One herd, one dream

Sea and I have been having many discussions about just what is this thing the Free Range Rodeo, and how does my ride mesh with it, where do Walter mule and I fit in?

This morning something Sea said awakened me to the realisation that the Free Range Rodeo is a travelling herd with changing configurations, and in order for us to "mesh," I need to stop thinking in terms of "Sea's ride" and "my ride" and allow myself to become part of something that is bigger than those two separate ideas.

 Sea, Jesse James and Finehorn are the heart of the Rodeo - it's Sea's vision, her will that drives it, her organizational and computer skills that enable those that follow the ride to be a part of it, her dream that lifts it up; Mr. James and Finehorn are full partners since the beginning and have carried the Rodeo, literally, on their backs and in their big hearts.

That said, Sea has created a travelling troupe that embraces shifts and change. Gryph has been with the Rodeo since the start, during the rough early months, and joined up again for a couple months this winter. Fox, Gryph's friend, was along for a while, both riding and driving a truck with water support through the Mojave desert. And now here I am, joining the Free Range Rodeo for the spring trek north.

And so Walter and I are not on "our" ride yet - we are part of a herd, the "OUR ride" that is the Free Range Rodeo. Because I've only had Sir Walter for a week and we're still working on bonding, the tendency has been for Sea and I to interact each with our own animals, and do what we can to help them work smoothly together. This has kept us mentally separate; even the question we asked each other, "How can we join our visions together so it makes sense when we try to describe it?" showed that we were thinking of ourselves and our animals as two separate herds on two separate rides.

In fact, "my" ride will begin when Walter and I peel off on our own. Until then, mule and I are very happily a part of something else, learning the ropes from another Long Rider as we join her herd and take part in the ups and downs and magic and momentum of the Free Range Rodeo journey.

Sea and I also realized that to truly become one herd, we need to not only interact with, but ride each other's equines. We laughed when we both confessed to being afraid to ride the other's partner. I'm nervous on a horse - she's nervous on a mule! And Finehorn will be happier with loving and attention from both of us.

After this layover, we start on a portion of the route that is very, very rural, with no towns to speak of for several days, only occasional small homesteads and probably lots of camping. The sheriffs dept said they would put out a bulletin to all law enforcement along the way to keep an eye out for us and check on us when they can. It's an ideal time to bond the whole group as one herd.

In the meantime, here we are in Natchez over St Pat's Day weekend, during their busiest tourist weekend of the year. Sea is still out touring, I am feeling better and hoping to get out to wander the town before we leave. (While still fretting in the back of my mind about getting the farrier out to trim Walter...)  I'll try to start carrying a camera handy. (Half those pics of Walter were taken by Sea.) It might be a while before I have the luxury of this laptop again and can load photos. In the meantime will post by phone as I have access...

Oh! Also, please know I LOVE getting comments! But please forgive me and don't take it personally that I don't reply - it's impossible to post a reply comment from my phone, which is how I'm posting 90% of the time now. I do read them though, and the support of readers - even just knowing that there are readers - means a lot.

And to those of you visiting from Sea's blog or facebook page - thanks for checking out my blog as well! Hope you enjoy.