Sonoita Rodeo

Last Saturday, September 1st, my Tucson roommate Lisa and some other friends and I all met up at the Sonoita Rodeo. Due to some car problems on the way, a less-than-informative website, and just poor planning, we didn't get there in time and only caught the last 30 minutes of the rodeo. It was sad but still great to smell the sweat and BBQ in the air at a classic rodeo. Upon seeing my classic county duds, one of Lisa's friends complimented me on my cowboy getup. I love that that's how I look everyday! And its getting to be where I look that way on Sundays too. Below are some pictures of the rodeo. The last pic is my Sunday outfit the day after the rodeo (minus the hat). It is kinda an interesting experience here to be known as the cowgirl. Before, only close friends and family knew that side of me but now it is forefront in my identity and I'm lovin' it!

Point Leader Ride

Friday, August 31st I took the boys on my first Point Leader Ride. We were going to trailer to this pasture that is also a part of the ranch but closer to town. But once we loaded the six horses in the trailer, it became apparent that we had a flat on the trailer, which meant we had to come up with Plan B. The boys were good about being flexible and we decided to see how close we could get to Arivaca Lake riding from the ranch. We didn't make it there but we had fun doing some boonie crashing and enjoying the green country side. It was a beautiful day and I had a lot of fun with the boys. Enjoy the pictures!

 3/4 of the way through the ride we got hit with monsoon rains and were all soaked in minutes. So when we passed by a pond on the way home I encouraged the boys to jump in since we were already wet. We tied up the horses and I played photographer while the boys jumped in and swam around for about 15 minutes. It was still raining so some of the photos aren't the best but it made for a great finish to the ride!

Home Visit and Sister Visit

August 17th I drove home to UT to visit family and go to the Brigham City Temple Open House. It was great to be home even though the trip was crazy short. I got into Salt Lake on Friday afternoon, had dinner with family, drove up to Logan on Saturday, ran errands, went to church on Sunday AM and then headed south again on Sunday afternoon.

I had lots of fun playing with my family though. Jon and I went river boarding and that was quite the adventure! We connected a rope to a bridge upstream and then right where the water chutes are, we river board! It was pretty cool and totally worth the bruises and cuts on my legs from falling!

 Of course while I was there I picked up a new straw hat because I couldn't turn down the amazing sale. I had to prove to my family that I'm not the only one in the family that looks good in a cowboy hat!

 Sunday afternoon I picked up Christine and Deborah and we were off on our sisters roadtrip to AZ! We drove through the night to make it to the Grand Canyon about midnight, where we slept in the car until sunrise at 5:51am! It was beautiful and now we can all say we have been to the Grand Canyon!

We met some wonderful fellow travelers and enjoyed an hour with Rex and Judy from Indiana while we hiked to the point at the North Rim Visitors' Center. 

We got to Tucson Monday night and enjoyed sleeping in a bed that night. Tuesday we enjoyed the swimming pool and of course, went out and got the girls some cowboy boots! Then it was off to the ranch! Wednesday we got up early and went for a ride. It was a beautiful, cool, morning at the ranch. I kinda felt the girls missed out on experiencing the real heat of an AZ summer but I guess they just lucked out this visit! Here's some pics of our ride and the horses. It's so beautiful and green this time of year I love it! The rest of the day they just got to visit with the boys out at equine and see what I do here as the Equine Director. In the end, Christine said we should have skipped the Grand Canyon to spend more time at the ranch! When the boys are doing good, Arivaca Ranch is a pretty special place. And when they aren't doing good, it is still special as they bravely work out their issues and commit to a better way of being and living.

 Of course you are going to find this kind of restaurant in Amado, AZ! Longhorn Grill just went out of business and is currently for sale. :( Really sad because I'm just not sure who is going to buy this amazing landmark!

I dropped the sisters off at the airport Wednesday afternoon. It was a short trip but super fun and we didn't kill each other so that was great! Thank you for coming and visiting Red and Deb! I so appreciate having two members of the family really understand what I do on a day to day basis!

Memoirs from the Ranch-Episode 5

Okay I know it has been forever and I'm trying to repent here and give you the update from the ranch. First, let me share some stories:

Story #1

About a month ago B and I went for a ride under the full moon. It was pretty cool and something I had always wanted to do. It was good to just get off the ranch and enjoy the quiet of the evening. As we were going along a country road, I noticed an oval-shaped rock about 15 feet in front of us on the road. Because of the shadows I thought it so strange that a rock of that size would just be sitting there in the middle of the road. Then I thought it must be a jackrabbit because of its size but it didn't move so I wasn't sure. As we got closer and my horse Rusty was about to step on it, it moved! It was in fact a hawk that had badly injured it's wing and was unable to fly. A beautiful creation but on it's way out of this world. We thought about wrapping it up and bringing it back to the ranch, but there is no way for us to care for it and it would only die there so we left it to mother nature. We have several hawks in the area and even more vultures that sore above us during the day. Pretty cool.

Story #2

The boys who participate in equine or other activities are awarded two "ranch bucks" each day, which they can then redeem for all kinds of things at the ranch mercantile. Often, if I don't stamp their ranch bucks book during the day, they will find me in the evening when I visit with the boys and get stamped then. On another note, during their rec time in the evening, the boys will often take off their shirts because of the heat but most of them are very good to put a shirt on when a lady comes into the bunk. So, one night I was making my rounds and stamping ranch bucks when one of the boys wanted a stamp but was shirtless because all of his shirts were in the laundry. His solution was simple, he hid behind a pillar that is in each bunk and reached around with his ranch bucks book kindly asking for a stamp. I obliged with a laugh, only to find his arms reaching around the pillar with a "thank you" once I had stamped his book. Gotta love these boys!

Story #3

One of my biggest struggles at the ranch is building relationships with the boys. From Arbinger you learn that you really can't do much correction if you haven't been effectively teaching and communicating. And that can't be done well if you haven't listened and learned, and built the relationship, etc. You just move your way down the triangle that you see below. Everything we do when we want to have influence with others has to be grounded on a solid foundation of being "out of the box" or having a good "way of being" where you see others as people and not as objects, obstacles or irrelevant to you.

So, there are a few boys where it has been my pleasure to build a relationship with them and it feels so good when they invite you into their life potentially to be a person of influence. I had such an experience with one boy who insisted on us doing "trail time" together, a short time at the end of the day when we talk together about how we are doing at getting out of the box with others and find ways to support each other in our "way of being." I felt like it was such a privilege to get to know this boy better and understand his hopes, desires, and fears especially as he was nearing graduation and returning home. There have been other boys who I have had similar experiences with and it is the highlight of my days here at the ranch. I'm learning that I need to spend more time down the triangle building relationships with these boys so when the time comes for instruction or even correction, the foundation will be there.

Okay, so some other things I promised I would share from the ranch. Below is the horse I am currently training. His name is Dancer and he is really fun to work with. He is a true Dun colored horse which means he has a dorsal stripe down his back and tiger markings on his legs. Pretty cool! I got a saddle on him last week and want to get on him this week but we'll see how it goes. I never have as much time as I would like to work with him. He is also really tall and that means it is going to be really fun to jump and run with this boy!

About six weeks ago we moved into the new tack room and I am still slowing working on getting it where I want it to be. Below you can see pics of our attempts at organization.

The saddle pads are the hardest or organize. I'm having our welding instructor work with the boys to create a drying rack for the blankets and pads that will be really nice when completed.

I have a white board for horses who need meds or other notes and I'm putting up a cork board to have the boys' weekly goals posted as well as pictures from our adventures on horseback! It's going to be good!

Always looking for a view!

So, every since I was little I have always liked being in high up places! I loved to climb trees and then I got into rock climbing and if I'm just hiking, the hike is made great if it finished with a spectacular view. Well, since I have been here in Tucson, I haven't had a chance to get a view of the valley until today! I started on my drive up to Mt. Lemmon and got stopped by my car overheating. But not before I got a view! So it wasn't the top of Mt. Lemmon, but the Tucson valley still looked beautiful! I'll have to figure out the car thing tomorrow! :)

Oh, when I got home I noticed this. We have a baby cactus growing in our gutter! How fun is that!

I'm going to learn so much!

The last two days have been really interesting here at the ranch. Being a woman in authority I trigger for a lot of the boys the unhealthy or stressed relationship they have with their mother. Unfortunately, that means that sometimes they flare up and are frustrated with me just because they struggle with that other relationship. I've had this happen a few times already and I am learning so much... I'll have to post more on this topic this weekend when I have a chance.

Memoirs from the Ranch-Episode 4

At the end of the day Wednesday right at dusk I walked out of the bunk and went to call family and friends to catch up from the holiday. I walked over to a nearby fence and spotted what looked like a stump and a great place to sit while talking on the phone. I'm glad I looked as I got closer because what I thought was a stump was actually a knee-high cactus! I wonder when I'll get used to living in the desert!