The Bitterroot Selway Wilderness strips life down to what really matters. Last week, I rode two long trips up Mill Creek Canyon—twelve-hour days, thirteen miles each way. We carried a crew and their supplies to Mill Lake Dam, then returned a few days later to bring them back out. Stormy, steady as ever, carried me…
Pasture Reflections
Catch Me If You Can
There are horses, and then there are characters.Stormy, from the very beginning—even at two weeks old—made it clear he was no ordinary colt. Mischievous didn’t even begin to cover it.He had a personality bigger than the pasture and a mind that never stopped working. He was just two weeks old when he figured out how…
Liberty: The Little Mare That Could
She came into my life like wildfire—fiery, fierce, and full of try. Liberty was a weanling filly when my dad gave her to me as a birthday gift. She was 14 hands of fire, grit, and grace. Small in stature, but she packed a presence that couldn’t be ignored. Dad had a knack for choosing…
Trusting the Process
I used to ask why bad things kept happening in my life— What had I done to deserve the pain? But over time, I’ve come to see that those hard chapters weren’t punishment. They were preparation. They led me here. Like my horses, I’m learning to live more fully in the moment— to soak in…
The Cowboy In Us All
I’ve put off writing this, not because the words weren’t there, but because some things feel too big to fit into sentences. How do you sum up a life that shaped yours? How do you explain the kind of love that still echoes in the quiet moments? My dad was loved by many—truly loved. You…
Meet Yuki: A Long-eared Lesson in Living Boldly
Some animals tiptoe quietly into your life. Yuki arrived like a spark—bold, curious, and utterly herself from the start. We chose her name just days after her birth: Yuki, meaning both snow and courage in Japanese. It fit her perfectly—while the snow had only just melted away, it was her courage we felt most. She…
A Clinic Rooted in Curiosity and Care
Tanya’s first clinic gathered thirteen of us—each a devoted horse owner, not looking to become professionals, but simply wanting to do better by our horses. We worked in pairs, two people to one horse, which gave us the gift of time—time to observe, to feel, to move with intention. Some horses were athletes, some seasoned…
In A Field of Wildflowers, Even The Horses Dance
This weekend, my husband and I loaded up and headed to the 5th Annual Backcountry Horsemen of Montana Rendezvous. It’s always something special when horse people gather—not just because of our shared love for horses and trail riding, but because of the diversity within the community. People from all walks of life, with different upbringings,…