your holiday spirit
’Tis the season, not just for rushing around buying the perfect holiday gift or decorating your tree that copies a Pinterest image. It’s also time to reaffirm our bonds with our fellow humans and their spirit animals!
And in keeping with that spirit, I bring you pictures from my visit to see my friend Taryn and her daughter Erin groom and ride their horses that they board at a private ranch tucked away in Bradbury Estates. This hidden jewel boasts a few acres of stables for at least a dozen horses, complete with a large arena, a tack room, plus another outdoor “farm” for camels and llamas! There’s also an open field outside the property that showcases the backdrop of the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.
Love of horses knows no age limit and that was certainly true when I visited the stables. There’s Jann the "Swedish Cowboy", who rides his Missouri Fox Trotter named Flash every day and rode in the Rose Parade for 24 years. After he rides, he relaxes with his pipe and watches the lessons take place. The tack room doesn’t smell like leather, rather that sweet, smoky scent from years of pipe tobacco smoke wafting nearby, but I found it comforting, as it reminded me of my grandfather’s pipe. And there’s also Chuy: the “muy guapo” groom who feeds the horses and mucks the stalls.
Taryn and Erin have been going to the stables for at least 10 years. Erin’s a senior in high school and she’s been riding since she was five. She has the legit clothes and a proper helmet too which made me wish I hadn’t looked so scruffy when I was riding horses as a kid! And she was taking a proper lesson as well. Their horses, Taikun (it means prince in Japanese) and Havana are OTTB’s, Off The Track Thoroughbreds. Bingham is the horse with the fly mask whose rider is an ex-jockey named Maria. These are big, powerful horses who are retired from racing with a lineage that can be traced back several generations.
It was a challenge to shoot horse riding and the horses themselves. I wanted to showcase their power with some up close detail, but also express the joy and dedication that Taryn and Erin have for Taikun and Havana. Owning a horse isn’t just about galloping into the sunset into the orange hued mountains. They need grooming, feeding, and a little tough love. It’s a lot of dirty work, and it costs money.
Over the years, their relationship as mother and daughter has bonded on the dusty grounds of this ranch, while taking care of their horses and talking to them in their own sweet way.
Even if you’re not a horse lover, let’s remember this holiday season that our human spirit shines brightest when we treat others’ with lovingkindness in ways that are intangible.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
