We've all been there. For one reason or another, things overwhelm us, and the barn is a mere distant memory. You forget the feel of the reins in your hands. You hardly remember the exact color and softness of your horse's coat. You can't even tell the difference anymore between a surcingle and a martingale. I'm sure you've noticed by now that it has been a while since I have been able to ride and I am desperate to get some time back in the saddle. Most of what I do at school in ...

Part 1 - "Squeeze Don't Push!"  There’s an apocryphal story I like about a photographer who was invited round to a dinner party. During the evening the hostess remarked on the quality of his work, “I just love your pictures, you must have a great camera” she enthused. The photographer politely thanked her. At the end of the evening after a fabulous meal as everyone was leaving the photographer took the hostess aside. “Thank you for a wonderful meal” he remarked, ‘you must have a great ...

I was thinking about the boot library we have in the Trading Post at Black Mountain Ranch. After going through all the cowboy boots that I have in my closet at home, I decided that it was time to move some over to the boot library so others can use them and I can have more room in my closet. While going through my boots to see which ones might be worn out and which ones were not, I took a pretty close look at some of them. It may sound like I have a whole giant pile of them in my ...

So Sunday night marked the end of my three year relationship with a wonderful individual I had met in high school. He had helped me through some hard times throughout freshman and sophomore year, but as this third year loomed closer, the strain of being in a long distance relationship began to seriously take its toll. It was a hard decision, but considering our relationship had become more of a friendship (I still consider him to be my best friend) we are slowly trying to feel our way across ...

With the recent passing of Bailey, I have been reminded of how important our dogs are to us at Black Mountain Ranch. They are almost always there with us, be it all day out on rides, or walking irrigation ditches, shovel in hand. Let's see... Bailey, Molly, George, Betty, Poppy, Daisy, Howdy, Cinch, Pistol, Sammy, Vala, Murray, Deacon, Daphne, Shoeshine, Coda, Riley, Mickey, Oakley, Roxy... Ummmm. Come on old staff, who am I missing? I know for sure that I am. It really is the ...