January
2020 started with a bang when I got a sweet message from Rachel asking if I had any interest in being in front of her camera… admittedly, not a very comfortable place for me, but it was so much fun to meet her!
I also found the photo of Piper and had to include it.
February
In early February, Kelly and I hauled a few hours up the highway in search of some adventure and enjoyed the desert life (there are some words I don’t say too often) in the middle of Winter.
Kelly also found a nasty bite wound (probably courtesy of Garth) on Trisha so she had to sport a custom slinkie to keep it clean and medicated.
Aaaaand last, but definitely not least, Annie decided to have a secret teen pregnancy and she randomly popped out triplets.
March
March was heartwarming and heartbreaking; on the 14th Sandra foaled and we were instantly smitten with Ronnie Dunit. And a week later, we lost her best friend, MJ (Mama June) while she was trying to foal.
April
In April, Kelly brought home Sassy, a big beautiful paint mare to add to our broodmare band.
I had the opportunity to work from home for the entire month of April and loved every minute of it. I got to spend tons of time with Kelly and my furry family and I purchased a wide angle lens for my camera that I had a lot of fun with. So… LOTS of photos!
May
In May we really started buckling down on getting our mares bred.
We had a neat opportunity to work with Farnam and Trisha was an excellent model.
We travelled to Montana in May and got to see Dad and Heather’s new house for the first time and while we were there, we also had the chance to work with Stetson and the Cheff Guest Ranch to photograph their annual “Chase Home“.
And last but not least, at the end of May we purchased Wynonna and her filly, Reba.
June
In June we got to see a fiery redhead in action, taking charge of all the other animals and horses, including Ronnie. Reba had no fear and was certain that she was put on this earth to boss everyone else around. It was hilarious!
We had quite the experience moving cows on fresh horses… luckily everyone survived and there were no injuries. Ha!
And Piper, Lucy and I got to spend a weekend in Montana with my brother, Dad, and Heather unexpectedly came back with a horse. Ginger is a friend’s horse we are leasing for the year to get a baby out of. (Are we keeping track? This is the third mare brought home in 2020…)
July
Once again, I hit the road for Montana early in July to photograph a wedding.
Trisha got a crash course in ponying.
Kelly took my favorite photo of Ronnie and I.
We travelled over the mountains the other direction to visit my Mama, Grandparents and the rest of my family.
And we attended a beginner mounted shooting clinic and were instantly hooked on the sport!
August
August started with a horse vacation in Montana where I got to spend a lot of time on my riding and photography with Randi. I also had the opportunity to see my Aunt Rene and Uncle David who were visiting my Dad and Heather at the same time!
And at the end of August, Kelly and I took to the mountains for our first adventure of the year. It was a beautiful but very difficult ride.
September
The smoke from wildfires settled in August/September, but that doesn’t stop cows from needing to be brought home before bad weather hits. We spent a far less eventful day than when we brought them out.
Kelly made a 2 day round trip to North freaking Dakota and back to pick up our fourth new broodmare of the year, Billie.
And we took Trisha on her first off-property adventure.
October
The weather held out for us to get one last mountain trip in in October and we brought Trisha along, where she kicked butt and impressed the heck out of us.
Ronnie became a gelding (got castrated) so we had an impromptu round pen school because the little dude needed to be exercised daily to help the healing process.
Trisha was saddled for the first time, Kelly took the first photo of me with my string of riding geldings, and Steele modeled for the camera for his new stallion ad.
November
November started out by gracing us with exceptionally nice weather so we took advantage with a lot of horse time.
Reba went to her new home.
Oh, and we put an offer in on a house in Montana. AAAAHHHHHH!!!
December
December was pretty uneventful… we spent Christmas with Kelly’s family and we are headed Montana for the New Year to drop Steele off at training.
We were happily surprised with a skiff of snow on Christmas, it was a true Christmas miracle!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from all of us at Piper’s Zoo to you!
