Partner

Wed, 8-31-11, 8AM, Ranch House. The business of the ranch day was just getting started. Eric came through, and his ranch radio crackled, "We need food, water and coffee". It was Ray. He and Wrangler Chuck and the Palmer Canyon pump truck stationed at the ranch had been on the Poe Mountain fire all night with several volunteers from the Palmer Canyon Volunteer Fire Department. We could tell by the tone in Ray's voice, it was a tight situation they were in up there, and they needed food supplies.

Dan is the horseshoe man.

Dan prefers this title over “farrier” because his purpose is to create a balanced shoe and healthy foot condition for each horse, rather than to do specialty and corrective work for leg and foot problems. He is the “preventive-medicine” man, the “well-being” man.

I doubt there is a single person walking around who doesn’t appreciate the value of a properly fitted pair of shoes or boots. Well, horses feel the same way. And Dan believes that a proper, balanced trim for good shoe fit is the #1 consideration for the horse’s foot health.

The ranch garden is two years old.  The heavy work is done.  Underpinnings are in place.  Enhancements and maintenance will be the focus for subsequent seasons.

For the unaware, the ranch has a garden.  It is located behind the swimming pool.  A once forgotten and neglected parcel has been transformed and proven to be an amusing diversion.

Scrawled across the brown envelope lying on the kitchen table in big bold letters was the question, “Gail – What have you done? EXPLAIN!”

The kitchens, bedrooms or back porches of the partners of Guide Rock, Ltd., were filled with discussions, tears, resignation, trepidation, anxiety, hope, and probably anger. Some families were getting ready to sign the papers, others were getting ready to sell their RV’s or mobile homes, others were preparing to pull up stakes and walk away from their investment, the ranch they loved and even the little trees they had nurtured for years. Some families were united in their decisions; other families were in great conflict creating a battle over the kitchen table and threats of permanently hurting the marital partnerships. The tension in the ranch families was palatable. It was the spring of 1985 and we had come so far together yet reality was pulling us apart.