Noelle Floyd: Modern Day Horsemen-
Behind The Scenes With The Compton Cowboys X Vanner Hats Production.
As Featured in Noelle Floyd and NoelleFloyd.com
Written by Alli Addison
Photography by Danica Taylor
Creative Direction by Courtney Ellzey
Horseman, n. rider, equestrian, equerry, roughrider, cavalryman, horse guard, dragoon, horse driver, horse trainer, keeper of horses, gaucho, pricker, buckaroo, postilion, broncobuster, saddle sitter, live weight, gypsy; see also COWBOY.
The term horseman has been deeply rooted in my vocabulary for years, a term I used freely in characterizing people of exceptional equestrian skill and solid equine understanding. But it wasn’t until I spent the day working behind the scenes for Noëlle Floyd covering the collaboration project between the Compton Cowboys℠ and Courtney Ellzey of Vanner Hats that I truly began breaking down this phrase (perhaps even a term of endearment) that I had bestowed upon so many previously. Nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains underneath the oaks of Paramount Ranch, I saw it. I saw the skill, I witnessed the connection, and I felt the passion that every single person on that fateful day had for both one another and for the horse. It came void of pretension, ego, or privilege. It was love, it was pure, and it was overflowing with style.
Courtney Ellzey (the powerhouse behind Vanner Hats and C-Word Productions) and Randall ‘Randy’ Hook (one of the founding members of the Compton Cowboys) met over a year ago at an art showing in Los Angeles for the Compton Jr. Posse. It was a match made in heaven and a collaboration project was immediately put into work. Both Courtney and the Compton Cowboys turned their collaboration into a true passion project that would encompass everything both entities represented to their core. It was no small task, especially for Courtney, who not only handled the complete styling of each member of the Compton Cowboys and the creative and photography direction, she was also tasked with finding the perfect location.