Setting Sail on the SS Lad . . .

Oh the Sea — Creator of Life and Lore — Dictator of Fate

My husband, Rick, hails from a long ancestral line of Norwegian sea captains — in fact, it was the sea and circumstance that sent his forebearers here to the New World.

Having grown up on the East Coast with a nearby river and a small sailing boat, Rick loves sailing, as Dawn loves horses.

So when we combined our passions and married, thirty years ago, Dawn grew to love sailing, and Rick grew to love horses.

(We enjoy reading aloud to one another at nights in our snug cabin. We’ve sailed with numerous authors around the world, from Joshua Slocum’s Sailing Alone Around the World (1900), to Irving and Electa Johnson’s Yankee’s Wander World; Circling the Globe in the Brigantine Yankee (1949) — both excellent reads.)

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Sail Away

Ride along with Captains Dawn and Rick into the friendly “waters” of the Los Padres National Forest, here in the Frazier Park, California, Outback.

Set sail with their homebred fleet — Equine Sailing Crafts, SS Lad and SS Fae.

Smell the fresh breeze. Navigate today’s gentle forest swells.

Release the tensions from your body and soul that only a good ride, a good sail, can do.

DawnHoof  :))) 

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Setting Sail on the SS Lad

The rocking cradle of saddle and sea
    Calls to my Horse-Girl’s soul.

Come. Embark. Cast away from
    The limitations of the corral —

Swab the deck. Saddle your steed.
    Trod the lane that leads to the gate.

Sail through the gap — enter the realm
   Of sage, and pines, and waves of wonder . . .

Happy flowers, yellow, pink, purple, red,
    Dance like baggywrinkle, winking welcome

To our afternoon cruise — their bright
   Sparkling faces reflecting the shimmering sun.

Winds aloft encourage the perfect pace,
    Sheltered here in our woods to allow

Our Horse-Ships to walk at a whisper.
    No blustering gales to whip our sails today.

Seas of grasses bloomed from winter’s
    Abundant rain create swaths of red and gold,

Like a landscape painted by one of the Masters —
    Grain heads dancing gently in wind-kissed waves.

Today we take a less-used path. Stitching around
    Fallen trees, meandering and marveling at the

Nature surrounding us — Jeffry pines towering overhead;
    Pinon pines snarling at our sails as we tack . . .

Our mounts content with this day’s mellow pace —
    Not the blasting endurance trots and canters

That made up my rides over decades of youth —
    I lived for those fast-adrenaline-releasing adventures.

Now in our 70’s, our hobby-horse pace suits
    Body and soul feeding childhood fantasies

In ways Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sang,
    “Happy Trails to you . . .

Content. Satisfied. In childhood wonder we wander
    The forest’s drifting tides with deftly shod hooves,

Treading gently upon the soft, sodden earth.
    Radiant with confidence. Buoyant with hope . . .

In an hour’s time we exit the gate —
    Filled with images of Majesty.

Our sails reefed for home, a perfect landing.
    SS Lad and SS Fae, and their Captains,

Dawn and Rick, refreshed, and ready to sail,
    Yet again, into another perfect day . . .

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Copyright 2024
Photographs: Dawn Jenkins (DawnHoof) and family archives

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Join Dawn for a Soul Horse Ride!  Experience the thrill of becoming one with your Horse . . . Join Dawn and her homegrown herd for a  Soul Horse Ride in the Frazier Park Outback!

Call to book your Life-Changing Adventure today:  (661) 703-6283

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Please come over to Dawn’s Life blog — Journal of Dawn —
for Strategies and Insights into the
Journey of Life.

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