, blackstarboots.com.
Photo: Tim O’Keefe