THE FACTS:
This is a Arabian Bay Mare named Angel.
She must be in her late twenties or thirties by now.
She used to belong to my sister Sally. Continue reading
Category Archives: Guest Apperances
DCWARP goes to St. Bernard Lodge
OK I know what you are thinking. What the heck does DCWARP stand for. Well it is kind of knotty, I mean a naughty little secret. Way back in 2008 a group of cowgirls got together for a horseback riding vacation at a place called Box R Ranch in Southern Oregon. Lets just say we did a lot more than horseback riding and bonded pretty tight. 
Box R Ranch 2008
We have lost a couple members over the years but gained a couple too. Continue reading
Black and White Sunday: Black Beauty
Santa Fe Renegade a Morgan Stallion owned by Eitan Beth Halachmy Photo taken 5/8/11
Wordless Wednesday: Crossing the Great Divide
Some how this did not get posted yesterday. Better late than never
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From the Tony Stromberg Workshop at Absaroka Ranch, Dubois, Wyoming. 6/13
Wordless Wednesday: After the Hunt
No this is not a Sundog and no this is not Rockin’ Roy. Shhhh….. it is a guest appearance.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting
“My Marine” Photo taken July 2006 in the Boston Harbor. This is my son Justin on a family vacation with us 4 years into a 5 year commitment with the Marines. By this time he had been deployed to Iraq twice so we were sure happy to be enjoying his company. Justin was in the air wing of the Marines. He was in squadron VMA 311, the “Tomcats” he was honorably discharged in 2007.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Patterns
This weeks Photo challenge is PATTERNS. Can you see this amazingly natural MOVING pattern? They are mother and daughter Friesians running freely at Book Family Farm in Durham, Ca. The photo was taken at my photography workshop last month. They are at the farm being trained to drive by Nattie Book. Enjoy!
Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above
This is my entry for “From Above” These are the toes and tools of “The Wicked Sisters” of Amador County. This photo was taken before their performance at the entrance to Fitzpatrick Winery in Fairplay, California in the summer of 2012. Fairplay is a tiny town in the Sierra foothills in near Placerville. The Wicked Sisters are known for their feisty and edgy variety of folk, pop, country and blues with sweet three part harmonies. Bottom parts pictured here are my dear friend Lynn Vasquez, Anne Jeffries and KevinWever. Not pictured is Ken Custodio (his feet did not make the cut).
Visit the Wicked Sisters at http://www.wickedsistersband.com
Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture
This weeks challenge is culture. As I have not been out of the country for some time I’ll just highlight the culture in my part of the world. This shot is from behind the scenes at the Stoneyford Rodeo. Stoneyford is a tiny town in the hills of Northern California located about 2 hours NW of Sacramento. I had some great shots of cowboys but I had to go with the cowgirls. It looks like time is standing still here but if you zoom in to the middle you will notice the rodeo queen from 2011 talking on her cell phone. She is savoring the her last stand as queen as she is about to give up her title to the new 2012 queen.
Back in the Saddle
Francis says I’ve been off this blog for 3 weeks now and it is time to get back in the saddle. My excuse? I was side tracked by a REALLY fun girls weekend on the California coast. Not just a girls trip but a cowgirl trip. You cannot get much funner. It justifiable put me off track. 14 girls in total, staying in “The Bunkhouse” at Chanslor Ranch, Bodega Bay, Ca.
We rode on the ocean. 
Me and GQ. What a perfect partner he was on the trip. He acted as his name implies.
Galloping in the sand and photographing at the same time has it’s challenges. But GQ was steady Freddy.
GQ ended up being a loner in his vacation pasture even though there were 6 other horses to keep him company. Poor boy, all the others paired up so GQ decided to hang by the barn and the other rental horses at the ranch. He fell in love with a gray one eyed pony on the other side of the fence but it got taken away from him when a new rescue horse arrived and bonded with it with in a few hours.
This is Marisa after catching Leo and Highlander. They were being naughty and ran away to the OTHER end of the pasture when called. Marisa was determined to go for a ride even on a very windy afternoon. Leo and Highlander have been paired up for almost their whole lives so GQ did not stand a chance to be friends with them. 
Here is Kelly the black and white paint in the lead and Easter following. They too were brats and ran away from their human instead of coming when called.
Jodi finally catches Easter and takes her from her Kelly and the rest of the herd. Jodi was crazy enough to go for that windy afternoon ride. 
Kelly the Paint grazes in the grassy shadows acting like she does not care if Easter, her other half, leaves. There is Danika the black mare and Smokey the grey gelding to hang with. 
Unfortunately for Kelly, Danika and Smokey quickly blow her off and take off together for their own little patch of paradise.
So Kelly bolts to the gate to see were Easter went and quickly realizes her only one to pair up with now is GQ. GQ was in luck! Finally he got his break. 
Here he is following behind Kelly like a big puppy dog. Eyes and ears all bugging out like he does when he is excited.
Jill (Danika’s human) kicks back while the crazies get saddled up.
Caution HOT HORSES.
I’m ready when you are.
Once the crazies are gone….GQ and Kelly get right down to business. Unfortunately it did not last long.
As soon as Easter returned Kelly and Easter were glued together again.
GQ came to terms with being alone again. He being a aloof horse to begin with handles rejection well. As you can see by this photo we are both feeling happy. This is the meaning of “Life is Good”
Partying at the barn started before the sun went down after riding of course.
Starting to feel confident!
The trail boss insisted on butting in with the girls and showing us some of his fancy dance steps. I had to document, no dancing for me.
Later on when the sun went down is when we really got started.
And more than started.
And more than started.
And ended.
We know how to ride but we also know how to tour and see the sights. There were oysters to die for.
And fine wine to taste.
Thank you Joseph Phelps. Black, red and white. Bodega Bay Baby T-shirts 🙂
And what trip to Bodega Bay would be complete without a trip to the infamous “Bodega Bay School” “The Birds” were gone but we did met up with another character.
And we had characters in our group.
And of course let’s not forget shopping at “The Tides” for souvenirs and smoked salmon.
Just hanging out at the bunkhouse was fun.
By the end of the trip the horses were feeling the pain too. But Leo takes it all in stride here. He has the really cool CLEAN blanket.
Is it time to go home yet?
Until next year…….BYE BYE BODEGA BAY BABY!!!
The Sun Dog Drift 