C.S. Wilson's Blog, page 21
January 19, 2014
Remember Raja?
Raja was a horse who ultimately wormed her way into my heart, as you know from the book (Tales from the Trail).
What I didn't put in her story was how she got her name. Raja was delivered one day at the beginning of the season after the other horses had arrived. That's not unusual. In fact, there's a fair amount of horse switching around that goes on between liveries during the season as needs are identified at each site. So, Raja was delivered a couple of days before I was scheduled to work and only had her brand number, not an assigned name.
I don't know who assigned her name when she arrived (they never 'fessed up once their mistake was pointed out), but whoever it was looked at this big drafty-type horse with a bad attitude and assumed she was a HE and named him (her) Roger.
There was a bit of confusion when I was told to pull the big gelding from the rail. Only, I didn't see any big gelding at the rail. I saw a big mare I wasn't familiar with, but no gelding, so I checked his/her/its brand number against the board and saw his/her/its name had been assigned as Roger.
With a laugh, I grabbed High Noon and pointed out the error. Oops. Poor Roger the mare. Lady was kind enough to come up with a solution to the name situation, hence Roger became Raja.
What I didn't put in her story was how she got her name. Raja was delivered one day at the beginning of the season after the other horses had arrived. That's not unusual. In fact, there's a fair amount of horse switching around that goes on between liveries during the season as needs are identified at each site. So, Raja was delivered a couple of days before I was scheduled to work and only had her brand number, not an assigned name.
I don't know who assigned her name when she arrived (they never 'fessed up once their mistake was pointed out), but whoever it was looked at this big drafty-type horse with a bad attitude and assumed she was a HE and named him (her) Roger.
There was a bit of confusion when I was told to pull the big gelding from the rail. Only, I didn't see any big gelding at the rail. I saw a big mare I wasn't familiar with, but no gelding, so I checked his/her/its brand number against the board and saw his/her/its name had been assigned as Roger.
With a laugh, I grabbed High Noon and pointed out the error. Oops. Poor Roger the mare. Lady was kind enough to come up with a solution to the name situation, hence Roger became Raja.
January 10, 2014
Behind the Scenes
Did you know that one of the riders I wrote about in "Diamonds" (Tales from the Trail) turned out to be Julie Goodnight's t.v. producer?
That trail ride changed my life.
Several months after that ride, I was at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo and heard a casting call for Julie's new t.v. show, Horse Master with Julie Goodnight. I applied and a few weeks later got the call from my former guest, Heidi, who remembered that I had been her guide. I didn't even own Estes yet - I was in the process of buying her - and she had been out to pasture for two years, but Heidi trusted (somewhat blindly) that Estes would be camera-ready and we were cast for an episode on walking off during mounting (remember I had to master the running mount?).
The rest, as they say, is history. I've been a member of the Colorado Crew ever since. Each year, when we film at Julie's ranch, I go work on the set. It's been an incredible journey and I've learned a lot.
You just never know who you're going to meet in the course of a work day.
That trail ride changed my life.
Several months after that ride, I was at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo and heard a casting call for Julie's new t.v. show, Horse Master with Julie Goodnight. I applied and a few weeks later got the call from my former guest, Heidi, who remembered that I had been her guide. I didn't even own Estes yet - I was in the process of buying her - and she had been out to pasture for two years, but Heidi trusted (somewhat blindly) that Estes would be camera-ready and we were cast for an episode on walking off during mounting (remember I had to master the running mount?).
The rest, as they say, is history. I've been a member of the Colorado Crew ever since. Each year, when we film at Julie's ranch, I go work on the set. It's been an incredible journey and I've learned a lot.
You just never know who you're going to meet in the course of a work day.
