A few more pictures from the wild horse drive up in Craig.

 Craig is outside of Steamboat Springs, CO, known as much for being a ski town as a bit of a wild-and-woolly cow town. 

 The ranch that is driving these particular wild horses is a working ranch that spends its time breaking and training wild horses.

So this is no "dude ranch" but a genuine bronc-busting outfit, in case you thought that sort of thing didn't exist anymore! The horses that are trained are used either as ranch horses, or sold to the public, and even show up in the movies (I hear that the head bronc buster in this group is working on the new Johnny Depp version of The Lone Ranger).

Another old picture from the archives that my mum dug up. 

This is me aged about 11, jumping bareback on my little Arab gelding, Samsi.

If you look closely, you can see that my toes are even pointed up and in (in cowboy boots, no less!) How diligent I was about form, if not about dress...or tack!

Arabs are notoriously bad jumpers, and Samsi was terrible. Look at the way he pops up over the jump, all braced hindquarters, wary ears and awkward angles! The popped-up tail is a dead giveaway. 

But Samsi was my most versatile horse and he would do anything I asked of him, absolutely anything. He would show English, Western, jumping, dressage, even an egg-in-spoon class at the 4-H if that's what the occasion required. 

Coincidentally, both the animal loves-of-my-life have been named Sam (at least for short). Samsi the little bay Arab, and Sampson, a small brown heeler/corgi mix pound dog. I have yet to entirely get over either one of them, come to think of it. Even though they both lived long, vivid and love-filled lives.

Here's to you Sam...and Sam!

We are running up to the mountains today to spend the lovely weekend in the Vail Valley and our old stomping grounds. 

I leave you with this lovely picture that my mum took of the head cowboy and bronc-buster at the ranch where she is shooting pictures.

A joy-filled weekend to one and all! 

XOXO

 A couple of images that my mum brought from the family archives, these of me (right) and my best friend on our ranch in Southern Colorado, where we spent our summers.

This is us playing "musical chairs" from horseback...a game that I think we cribbed from a 4-H competition we saw in a nearby town. 

Ah, those summers of childhood. On horseback, in the fields, in the sun, on the mountain, lying in the grass at night to watch the satellites make their quirky way among the interminable stars of the Western sky.