I grew up in serious horse country, on a 200 acre cattle ranch in Corral de Tierra, California. My Dad was a weekend cowboy and taught me to ride Western when I was four. Then Kitty Drew, a neighbor up the canyon, stepped in and taught me English. We rode every weekend on her two horses, Rica and Freckles.
Those were the days when you could ride over anyone's property as long as you would abide by the rules: If a gate is locked, stay out. If a gate is unlocked, go through and close it after you. If it's open, leave it open. Dad and I, and later, Kitty and I, rode all over the hills between San Benancio Canyon and Carmel Valley. I loved trail riding and I'm glad I had that chance with my Dad as he died when I was 18.
I got my first horse, a Welsh pony named Ranger, when I was about 8 and I learned how moody and cantankerous a horse can be. He had been a riding stable pony and was pretty sour. Ranger loved to buck and fight, but he learned to relax more in the country.
I moved to town and became a city girl for a while. I moved away from horses, but when my mom died I was sort of lost and a friend suggested I needed to go back to my roots. I leased Leighanne, an eighteen-year-old palomino/quarter horse, and later bought her. I also bought Desi, a four-year-old Arabian and we grew together.
Kelly Hendricks came into my life at the right time in my reentry into the horse world. She’s a well balanced trainer who helped me juggle my girls and is a big part of my life.
Karen Cage and her husband Jim are great friends, both with life and horses. They were there for me through my saying good bye to Leighanne last year. Ellen Storeim and I met through my husband. Ellen rode as a child and reentered the horse world in a big way with Mac. Kami was my biggest supporter last year and helped me focus to form the horse foodbank. She has put together the web and without her we wouldn’t be this far.
I’m grateful to have all of these very sound horse women involved with me in helping people and their animals together.