According to my mother, I was born on a dark Halloween night but my fist memories were as a five year old when my father brought home our first horse. Her name was “Sheba”; she was jet-black, wild as a March hare, and newly arrived from the plains of Utah. I thought she was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. This is when I began a lifelong passion as an equestrienne.
As my father and his best friend George began to “break” our new horse (ironic since Sheba broke George’s leg and my father’s foot) it became clear that she was unsuitable as the family mount. We traveled to a stable in Santiago Canyon where my parents found and purchased the oldest horse on the planet. “Heidi” as we named her, had teeth so long that most of them had fallen out. Even so, she taught me how to ride.
Everyday after school, I would ride double and bareback with my best friend Julie. We would leave Joe’s boarding stable and travel at a slow walk to the end of the dirt road where we would step onto the street just to hear the clip-clop of Heidi’s hooves on the pavement. When Heidi had enough, she would lope back to the ranch and dump both of us on the ground. Needless to say, Julie and I “kissed the dirt” on a daily basis. Good timesJ.
My next horse was a Half-Arabian named Hasilad. “Laddie” was extremely versatile and I learned to compete in many divisions on that little red horse including: Gymkhana, competitive trail riding, saddle seat, hunt seat, jumping, reining, endurance riding, halter, showmanship, dressage, sport horse, western equitation, and western pleasure. In high school, I was a member of the mounted drill team, a gymkhana team, and an equestrian gymnastics team.
In 1980, my family moved from Fullerton to Moreno Valley to start an Arabian breeding farm. While I enjoyed competing and honed my talent in the show ring, I soon realized I was not suited to the “horse industry” as a vocation. Every time we sold a horse, I would cry my eyes out as the horse trailer left the property with one of my “babies”. I decided to pursue a career in science, went back to school, and declared a major in Biology.
I was attending Riverside Community College when a tall, handsome, cowboy named Michael rode up my driveway. He was from Ohio and he would ride his horse “Shadow” to the ranch most afternoons after work. I loved his heart and the special gift he had with both people and animals. We became best friends and married on June 29th, 1991.
Mike and I continued showing and breeding Arabians and Half-Arabians (as a hobby rather than as a business) and our horses and their progeny earned many local, regional, and national titles over the last two decades.
I earned a biology degree from California State University San Bernardino in 1996 and began teaching science at Moreno Valley High School shortly thereafter. I started my teaching credential in 1997 and finished a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2005. While teaching at MoVal, I became involved with the Future Farmer’s of America. Unfortunately, I was about a decade too late—an academic interest in agriculture was no longer a priority among the student population. I transferred to Canyon Springs High School in 2000 as the biology and anatomy and physiology teacher for the Health Careers Academy (HCA).
