Untitled project from Restream
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Introduction to the Podcast
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[00:00:00]
Cheri: the things that I learned from the horses and how they've changed me and made me who I am today is I learned to be quiet, first of all. It's the hardest thing for me cuz I'm a babbler, but my dad used to always, hey, when you're being confronted or something's happening to you, or you've gotta do a speech in front of a bunch of people, whatever he says, don't forget to breathe.
He says three breaths specifically. He says, you're golden if you can do three and take a full deep breath don't overreact it. Just do it like it would be natural.
If you can get only, get two in, that's good. Two, one is better than none. And sometimes when you're challenged, I go out to the horses, I can be totally quiet. I don't even have to talk to 'em. I. I can't get enough of their body, so I inhale their bodies and inhale their, their noses and, and love 'em. Love that. But it's like, it's being quiet.
They just, they help me to be quiet. Hmm. And not really think it's really just trying to be in the moment, which is not easy for us as humans, , it's a hard thing to practice, but if you can just do it a little bit every day, it's [00:01:00] so healthy.
Welcome to the herd is calling podcast. This is where we break free from conventional norms to explore the art, science, and wonder of the horse human connection. I'm Josh Williams. And together with my wife, Victoria, we're your hosts. Our mission is to inspire. you to improve the lives of horses.
Subscribe to The Herd is calling on Substack for behind the scenes stories and unique content. Now let's get to the episode.
Josh: Welcome to our podcast, the Herd is calling today.
Meet Cherri Applebee: A Life in Film and Ranching
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Josh: We are so honored to have Cherri Applebee as our guest. Cherri Applebee is the owner and operator of Ghost Rock Ranch in Bend, Oregon.
She is a film and video producer for advertising and social media. She has a 30 year career as a film and video producer that is still [00:02:00] going.
Cheri's Early Inspirations and Family Background
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Josh: Her father was a western actor and she began dreaming, about her life as a cowgirl.
By following his inspiration, he actually played, western actors and cowboy roles. It sounds like Cherie.
Cheri: Yeah. He did a, did a broad sense of other movies as well, but Bonanza, Maverick, Cheyenne, all those big ones. Wow. We still see him on, you know, when you're watching old TV stuff.
Josh: Okay. Wow, that's amazing.
That's
Victoria: so cool. Yeah,
Josh: and I know Shari, that was just some very, very short liner notes. She's being very humble and left a lot of things out there. it's just a real privilege to be able to talk to you, Cherri. We've known Shari for a few years now. we work out of her barn. We do some of our programs out of that.
Mm-hmm. and Shari's. I say she has a heart as big as the horses that she works around,
Victoria: Agreed.
Josh: We're excited to be able to share you a little bit here.
Victoria: Yeah. Yeah.
Daily Life at Ghost Rock Ranch
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Cheri: It's, it's been a really wonderful road in life to get here. you know, just like you guys, we all. [00:03:00] discover new roads and every time we discover more roads, there's new things to trip on.
There's new things to discover. You can't, as much as you might wanna paint your future in your mind, you have to be open for the things that you would never have expected or ever planned on. And, and I feel blessed that those are some of the things that this ranch actually reflects as some of those wonderful things.
Josh: Mm, yes. Wow. Well said. Yeah. That reminds me of some of those funny memes where it's like, my, my goal is to go here and go there. It's like a straight line. And then the reality it goes up, then down, then flat, then up and down, then flat, and then like way down, and then back up . Yep. Exactly.
The Unique Bond with Horses
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Victoria: So, Cherie, tell us about your horse life these days. a typical snapshot of, of what your horse life looks like on ghost Rock Ranch.
Cheri: We and myself, we go out, we invest in the horses every solitary day. It's, it, it's just a, a love and a kiss or out there mucking and, and them getting into your muck wagon and you loving [00:04:00] on 'em and stuff.
They all have, of course, different personalities, but they're always greeted with such love and care and kindness. but it's, it's always easy to go in with any of them, you know? I mean, they can be little monsters sometimes when they wanna get out the gate when you're trying to get in, and so they wanna see if I'm gonna win that one.
Um, but they're, they're hysterical, but it's just fun to go out and love on them. As far as riding, I've discovered a couple of owies on my body in the last couple years, so I've mended those puppies and I'm still just gaining back some of the strength that I, that I lost when I was in the middle of healing.
I feel like this spring's gonna be a new spring for me. Um, cause I'm already feeling good and I've only ridden a couple of times this year, with Victoria. every time it was good once I got up in the saddle.
Victoria: Yeah, yeah,
Cheri: yeah. And it was really fun to rediscover and get my brain back on, on target, you know, cause I hadn't thought about it.
but the ground, the ground relationship that you have with your horses is, is as equally wonderful as when you're in the saddle. So I don't really miss it. I don't feel like that's robbed or anything. but feeling really good. I'm looking forward to next spring for sure. [00:05:00] Nice to ride some more.
Victoria: Cool.
Josh: Oh, that's exciting. It's kind of like a, new spring. A lot of metaphors there, Yep. Definitely
Victoria: new beginnings.
Creating a Positive Culture at the Ranch
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Victoria: That's one thing I notice and has just always drawn me to Ghost Rock and you and your team that works at Ghost Rock, there is a genuine love of horses there.
Mm-hmm. , I mean, it's, it's so genuine and I, and sadly, My experience and you know, I've been doing this for a while now, working at various barns and programs and facilities. Sometimes that is not like the number one thing on the list, interestingly enough, is that just kind of unconditional love for horses and that shines through so clearly when you walk into the barn at, at your ranch.
Yeah. So I just commend you for that. And, it's gotta be your leadership. It's gotta be something you're, you're putting into the, fabric there cuz it's, it's real.
Cheri: No, it's [00:06:00] very real. And, it's wonderfully surprising when you see it come from people that you don't necessarily expect it to come from.
Hmm. And actually they find comfort. They find comfort and trust just to be around people who are positive like that.
Understanding Horse Behavior and Communication
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Cheri: I have a, um, it's a little pet peeve of mine when somebody. just randomly, you know, considers the horse human and says something like, oh, he's such a butt a butthead today, or, mm-hmm . I dunno why he was acting that way or whatever.
And I said, you know, I said, well, they don't necessarily know how to be a butthead. They might be telling you something that you're not necessarily paying attention to. And if you see them uncomfortable, Figure out what it is. It's sometimes just like, it could be the smallest thing under a saddle blanket that's making him uncomfortable.
Mm-hmm. or the saddle doesn't fit properly. Cuz a lot of people don't know how to fit the saddle. And that's one of my biggest deals. But when somebody speaks in a way that they're comparing emotion and, [00:07:00] um, moods and whatnot that aren't necessarily possible in a horse, I say, no, you're, you're considering the horse human.
He, the horse is more, more than that. Right. And that here, your communications to you are lot. They're real, they're truthful, they're, there's no BS around it. And if you find a horse that's, having some struggles that might be from their memories of times before. So you have to just, you know, give them a break and take some time and figure it out and have somebody else help you figure it out.
it's always been a big thing, with Judy who's ranch manager here, you know, and, uh, she'll say, oh no, no, so and so, blah, blah, blah. And I said, that's not possible, dude. Okay. You know, okay, alright. Lemme change my words and change their words. And I know it sounds silly, but I do say that to everyone.
I said, don't listen to the horse, watch them and pay attention to their communication and you'll have a better, experience with them.
Josh: Mm-hmm. .
Victoria: A hundred percent.
Josh: Yeah. That's powerful. Yeah. We compare horses to like their own culture. So if you have good intentions, you still [00:08:00] have to be aware of the culture and, and how to be respectful and connecting to them.
Cheri: Mm-hmm. .
Josh: it's really like a new way of thinking, I think for a lot of people to not anthropomorphize. animals in general, exactly.
Cheri's Journey with Horses and Community Impact
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Josh: I wonder too, Cherri, cuz you do have such a great culture at your barn and that's, that is unique. I think anybody that's been in the horse world knows it's not always great vibes.
know, I actually wasn't around horses or barns until I met Victoria and we basically started running our own boarding barn and that was my first experience. It was just right into the deep end. I went in thinking, oh, horses, this is a people people's passion. It's really fun.
It's an amazing thing. I just assumed everybody was gonna be on cloud nine and like, kind of loving life. And when I saw there was a different vibe, you know, and, and not to be harsh to people. Like, I know a lot of that's just, it's hard to be vulnerable around animals. Mm-hmm. , there's a lot of other, you know, psychological things happening, but from a leadership point of view, like you're in at the barn, , what do you think, contributes to creating such a great culture?
Cheri: Well, I, you know, I, for all of us [00:09:00] in every single day, there's medicine from just the spirit of a horse. And I think that when you pass on what you believe and then they discover it through their small steps of getting to know the horses, then they embrace it and, and everybody embraces it slightly different.
Like Matt Feaver, who I am so blessed to have as a foreman here and, has beautiful girl Kayla, Kayla's not as bonded quite yet, you know, she hasn't, but she's been doing so many things with Matt, she's becoming more bonded and I can see it. It's a very quiet bond where Matt he has a relationship with every single horse.
I mean, he talks to them, he has movements. Judy on the other hand, is our singer. So when she goes into the barn, she sings to them. She has rhyming songs with their names in it, and the whole time she's feeding, she has, oh, baby Boo and Baba Lou, you know, and she's doing all these , and it's like this, they're being happy with the horses.
And the horses respond to that. When I come in the barn, I have this, you know, voice [00:10:00] that actually carries quite largely . And so I'll come in and I'll say, all right, I'm coming down guys. And all of a sudden, at the same time, every single horse in the barn puts their head through the.
Josh: And
Cheri: there's, I go, I'm getting 'em.
I'll be right there, you know, and you go grab a couple of cookies and go all the way down the line and give 'em kisses on their noses. And everyone acts a little different, they're, you know, I just think that people mimic each other when they're around those who are loving. And Victoria, you're a big, influence here.
And so are you, Josh, that people see other people, thriving with their personal relationships with horses, and then they get that they adopted themselves and somehow or another make it grow. You know, I don't, I don't know that they do everything that you and I might do, but Right. Their efforts, their personal efforts are always genuine, you know, because they see it happening around them.
It's adorable. seeing Louise Shirley, who rides, rides, a lot of my horses, who giggles and her interpretation of when a horse wants to do something different than what she's asking, she says, no, they're, that's just their [00:11:00] way of asking. Can I do it this way? Hmm. And, and I love that when she said that, I said, oh, that's a really good interpretation, because it's as you can ask a horse to do this and this, but as you're doing this and this, and then they do something quite a little slightly different or whatever it might be, cuz it's always usually pretty small.
she gets a tickle out of it. She actually giggles and she goes, no, I know you might wanna do it that way, but could you try it my way? And she says it out loud. I mean, she literally rides with that beautiful intention and her calmness and her love for the horse and the time she spends and then gets on.
It's just, yeah, it's beautiful to watch her. She really is. and it's verbal too. So she's actually out loud speaking with the horse, which is so beautiful and giggle and giggles cuz it's fun for her. She gets a kick out of their questions. .
Josh: I love that. we talk about the, the field around the horse, you know, like you could talk about that in terms of heart coherence or there's some science around that.
we like to call it the horse field. [00:12:00] Yeah, well I like that. And, and I know you know this, but horses, when they're in a herd that, that bubble, they, they all start combining and then there creates like a large I guess you would call that, A herd field. Mm-hmm. , yeah. Mm-hmm. And I kind of feel that at your place and I think the humans obviously are contributing to that. It's like there's a vibe that permeates the whole place. Yeah. So, yeah. I love hearing your thoughts about that, cuz that's, that's a part, it doesn't just happen automatically.
It has to be intentional. .
Cheri: I have to tell you, something really beautiful happened the other day. Mr. Lad came out with his daughter Kelsey to ride Butters Louise and I were trying to catch up on some, you know, mucking and stuff. So we were just over where Buck and Cowboy were. she's much more healthier than I am.
So I had muck for a little bit than I'll see it then, you know? Anyway, I see this handsome gentleman standing over there and I said, Hey, who are you with? And he goes, oh, I'm here with Butters and Kelsey. And I said, oh, and, uh, so I said, come on over, you know? So he came over and he was just over the fence chatting, and he admitted that he has a lot of fear.
he gets nervous and he, he worries about his daughter, but he also credits, the time that [00:13:00] he's had his daughter in your classes, Victoria, that he is seeing the development of a young woman. He says that the years that she's been with Victoria, she's this amazing young person that is turning into such a great equestrian, but the.
The tools to be an equestrian and a young woman and so on are all sort of coming out of this really beautiful blossom. Mm-hmm. . And so he's staying there and I said, is there something specific that you're in fear of? And he says, well, just, I don't, I don't know. And I said, so you see this horse right here?
His name is Cowboy. he's my BS barometer. He basically, they do have a middle finger, they just don't show it all the time, but they do show it I said, come on in here and don't come in here because you're gonna go to Cowboy. Come in here cuz you and I are chatting, you know, just come on in, come on over here.
Don't even look at him. We'll just pretend he is over there. And he came in, he goes, oh, okay. And he comes in not apprehensive over anything, just, you know, he was feeling good. Comes in, he's sitting there chatting with me, cowboy boy. Immediate. He comes around from behind him and he's sniffing his coat and [00:14:00] nudging his arm.
And, and I said, no, don't, don't pet him or anything. Just wait. And so he goes, okay. And so pretty soon cowboys at his hand and he's, and he's doing sweet little nudges on his hand with his nose. And I said, now, go ahead. And so soon as he went ahead and he was gonna pet him, um, cowboy turned his head and I said, I always tell him, oh, I like that side of your face anyway.
And then he, oh, I like that side of your face. And he literally, cowboy was in his front pocket and he never had had that feeling. And they said, no, this is Cowboy checking you out. And you're letting him, and he is saying, you're a pretty good guy because you haven't, something going on with your energy right now that makes you feel safe and calm.
And I said, and, and he's receiving you. I said, sometimes it's nothing. it's the simplest thing that, but he had such a great experience walking in there. He asked in the spring, do you think you, there you have a horseshoe that I could ride so I can go on a trail ride with my daughter? And I said, well, the timing's [00:15:00] gonna be perfect because uh, I wouldn't put you on probably anybody else but my Jake.
I said, and Jake, a good western saddle for you. And very comfortable. And I said, and because Butters and Jake are hanging out together, they're kind of buddies. I said, so it might just be a perfect, uh, match. I said, you just have to make some arrangements with, lessons with Victoria . And he said, okay. He goes, yeah.
Victoria: That's a great story. Yeah. What a great story. Yeah. That's awesome. He, he's the next time I saw his. I said, oh, I got to meet your husband. I'd never met him before. And she says, oh my God.
Cheri: He came home telling us I was in the corral and I was petting cat, cowboy, and Cowboy liked me, . It was really just a good experience for him. Mm-hmm. . That's really cool, Sheri. Yeah. Yeah. I love that.
Early Adventures and Influences
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Josh: I got so many more questions for you about your work with the nonprofits and equine therapy type interactions but first let's hit the rewind. I'm curious, like a young Cherie, like what first drew you to horses in the first place? where did this even start?
Cheri: I, I love this story and I'll, I'll make it brief, [00:16:00] but Rhonda Johnson, um, I was young and I was eight. She was nine, I think, or I, we, she was a year older than me.
I can't remember exactly. And she was a Native American. Anglo she was so unique and beautiful and she was a huge equestrian. She did barrels on her champion Quarter horse Kokomo.
and that was the first time I had really been introduced to going to somebody's ranch or farm where they had cattle there too. And she like, she just taught me everything about being brave because I had never really, hadn't really ridden or anything before. But she'd say, oh, and she just sees so nonchalant about it.
She goes, I'm gonna put you on so-and-so. He'll just keep up with me. Okay, we're bare back . She, whoa. She says, just hold onto the main. That's when I learned how the main was so important. And, and she says, pretend you have stirs there. And I go, well, I don't even know a stir, I didn't know anything about stirs
She says, okay, keep your toes up and your calves on. And I go, okay. So I did. and we're just walking. And then [00:17:00] of course, then she goes into a trot and I'm sitting there, oh, shoot, okay. Oh, and the next thing I'm doing we're loing and I'm my worse holding on. And she, she's ahead of me just a little bit. And she turns around, she goes, isn't it fun?
Scared me to death, death. But, but after the first time, her just watching how she managed, to be with her horse, how she practiced and what she taught me she opened my, up, my brave door, you know, she gave me trust and, and she said, and horses will love you back when you love them, you know, and I, and she would, she was the first person that I ever heard, have conversation with her horse.
I mean, real conversation. So I thought it was just normal. I thought that was the, the right way to do it. So, Yeah, she, she opened the door. I tried to find her after she moved back to Texas. I still have never found her, but she's a big Wow. Big wow.
Victoria: What an introduction.
Cheri: Yeah,
Josh: she was awesome. She was the best.
Victoria: Very cool.
Josh: It's a [00:18:00] phenomenal introduction. That's so unique. That's really different. Yes. You know, it's a very authentic and raw.
Cheri: And how old are you? I was eight or nine cuz she was one year old. And you know how you, how one year older when you're that young is a big deal. Yeah. It's a big deal.
Yeah. So I looked up to her because she was just a year older, and she had so much coolness with her horses and Yeah, she was amazing. Yeah. Wow. So that's where I took my first bite of life when it came to horses. it followed, like you said in the introduction, that my dad, especially when we were young, he would get some notifications in the mail.
you're gonna be on the show eight o'clock on Tuesday or whatever, you know, the, the studio would always send those things out. So we would always, of course, invite our neighborhood friends. We'd all be laying on the floor in the living room watching at the time, I think it was mostly black and white. but it was so much fun cuz eventually I was the closest to my father.
I was like his son when I was a younger girl. And he would take me to the studios. And the studios. In those days, they have it very different now, but the studios used to run your contract and in there with, when you're doing westerns [00:19:00] like Bonanza and all that stuff, they're, there's literally a corral of horses and they're being trained by trainers.
And when I went there, I was so shocked. You know, I learned that my dad did all his own stunts. Wow. And these are, these are all the da all those actors did Even Dan Blocker, you know, big Haws. I mean, when they had to, when they had like be an attack or whatever the heck by a shootout
They'd have to lay the horse down they'd do this all the time. And, but they did it because the horse was trained the cowboys were trained properly how to, how to get a horse. And they sometimes they'd be running, you know, they'd be in elope and then they'd have to signal this horse to fall and, you know, the, the human goes flying off.
Okay, . I was like, no kidding. Daddy goes, I've never gotten hurt. Just a few bruises, , you know, but I mean, I was so inspired by watching that and then seeing how the handlers handled the animals now. They were really specifically well trained and cared for. not as good then as it is today because of all the protections of animals.
But it seemed safe and [00:20:00] good to me as a young person seeing all that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. . Yeah, it was, it was amazing. So seeing my dad as an actor, and I just thought I was gonna be his cowgirl. daughter , and I just looked up to him so much. He was, he was an awesome guy. Huh.
Josh: Wow, that's beautiful. Cherri, what a unique lens you had formed.
those two experiences really say a lot.
Cheri: the lens that I got lost in was that I was such an adventurer that I wanted to, um, I didn't wanna do anything my parents wanted me to do, and I had great parents. so I started an adventure of running away with a couple of my friends, because they had bad situations.
My situation wasn't bad, theirs was, and I would go with them. But eventually I ended up meeting, and becoming part of a, a group of people with, with bikers. these bikers were, they became like family, you know, they, you know, they'd never, they never hurt me. They treated me like a little sister. I was like, you know, 14, 13, 14, 15.
but what I discovered is the same thing you discover about horses. [00:21:00] You know, here's these big men, burly beards and, you know, strong, and they were carpenters and, you know, construction guys and whatever when they worked. But they were, they were really these hard difficult on the exterior to see them.
But I knew them from the inside because they, they literally made me their baby sister and shared with me things that they didn't share with other girls or other, you know, gals they were hanging out with. I saw the, the vulnerabilities and the sensitivities and all of those things. And I think that when I discovered that just about these big guys and these, and these amazing packages on the exterior, that that's the same when you meet a horse.
You know, they're just these big, massive animals full of muscle and grace and, get close to them, and you start to feel their personality. And I know that from knowing these men that I did, and then knowing my horse, my love for horses, it all kind of came together.
And that's how I've, you know, really sought out how and why horses help [00:22:00] humans in so many ways. And like, you know, Victoria, it can be a small thing or it can be a big thing. but no matter what you're gonna benefit from being with a horse because you're gonna discover your own inside too.
you find where you might be vulnerable. Mm-hmm. , cuz you haven't had enough experience or you haven't been received with a lot of positiveness or some, something might be missing. And you can gain that by just being quiet, being with horses. I, I tell people, just being with a horse, that's all you have to do.
It's, it's not about, , everybody wants to ride, which is nice. There's so much to do before that and to just be able to hang around and stand there while they're investigating you and having conversations that you're trying to figure out what they're saying. that all just is just like the way I've figured out those men.
and some of them since long time passed away, they were in their thirties and forties, some of them. and I was in my teens. I mean, that's where I learned how to see through people as far as those need that are vulnerable inside, kind inside. Mm-hmm. . But they don't [00:23:00] show it on the exterior, you know?
But it's all there. Wow. It's all there. Yeah.
Victoria: So good.
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Victoria: Your next phase, fast forward maybe to Ghost Rock Ranch, maybe the first Ghost Rock Ranch
Cheri: the first one was, was seriously a dream that was so big that it was, it was so big.
I've [00:24:00] never known how to be anything other than dreaming. Big shooting. Yes. I love that. Scares, scares a lot of people. Yeah. Even here, you know, Judy thinks things just before we even got that garden going out there. She says, what are you thinking? Once it's done and once we start doing it, and then she goes, oh my God.
It always sounds so hard, but Cherri makes it happen. Mm-hmm. , my husband of 30 years who I adored. He was an amazing man. I have nothing negative to say about him. he, he struggled with the chemical dependency, and so as he was doing better, you know, making life, he ended up quitting his career, which I think was almost like cutting off both his legs.
You know, it was something that he loved so much. And then all of a sudden it was just the ranch. And he and I built a beautiful, one barn with an apartment above it, and then another huge barn. We had plans to build the lodge and these cabins that we'd started, and more arenas and so on. And again, it was, it was big, big, big.
and eventually I lost him because it was too big for. [00:25:00] so it made me put the brakes on for myself, but I didn't stop. I just went slower, you know? And that's when I started to rescue horses. cause I knew I would want that, I wanted to start somewhere where I was doing something for the community or taking on the animals Gala, my very first child, um, neighbor down the road who I didn't like him so much, but his wife was super cool and he had two beautiful young boys.
he didn't like that his brood mayor had dropped a white Arab. and I remember him saying that, and I, it didn't make a lot of sense to me, so I wasn't really, I couldn't deal with it in my head. Why would you like, not like a white horse? I don't get it. when she was about two and a half, almost three, he says, sre, if you come get this horse, he's yours.
All her papers and everything, she's a Peruvian, Arab. he says, because otherwise I'm gonna put her in the ground.
Victoria: Hmm.
Cheri: I'm like, oh my God.
Victoria: Wow.
Cheri: I my caretaker bring me down to his place. she had never had a halter on. Hmm. So I'm hearing, I'm putting a halter on this three year old and I had to walk her because she'd never been trailered.
So I'm walking [00:26:00] her up, the railroad tra scared to death that the train's gonna come. I kept, kept looking forward going, if a train comes, I can go to that tree and tire, you know, I mean, it's like doing all kinds of things. Anyway, I got her back to the ranch and of course she cried cuz she was taken away from her mother and her herd.
She cried, cried, cried. So I had to immediately rescue some more. So I looked for somebody trying to move horses and found this lady named, uh, Mrs. Uh, what's it called? What's that famous street in Hollywood anyway? Uh, Mahoen. Mm-hmm. . This is Mahoen. And, uh, she was so sad to let go of her horses, but they'd been out in a field for months and months.
Never tended to, never thrown hay. They were eating tanzi weed. It was, it was horrible. she had already sold them to some guy that was gonna take him to the butcher. and I said, well, I wanna get to your house faster than he is, and I'm gonna load up those horses and I'm gonna give you a hundred dollars more for each horse.
And she goes, okay. I said, so if you hear from him, cut 'em off. they're not his. So I went and got 'em. That's where I got early. He's still here, 31, 32 years old. Wow. [00:27:00] Wow. And honey who have a beautiful painting of her on my refrigerator, who is a beautiful white leopard appalooza.
And, uh, she was the queen. but yeah, those two horses came and then all of a sudden Gayla could settle down cuz she had a gilding and a ma there. And, and then it grew from there. I mean, it was like people knew I would take in horses, but I tried, I eventually had to keep a cap on it. So I always called them my dirty dozens , I always had like 13, 12, 13. and sometimes I'd take an animal that, you know, wasn't gonna have much of a long life, but to be able to give them health, you know, give 'em what they needed to be feeling good and let them die when they tell you it's time to die, I've had many, many experiences, which I know you have too, Victoria.
but all those, all those experiences for me were not sadness. They were more, joy that I was able to give them. What they're gonna remember last. Hmm,
Josh: I know community is a big part of, big part of you drives you, it seems.
What was your original idea at your first barn? Cuz [00:28:00] it was before you started rescuing horses, but you said there was a lodge in cabins. Like what, what was your initial big vision? .
Cheri: Well, we, I thought I'd always rescue horses, but I, we were gonna make what you call, um, kind of a glamping mm-hmm. , you know, where people come and they're not necessarily doing the whole how outdoor thing.
They have a little cabin there with some heat in it. But you come outside, it's, there's your toilet's down at the barn and your fire pits in front. And somebody, my, the big house that I built was just the most amazing chef's kitchen. but we had to get it approved through Klamath County so that we could make food for people that were coming.
And we had a lot of people coming through even before everything was finished. the three cabins that were together were from the rushi. Remember that? Um, oh yeah. The little A frames. Yeah, the A frame. So I, I got three of the A frames from a friend of mine. He brought 'em out and we just finished 'em and made 'em nice.
I built two other cabins as well, I put five wells on that property. Oh, wow. And it was all probably about six septic tanks so that every, it would be spread between [00:29:00] the, cause the water levels, uh, pretty high out there. So you wanna have, you wanna be able to protect the groundwater and stuff.
but then, then the big arena went in there and we did all of the Lapine rodeo and the game days. Oh wow. And it was amazing. It was a 210 length by one 10 width, all metal spann. Oh. And so then I built on a, an entire wood construction of 16 stalls.
two bathrooms, an office, two showers for the horses. . It was just a really beautiful operation. it was, it was a dream, but when I lost it, they had the most amazing support. Mike Shields, who's still in Lap Pine's, been there forever. he came with a cooler and we sat on the outside looking at everything as we were packing up my last load, and, uh, had couple of cocktails and said, this has been a great place,
And I pulled away and I just, it wasn't like a sadness. It was almost like, you know, to be honest, I don't know if I could have made it happen, [00:30:00] cuz it might have been too big, you know, I might have made it too big. So finding my little humble area. , I humbled myself just trying to slow down and make things right, you know, for myself financially and, you know, for my horses.
And then coming here, it was, you know, my dad says it's not luck when you find someplace or you find a job or you find, you have to know how to capitalize. Mm-hmm. , if you can't capitalize on an opportunity, then luck has nothing to do with it. You know, it's, it's, to be able to do what I did to be here definitely was a giant leap.
But there was always support, always people there to catch it in. In talking about community, it's a, we all call it a village. . When Louise came back after a year in Joseph and she was here, she said, oh my gosh, re there's no community like there is a ghost Rock Ranch. She goes, it's like a family and extended family.
And she says, it's, it's like you go there and everybody that comes [00:31:00] into the barn is, is family. They're friends. And she said they didn't have it there.
The Power of Community
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Cheri: She was writing and stuff, but she, she said it was just not, there wasn't the same friendliness, there wasn't the same amount of joy, there wasn't a compassion for the animal.
She said it was super hard. She, she couldn't get back to Ben fast enough for them, mom or she and Brian to be here because she said she gets this community. Barb says the same thing and so does Rebecca. Yeah. Mm-hmm. , they see, they just love the, the bonding here. Yeah, because. They don't have to call us to say, Hey, I'm bringing my grandkids, or I'm bringing my, she brought me's uh, family here the other day and who was, who were all the kids that were there?
And she goes, I believe it or not, it's my spa. I said, oh my goodness. She goes, yeah, the kids had such a bla they, they couldn't love on the boroughs enough. , . It's adorable.
Creating a Welcoming Environment
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Cheri: And I love that they feel free to do that, you know? Mm-hmm. , it's like they don't need to call and say, is it okay? I go, no, this is, it's an extension of yourself when you're here.
Wow.
Josh: You know?
Cheri: [00:32:00] Just go for it.
Josh: Yeah, that's a gift. like, like we were talking about with the vibe, it's basically the same thing.
Intentional Community Building
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Josh: That doesn't just happen automatically, I think it's really fascinating. we're kind of in this challenge right now of community creation and how that applies, like more in the virtual space.
Yeah. Which is completely different way of looking at things than what we're used to. So I'm really just intrigued by like the power of community and what goes into it and. How it works. We've had community before and we've done programs that, built that. But I don't know that we were really super cognizant or even super intentional about it.
It was just kind of, kind of happening cause we were doing cool stuff that people were around. I'm really just for the first time realizing how important community is. Like that's actually number one, probably.
Hey friends, Josh here, we've launched a free community for the herd is calling. It's on Substack, subscribe to join thoughtful [00:33:00] discussions and access exclusive content. It's as easy to use as social media, but so much better because social media, am I right? In the words of John Lennon, A dream you dream alone is only a dream, but a dream you dream together is reality.
Like the wisdom of the herd, we are stronger together. Click the link nearby to subscribe and get in on the conversation. Now back to the pod.
Neighborly Support and Collaboration
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Cheri: I think it's an honor when my neighbor, Daniel Bacca called to say, Hey, Sree, cuz we, we've all been sort of texting and talking about this landfill situation.
And he writes me, well, Judy and I are out trying to save two horses the day before Y. We're gonna try again on Sunday. Um, but he said he's calling and I know it's important cause it's during his workday. So Sri, we're gonna get 30 to 40 people together and is it okay if we come to your barn? And I said, absolutely.
I mean, I, that it's like, I would never say no, first [00:34:00] of all. And to me that's like we're talking about neighbors, some that I do know and some that I don't know that are all gonna be able to come into Ghost Rock Ranch and get that feeling that, you know, you're gonna, that you feel when you're here, they're going to, they're gonna be relaxed and they're gonna be able to be there to talk about something that's important to them about our community and what's going on.
And I, I find that an honor that they are making it my place to have a meeting. I think that's awesome.
Josh: Yeah. Yeah. A lot. Yeah. Yeah.
Effort and Intention in Building Community
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Josh: Something I'm learning from you and just through what you're saying and what you model is just The effort, the intention and the effort. And like you said, what your dad said about things not just being lucky, you know, and I think, was it Oprah that said, luck is when opportunity and preparation meet mm-hmm.
you know, emphasis on that preparation part. So there's actually a lot of work goes into creating amazing situations, uh, similar to community. It didn't just like pop out of thin air. There was a lot of, you put effort [00:35:00] into it and it's, it's evident for anybody that's around you. So I, I think that's a really powerful lesson I
Cheri: asked.
Yeah. I asked Barb, Cass, to hear me out. I needed bounce off somebody to help me make, I wanted to behave properly the right way. I didn't wanna overreact and so on. And so I was chatting with her and of course, she's such a great, she's so great.
Curiosity and Collaboration
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Cheri: she never just, she sits there as a friend and instead of somebody who's wise beyond, and she said, she says, curiosity.
and collaboration. Wow. And I, and I looked, she goes, yep, that's what we call the two Cs. And I said, oh, yeah, I love it. I said, oh my gosh. I said, and it changed my whole interpretation of the issue that I was dealing with, because when I approached it, I approached it with curiosity, not defensiveness just pure curiosity and then collaboration for a solve find a, a way to f not fix, but mend a little [00:36:00] of whatever was happening there.
I learned just those two words from her the other day. And they're like my new powerful words.
Josh: Yeah, we've learned a lot from Barb too. , she's, she's very wise, but that, that's wonderful. we really explore the topic of curiosity a lot with horses. Like that's part of their language.
It's part of how we, you know, when you become curious, you're able to connect more with them and
Cheri: curiosity
Josh: is very powerful.
Cheri: And with humans as well, and, and know. I didn't, I didn't put that as in a formula in my brain until she suggested it and I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm just so much more empowered. Right.
Lessons from Horses
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Cheri: Because I try to be, you know, the things that I learned from the horses and how they've changed me and made me who I am today is I, I learned to be quiet, first of all. It's the hardest thing for me cuz I'm a babbler, but my dad used to always, hey, when you're being, when you're being confronted or something's happening to you, or you've gotta do a speech in front of a bunch of people, whatever he says, don't forget to breathe.
And how many times do you remind us of that Victoria to breathe when [00:37:00] we're on our horses? But he wants you to take the time to breathe. He says three breaths specifically. He says, you're golden if you can do three and take a full deep breath and exhale full deep. You know, don't overreact it. Just do it like it would be natural.
If you can get only, get two in, that's good. Two, one is better than none. And sometimes when you're out, when you're challenged, when I go out to the horses, I can be totally quiet. I don't even have to talk to 'em. I. I, I can't get enough of their body, so I inhale their bodies and inhale their, their noses and, and love 'em.
And I mean, I can't get enough of just the touching and feeling and smelling of them. But when you're doing that, they're like doing the same to you. I love it when I'm preening on the back of somebody and then they start preening the other horse and then they start preening my hair . I love that. But it's like, it's being quiet.
They just, they help me to be quiet. Hmm. And not really think it's really just trying to be in the moment, which is not easy for us as [00:38:00] humans, you know, it's, it's a hard thing to practice, but if you can just do it a little bit every day, it's so healthy.
Josh: Hmm.
Cheri: Hmm.
Victoria: That non-verbal communication piece from horses I the more I learn the longer I do this, the more nuance that gets.
so when I hear you talking about, the ability to be quiet and still feel seen and heard Yeah. And cared for and safe and loved. That's, I mean, that's one of, that's one of the greatest gifts I think that horses offer us. I just love that.
Stories of Healing and Connection
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Cheri: now, do you mind if I tell you that story, uh, you asked one, one question an experience that you had with somebody with horses?
Yes. And, uh, Jeremy, uh, who's one of my military, he's struggled. He has struggled a long time, but now he's doing extremely well. I'm so proud for him. but he come to the ranch with need of a home and a place to stay probably four or five times. and every time I let him stay with a threat that he couldn't stay long.
[00:39:00] But of course he did . Um, but he considers our horses like his family. when he's gone and he comes back, he'll come with somebody, a girlfriend, a buddy. And he just shows up cuz he knows he can. He says, I'm just going to go take him out and introduce him to the family. I said, okay. So he goes out and he goes and sees all the horses and it's just like a big shot in the arm of happiness and joy.
Josh: Mm-hmm. .
Cheri: And he's greeted. He goes, I can't believe Cowboy. Let me hug him. You know, I mean, he'll, he'll just be so proud for his actions showing off in front of whoever it's Yes. . He suggested to this young woman, Chelsea, who was really a troubled person. Hey, listen, you're gonna love it. Go out to where the Gildings are and just stand on that little rock pile there and just stay there.
It's so awesome. He goes, they're, they're gonna, you're gonna see them coming over to, you know, he had all this idea for her and planted this. So she, unbeknownst to any of us, she bravely goes. Opens and closes. The gate gets out there and she had discovered standing there she goes, yeah, the horses kinda like weren't even paying attention to me.
I was standing there and I was like, [00:40:00] ah, I thought they were gonna come over to me. And she looked up and Buck was in front of the gate and she panicked because she goes, oh my God, I don't know how to ask 'em to move so I can get out. And she really panicked and she went back to the place where she was standing and she started crying hysterically and then praying.
And she was going, I was just praying please, God will help me out here, you know, and, but she was crying a bit, very heavily emotionally. And she said it was within a second or two, but early cowboy buck, they all came around her and put their head on her. Got in, you know, were really nudging her, trying to, to capture her.
And she said she looked up and she said, . She was so, she was, oh, and she's touching 'em. And she said, it was like a light came on. She said it was like an angel just like threw down this light. And I was like, I was like, I felt so good. And then the horses were right there and they were letting me love them.
And, and she goes, then I saw the gate and I had to [00:41:00] go . She was afraid. She was still afraid that he was, somebody was gonna get in front of the gate , but she came back in such a rush, wanting to tell that story. Mm-hmm. and stayed with her for such a long time because she, whenever she'd be in a, not so a, a dark place, I'd say to her, I said, close your eyes and think of that day when you were sitting out there with the horses.
And she goes, oh gosh, ri thank you. And so, yeah, I think it, that's why I think it's always so surprising to people, the, the surprised, uh, reaction of horses when. , they as a heard are coming to you to, cuz what's going on? There's, you know, they can't fix it necessarily, but they can get in there and, and, uh, like protect them almost.
Like come in and, and say we're here, you know? It was just so beautiful. I, I just love it. Yeah. It was one of my favorites.
Victoria: It's, it's just so interesting whenever I hear stories like that and that's, [00:42:00] that's what you hear is, The moment the human is, allows themselves to be vulnerable.
Cheri: Mm-hmm. ,
Victoria: you know, allows that, that crack to be seen or, or that that dark shadowy place to be illuminated.
The horses just pH That's, that's what horses wanna see. And that's, I think the, the powerful nature of equine therapy mm-hmm. is that it, it really, shows humans how to be vulnerable and shows humans how beautiful and courageous it is to be. Vulnerable.
Cheri: Yes, very much so. Yeah.
Victoria: Yeah,
Cheri: yeah. And
Victoria: so you're nonprofit helping hooves it's an equine therapy now.
Expanding Community Outreach
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Victoria: I know you guys do lots of different things.
Cheri: it's interesting. I, I've tried really hard with military and I was successful with bringing on people. It's, it's really hard. It's a HIPAA thing and all kinds of stuff that you have to be super careful with. But the vet center is [00:43:00] free to say to any of their veterans there that are seeking help or want a job or whatever.
So I, I really adopted a lot of military that way. That was the primary goal. Even at the mid my, uh, alfalfa Ranch, which I was there for five years, that's where I took on the most. But then I, um, I would say it was all military until I came here and there was so much work to do to the ranch. I'd almost taken like a year off of doing that.
But I had employees that were either military or whatever, mostly military. Um, but long and short, I met a beautiful woman, uh, Wendy Rudy, who was working at St. Charles, and she introduced me to cancer survivors. And, uh, the denial that they're still living. They may be past the worst of their situation, but it, it affected them personally, their partners, their children, their jobs.
And they may like, like I said, be recovering from all of that and getting back to their jobs and [00:44:00] everything's kind of coming back to what you'd call normal. but they hadn't ever really dealt with the damn, and I'm pissed off that this has happened to me, you know, about, uh, having a cancer, uh, so something nobody can control, you know?
And when I took those beautiful women and their friends, it was, some were married, some had sisters, there was different people that came. There was about eight beautiful ladies. They, um, they. I, I had already taken a lot about iga, you know, and the, the theory behind having a psychotherapist and an equine specialist and the horse.
but it was usually too heavy because it's too much talking and too much. the psychotherapist keeps wanting to open up doors and if you just let it go, the horse will open those doors.
Therapeutic Benefits of Horses
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Cheri: You know, just be by being quiet. The most fun I had with these ladies, cuz it was something I made a joke for every time we did it every Saturday for like eight se eight weeks in a row, I'd say, what's a horse's favorite thing to do?
And they'd go, oh, and they'd [00:45:00] name, all of 'em, would be excited to name things and so on, but I'd say, no, the most, the most favorite thing they love doing. And they'd say, tell us, Cherie, you know, because they're just all waiting for me to say it. I said, well, they actually like doing nothing. Can you imagine?
Can you imagine you doing nothing? If you spend enough time with these horses learning how to do nothing, you'll find some quiet time just hugging a horse and closing your eyes and listening, breathing in their beautiful skin their heart rate's slower than ours. So it will slow your heart rate down by just breathing and hugging.
And don't think about, oh, I gotta go to the market after I get done here. Oh gee, I gotta pick up Sally. Or you know, you have to just empty your mind and just learn to live in the moment, even if it's for 30 seconds. Just close your everything and just take in the horse. And when they do that, the horses yawn.
They get all happy and relaxed. They're like, it's so adorable. So that's when the door opened for me to [00:46:00] seek out other community opportunities. And that's when drug and alcohol rehab. Started to open my door because just like military, they all fall into the, a form of trauma. Mm-hmm. some kind or another what I discovered was I really like to require that most, that I invite to the ranch have at least a year of sobriety under their belt and that they're doing their program. I broke the rules a couple of times with some good people that are, that I really, I'm glad I did for them. They needed it.
Mm-hmm. . Matt Matt's four years clean and sober over that now, and he came here with a year under his belt. he's a great example. But the other doors that have opened and it's part of the nonprofit is I had somebody knock on my door.
Future Plans and Vision
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Cheri: Her name is Ray and she is the owner of Ben, forest School.
I, we love your ranch and we saw it online. It's beautiful. do you think you might be interested in letting us have a preschool here, just a little camp? I'm like, of course. And she says, okay, let's go look. And they, they picked a spot that's beautiful when you walk, ride or walk out there.
The next year we had [00:47:00] preschool and then first and second graders. And then this year we have preschool, kindergarten, first through fourth grade. Whoa. Two yts. It's amazing. It is the, it is the, I am so privileged and so happy to have them on the ranch because one, just to hear the little people giggling and whatever during the day is just, just so nice just the sound of children they are super sweet.
they keep so much care to the property and they, it, it's, just so beautiful when you drive around where their little camps are. But that was a surprise. And then from there, we've opened up the door to different places, like A R C C, which was the nonprofit that brings, young people from usually reservations from different, states, and then brings them here and does different stuff with them.
that was a really eye-opener, beautiful opportunity. And then this newest one that's just come in, in the last week with the, uh, bend, park and rec for the therapeutic. And these, these are people that are, uh, anywhere from, I think she said 19 to 40. So they're not little people. They're, you know, young adults or adults and, yeah.
these are the kind of things I keep opening the doors [00:48:00] for. and I, and I don't charge anything I say to people, just like with the school. . I don't want people to feel like they have to pay, you know, if that's, if they need, if they need time.
Like this one woman just called recently to her 10 year old is struggling. she didn't go into a lot of detail on her voicemail, but she said, I need to do something to help open up my daughter's experiences. And, and I saw that, you know, you let people come see horses. And I said, absolutely. And so I've told her, you know, I need to have a guardian here.
I need to make sure there's somebody here. I said, but, once we get to know you and your daughter, you can say, oh no, I'm gonna go see this, these horses, and she can go out there and brush 'em and, and take them some carrots or whatever the heck, you know, you can figure out when little thing at a time or go sit with the boroughs.
They're very medicis, they're awesome the way they sit and love on you. but, uh, opening the door to these, to more opportunities that all I say is when you can, when it's realistic for you, just donate it to helping hooves. Because right now the, you know, when you're a nonprofit, you have to have something tangible.
And so the school is super [00:49:00] tangible because they're right here and they're getting all this improvements. And the garden out there is also part of helping hubs so that it's for the kids and other people because, you know, meet me in the dirt. You know, I mean, there's places where you can go, where you, psychologists and different people that are helping us mentally with our counseling.
Playing in the dirt is like the most therapeutic compared to being with horses. And it's, it's a way to just, there's so many good things. So those are ideas that I keep trying to, you know, create. And then I put that out there and I, I'm trying to, that's why the website needs a little more work, so I can be a little.
definitive, but I also don't wanna be too definitive because I don't want it to be so structured. I'd like it to be open. for years my associates in, California, being in the film industry, they've cherri will come up with a, a crew and come film, do what you do. And I said, that's so nice of you and I, I appreciate the offer.
I said, but the truth is those who are there who have gained, opportunity from the ranch, I said, it's, it's personal, [00:50:00] it's private, you know, it's not, we don't go out there and advertise that. We specialize in helping people, you know, it's people helping themselves. It's not me helping them, it's them helping themselves, taking a step forward to doing something for their own personal wellness.
And sometimes it's as simple as hanging out with a. Working in the garden, taking a walk around the property. Eventually I tell people, do you know how, what a high it is to just walk a horse on a lead line?
Josh: Mm-hmm. ,
Cheri: like you say, and Bobby Elliot, it's my first one to ta teach me this. She said, the minute you pick up a halter, you're a herd of, you're going to become a herd of two.
Hmm. And she, you know, work begins when you pick up that halter, the horse recognizes you're putting that on. Now you're the lead and you need to empty out all this stuff so that you can walk with that horse and help the horse with their own confidence and with their own bravery to walk in paths with trees and leaves and dogs and people and sounds that might make them nervous.
They're gonna count on you. So these little [00:51:00] things that you can, the smallest things you can try and give people to formulate their own health, their own wellness. give them the license, they'll take it and they should run with it.
Victoria: Wow. That's, so, that's really good. That's really good.
Cheri: and I, I use all your quotes all the time, Victoria, so
Victoria: you, you're very kind. but y yeah, I mean, it's the horses, it's the environment, it's the being in nature, it's the, it's just all that, all those lessons are just right there for the taking. I have heard many lessons you're talking about, but if you could just distill it down to a couple, what have horses taught you about yourself?
Just a couple things.
Cheri: Well, the, the one I said before is that they've helped me to be quiet.
Victoria: Mm-hmm.
Cheri: quiet with them, which it's hard for me to be totally quiet. So I take a little of my dad with the breathing and then I go out there to just, [00:52:00] you know, watch their eyes blink and their ears move. And when I move, you know, I just, I really just absorb myself in looking at their bodies and loving them and letting them do what they wanna do.
But the other is, like Rhonda Johnson taught me to be brave. , she taught me bravery. I think that when I'm with, when I'm on any of my horses, I'm not afraid of my horses at all.
You know? And I'm not afraid to get on any of 'em. There's a few that I don't wanna ride anymore. They're just getting to a place where they just need to be retired. Hard to say, but it is true. so I haven't been riding my Eddie as much, which I miss him. but they, because of their wounds from previous lives, like Eddie, for one, he makes me slow down.
He makes me pay attention to him and what he's saying to me. I didn't discover until one of those times, Victoria. We were, he was doing so good. Remember, that's when I discovered my leg wasn't right. So I turned one way or the other. But he kept getting nervous inside the barn, and he just didn't stay [00:53:00] still.
And I figured out, I don't know why it took me so dag long, but it, I, I stopped taking him in the outdoor and the indoor arena and he's like, cool cucumber. But he gets himself in a knot thinking performance, which he was forced to do for the majority of his life. so I think he just still too many horses, too many people.
Everything is just like, he gets himself into a, a little tizzy inside. so Ed, he's the one and I sing to him when I ride. I know it sounds silly, but it's Pop Goes the Weasel. Cause I couldn't think of anything else at the time. , but I don't say pop, I say boo. No, stink though, because, cause I can see his ears listening to me the whole time and he stays calm, you know, the whole time we're out on a trail.
He can go out by himself. He's so brave to go by himself. cause before he couldn't, he couldn't do that at all before. Took a year to put a a hundred and some odd rides on him just to get him to. Except that it's okay and that he felt brave, and confident enough, and mean that I wouldn't take [00:54:00] him any place that wasn't good for him.
Right. Um, and now he trusts me totally. So it doesn't matter where we go. But not in a arena , he just right. It's a bad memory for him. So,
Victoria: but that's, that's, you were curious about that. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's the curiosity thing and you know, instead of Yeah. Forcing it or taking it personal, you were curious about, and then that's the collaboration piece.
Mm-hmm. , it's like, then you asked him what does he need? And then you guys, you know, there's a great Tom Dorrance quote, that's first we go with the horse, then the horse goes with us, then we go together and I pull that out all the time. Cuz I hear that in so many people's stories of like, oh, I figured this out with my horse.
And it was that sequence.
Cheri: Yeah. Same thing with, he had a abscess that I didn't know about and I, I had actually done all his hooves and everything and I couldn't figure out why he didn't want me to mount him in the arena. I was thinking, is he just not, I couldn't figure it out, but like you said, you know, you have to really pay attention. And I [00:55:00] finally took his saddle off and I walked him back to where he was. And, um, he, he was not, he wasn't limping. There was no sign right.
But he was telling me something that I couldn't. Communications are so gray sometimes you're, you can either interpret it in your own way or you're making up something and it's not there. But I got him in there and the next morning went out to feed him and he had a huge, burst of a abscess on, on the hairline.
And it's just like, , but it was like, it came up, you know how painful those things are. Mm-hmm. , and, and that's what he was trying to tell me. And I, you know, and I didn't see it or anything, but it's, it's all really, it takes so much for people to pay attention to what a horse is saying and how they're saying it, and not make it human.
Mm-hmm. trying to figure out, trying to figure out what the horse communications are. and he was so polite, telling me he didn't want me to mount him. . He, he's so sweet. I, I mean, he was being, cuz he wasn't being a bad boy or weird, he was just not he, no, I don't, I can't, I don't want you to get on mom.
Mm-hmm. . . It [00:56:00] was, it was, yeah. A good lesson for me. And I tell it to people all the time that they're not paying attention. I said, look, I think I'm really darn good at this and, and dag now, but I can make mistakes too, cuz. I just wasn't hearing it. I didn't see it. And so, I still didn't punish him or make him feel bad about it.
And I took him out. And then the next morning, of course, God told me, because there it is, right there on his hairline. . But yeah, .
Victoria: yeah. I know. I love that. ghost Rock Ranch.
Final Reflections and Gratitude
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Victoria: a place for healing, a place for community, a place for children to come, a place for lavender to grow it's just a such a cool place.
Pretty
Cheri: magical place. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. And we will talk about lavender the next time.
Victoria: we just have a couple more questions, but if mm-hmm. , if you were able to just sort of let us know how people can get in touch with you, how.
And keep track of the projects that you have going. I know your website is, sounds like it's
Cheri: Work in progress.
Victoria: Work in progress, but it's, it's [00:57:00] a place to go
Cheri: yeah. Put it up on there. Okay. We got that. Ghost rock.com.
Victoria: Right.
Cheri: That's really the best place. But you know, we have Matt, Judy, and my phone number's in there.
Mm-hmm. and everybody's always open to calling them and we get calls and then they also, I didn't know how, whatever the website designer did, but they literally email me from, and it comes to my phone. so people, that's how people have been reaching out to me. People that wanna board or whatever, or these opportunities like from the park and Rec.
but the, the lavender is a biggie because we're not really selling it. I'm actually giving it away and wanting people to see what the hydrosol is. Cause we learned, we didn't even know, hydrosol didn't even know what it was until we started distilling. but we're trying to figure out how to market and how to put things together cuz it's, it's gonna be part of the Ghost Rock Ranch.
Slash the stables kind of thing because it's the only place where we can generate income. Mm-hmm. . And so I do wanna retire eventually. I'm, I'm 69 this year and I'm proud of that. I still wanna work a couple more years in the film industry, to keep going so that I can keep taking care of the things I wanna do here on the ranch.
like all the solar that I'm putting up on our buildings. And those are things that are [00:58:00] gonna be awesome. Cause it'll be a good example, you know, for the, for young people that we're putting solar, you know, to take care of, to light this place up. anyway, yeah, there's, there's just so much.
Everything's baby steps. I try to take small steps cause I've, I paid the price for PA taking two big a steps a couple of times, but you just learn to go slower, you know? Mm-hmm. , I'm not in hurry, I'm gonna live hundred and something. Nice.
Victoria: Nice. I love it.
Cheri: Yeah. Slower .
Victoria: One word to describe the kind of horse person you aspire to be.
Cheri: , I just want to be kind.
Josh: Hard to beat that. Who, who was the, philosopher that said the three things you need Oh, in life. First is kindness, second is kindness, and third is kindness.
Victoria: Mm-hmm. ,
Josh: I don't recall he said that. I think William
Victoria: James. Yeah, I think James.
Josh: Yeah. Oh, maybe so. Yeah.
Victoria: Yeah. Yeah.
Josh: Super. Yeah, that's a
Victoria: good one. Mm-hmm.
Josh: superpower. It is a
Victoria: superpower. I would say you can check that one off your box, Cherie , because we've [00:59:00] witnessed that is the horse person you are. So yeah. That's something we get to witness and be a part of every time we go to your ranch.
Cheri: it's taken me a long time to be slower and I mean, I have a, a slightly large personality and it's part of what I do for a living with, being a film producer and stuff, believe me, that it comes in handy. but also keeping everybody having fun, you know, making things light, not getting too serious.
as a younger person, my husband used to tease me all the time cause he's, he'd make me laugh at, the most silly things, but he'd stop me by making fun of me. So he'd, because I was being too serious. And so his medi medicine for me was to do something sillier off the wall, and then I'd catch myself with being too serious.
So I've learned how to. Just slow down, you know, slow down. don't be in a rush on everything. Always smile and be kind to people. most of the time you will always get that in return.
Josh: Wow.
Victoria: I love that.
Josh: That's a good slogan. .
Victoria: Yeah. .
Josh: Well, thank you for sharing so much of your wisdom today, [01:00:00] Cherie.
Victoria: Yeah. Oh,
Josh: thank you guys. This has been really,
Victoria: I think we better call it there. we'll do another one for part two. We'll do two and we'll dive deeper into some of, there's so many things to dive into. I know. But thank you for sharing a little bit of your story I learned about you today.
Yeah. I learned
Josh: a lot more, filled in some missing blanks there. Mm-hmm. . Yeah.
Victoria: And it was, it's, it's nice. And I just, again, just wanna say you're one of our heroes. We love you. We think the world of you, and thank you for sharing your story with us and allowing us to share it with our audience.
So, definitely.
Cheri: And back at you guys, cuz seriously, Victoria, you are a huge contributor to just the, the core of the community in the barn and with Josh. So you have been there so many different ways with now, especially the, the physical therapy and doing all these things. I, it's like the two of you have like bonded into this.
Powerful couple that is, you know, doing such good, so many good things. So, you know, take some credit for all the wonderful things you do and [01:01:00] how you reflect in my community of this beautiful place that, you know, you're a big part of that.
Victoria: Aw, awesome. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. It's a
Cheri: good little herd.
We're all in. Yes. It's good word, .
Victoria: Yeah.
Cheri: I love it. And I've picked up a few things, but curiousity and collaboration, those are my two big
Victoria: ones. Love it. Love it.
Cheri: Alrighty. Love, love you both.
I hope you enjoyed the show today. We'd love for you to join our free sub stack community for the herd is calling connect with us, engage in thoughtful discussions and access exclusive content. Click the link nearby to subscribe. It's so easy and totally free. We appreciate listening. And as always, may the horse be with [01:02:00] you.
