Gilbert Aguirre, right, the head cowboy at the ranch, taught Gorham to wake at dawn to start the days work, feeding and caring for cattle. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Shorty Gorham leads rodeo horses between corrals at Rancho Mission Viejo, where he will work today, protecting bullfighters at a rodeo. The ranch is where he started his bullfighting-clowning career as a young teen. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Gorham nudges a frisky calf into a pen at Rancho Mission Viejo. The animals are all individually numbered in preparation for the rodeo. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Gorham, right, shows his stepson, Tanner Green, the proper way to take care of a saddle. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
