Cactus Rose

riding Palomo

On a small ranch, near the Mexican border, is where I live with my husband, horses, dogs and other assorted animals. I am a grandmother, and an absolute lover of all things Victorian and old west. I enjoy my women's equestrian clubs as well as my part time job as a barber in an old time barbershop.
I thank God each day for my country home, my family, friends and my animals. I was part of the Tournament of Roses Parade with the VRLRS in 2009, when I got the chance to ride in the beautiful cart. The one topper of a lifetime would be to ride my horse, Palomo, in the Rose Parade in 2011and portray some of the beauty of the Victorian Era again. I am really very proud to be a member of the Victorian Rose Ladies Riding Society.

My big, beautiful, part-Andalusian boy is over 17 hands. He is flea-bitten grey, but I call him white. I have to say he is the most courageous horse I have ever known. On trail he will go through, over, under or behind anything. In parades he never wavers, and even prances a bit right when the time is right. I never fear that he will take the best of care of me. He has been in countless parades, in rodeos as a cow horse, and leads trail rides. He goes along with anything and stands quiet and patient for me to tell him what to do next. He is good in a stall, tied to a trailer, out in pasture, or on a busy street. He came from a big cattle ranch near the Mexican border where he worked very hard.

(Sadly Palomo lost his fight with cancer this year and will not be with us at the Rose Parade. May he be there in spirit and live in green pastures forever)