From Struggle to Strength: South Dakota Part 2

           I arrived in South Dakota permanently with $1000 dollars and all my worldly possessions packed into a van. There wasn’t even time to get settled. With Lonny’s passing and both Norm and Pat in hospital everything and everyone’s hopes landed on my shoulders. There simply was no one else. Being armed with only the knowledge of what I learned over 3 trips I got to work. 

         The Silver Shield Ranch bred quarter horses. The girls were, Gypsy, Bunny, Shania, Hope, Christie, Stormy, JJ and two year old Palomino’s that we called the twins because they were inseparable. And the Boys were, the breeding stud Max, Shooter and Chance. But it wasn’t just horses. They also bred Pembrook Welsh Corgi’s on the Ranch and were more than 20 of them. The first night we spent at the ranch alone I was woken by the sound of all the dogs barking. But there was something mixed in with it. A howling sound. Denise and I scrambled out of bed and flew down the stairs. Behind the door was a big shotgun. I grabbed it before heading onto the porch to see what was the matter. I couldn’t tell you if it was loaded or even how to load it. I was acting on instinct. We never saw the Coyotes and things were calm almost in an instant. Denise turned to me and busted out laughing at the sight of me holding the shotgun. She said “What are going to do with that?” I said “I have no idea” and I had no idea how I was going to hold this together and neither did Denise. And almost immediately we started fighting. Denise had claimed to be a bull rider and often boasted of her experience with country life and her abilities with these animals. But it became clear early on that, for no other way to put it, the animals didn’t like her. They resisted her constantly and this left me all alone to work the ranch and uncertain about Denise. It had been two weeks since I arrived. Then one afternoon Denise was struggling to get the twins into their stall. Hearing her frustration they were frightened and didn’t want to obey. I was standing nearby when she grabbed the whip and cracked one of the twins across the face with it. A big No No. While it sounds cruel to even use a whip at all it is common to give a sting to the rump of an unruly horse. But never EVER in the face. When she got hit she bucked straight back and caught me(thank God) in the hip. It was still enough to send me flying in the hay. In a very firm way we agreed that Denise would handle the dogs and I would handle the Horses. 

      With each day that passed good news continued to trickle in about both Norm and Pat. And while he had a long way to go Norm was going to beat the odds and Pat would regain control of his legs. Once it was only me doing most of the work I set myself to one goal. I simply wanted all of the horses to be alive when Norm got home. 

       South Dakota still has many old fashioned Christian Values. One of those values is helping your fellow man. I had a lot of help. People that were essentially Norm’s competitors would come to the Ranch and offer help. One of them, Bruce, taught me the basics of driving the tractor so I could put the large round hay bales in the feeder for the horses when they were out at pasture. Denise was a Mormon and there were three elders that came to the ranch a lot. They had the title “Elder” but they were all 20 years old. People have many opinions on Mormons out there but giving credit where it was due, once a week they were at the ranch and they worked really hard to help me.  Norm was so respected by his peers that for a week, 3 officers from the LAPD that worked under Norm came out to the ranch to build a horse stall. 

        With each passing day I gained confidence in myself. Denise had a full time job so most days I was alone on the ranch. The saving graces were that Norm had both the gas tank(250 gallons) and the huge cooler filled up. So both food and gas were necessities we didn’t need to worry about. Besides the everyday operation of the ranch my largest problem was garbage. There isn’t a Dump or municipal building that you can bring your trash. It goes on the burn pile. You simply throw all your trash in a big pile and set it on fire. This was very unnerving to me because there is dry grass everywhere. I learned that you don’t need a lot of gasoline to start a fire. I put about a gallon all over everything and made a little trail so I could light it like a fuse. The fuse worked perfectly thank God because once the flame reached the pile the fire ball went straight up about 50 feet. The locals that would stop by to help would laugh at me because I would shovel a huge ring of dirt around the burn pile. I managed to keep our garbage volume low without burning down the whole prairie. 

          The second week of February God’s grace was shown and Norm opened his eyes for the first time since Christmas Eve. We descended on his room to visit. The God we serve is a merciful one because Norm retained all of his memory up to Leaving on Christmas Eve. He had no recollection beyond that. When Norm was told by Barbara that his daughter  was killed he asked everyone to leave the room including Barbara and cried alone for about five minutes and then he pulled himself together. When we re-entered Norm had regained composure. He simply said the Lord knew what Liz needed. I will never forget that as long as I live. Liz was a person that dealt with alot and was hurting in many ways. That’s how Norm processed it. But the upside was Norm now had the ability to communicate by phone. That was the beginning of something I treasured. Each morning I would make my coffee, grab a note pad and head down to the barn and call Norm. I would give him a daily report and he would give me tasks that I could do. This significantly improved what I could bring to the table and also started my heart dreaming about actually having my own ranch someday. I also developed another relationship at this time. Shania was my favorite horse, she followed me almost everywhere when we were both outside. If I was at the far end of the property mending a fence she would always be nearby. And we had conversations all day long. Shania was a beautiful palomino with light tan fur and bleach blond mane and tail. I didn’t know anyone out there and Denise and I were drifting farther and farther apart so Shania became my best friend. 

          In Early March, I grabbed my coffee and headed down to the barn. When the door opened all I could do was stand and stare at the most precious baby colt staring back at me from Hope’s stall. With all the hard work that was put in, all the mucking of stalls, filling of hay, feeding the horses grain and the rest of the work around the ranch i never really gave a thought to the fact that the female horses were foaled last spring before the accident. My goal was to keep the animals alive, I had never considered the possibility that not only would they all be alive, but there would be more! As I stood frozen staring at the colt I had never felt more blessed by God in my entire life. I literally ran to the phone to call Norm. He was so excited to hear the news. I told him it was a boy and that he was a Chestnut. Norm without hesitation named him Bucky. And told me I needed to get in the stall with them and love on him as much as I could stand. I was terrified. You hear the stories about mother’s in nature defending their young but Hope was an experienced horse and seemed to understand how the process worked. And admittedly I was a bit smug when Denise wanted to love on baby bucky and Hope blocked her path every time. 

          For 5 rewarding days I loved Bucky but it was time to put a harness for the lead rope on him. Bruce, the neighboring rancher and his ranch hand came over to help me. This in a way was insulting because I had come so far and the little guy loved me after all. Norm assured me I would need their help. I was an expert. What the heck did they know? I had this. Bruce handed me the harness and told me to have fun. 5 days of love gives you no grace from a baby horse when you’re trying to put something over its head. Over the next 15 minutes to the delight of Bruce and his Ranch hand the situation could only be described as a rodeo. Hope pinned herself against the wall not allowing but to take refuge behind her. She stayed out of it. Baby horse? Don’t let that fool you. I was dragged through the mud, slammed into walls, Stomped on and kicked. Finally Hope had enough. She came off the wall and gently placed herself between me and Bucky. When I tried to walk around her she blocked me again as if to say “I gave you 15 minutes. Try again tomorrow.” It was a sobering experience on many levels. Norm reassured me that most experienced cowboys don’t get it on the first try and Bruce and his ranch hand, while entertained, were good men and reassured me. I would be successful on my third attempt. 

          By 1st of May, We added two more colts, Thunder and Little Stormy. By June Pat was almost 100% and was now at the Ranch with me almost everyday. We became good friends. Summer for a Rancher is pretty layed back. There isn’t that much to do except do small projects and exercise the horses. And enjoy the breeze that blesses that great plains. I learned many things during that summer, how hilarious a horse auction can be, how ferocious a badger can be and what a real State Fair looked like. I was visited by friends and family and for the first time I felt a sense of worth. With Pat now being at the ranch and things running smoothly I was able to get a job. 

          With the end of summer coming Norm was finally able to come home in late August. I cried watching him cry seeing his ranch. He was still not allowed to be in with the horses, doctor’s orders. There are very few things that I have seen in my life as precious as the sight of the horses when they heard his voice. The full galloped over to him in obvious excitement. A reunion like none I’ve ever seen. And I swear each mother in turn introduced their Colts to Norm. And when the horses dispersed, satisfied he was there to stay, he reached up and grasped my hand. He said “What you have done for me is nothing short of amazing. I can’t ever thank you enough.” In that moment i can honestly say I have never been more proud of myself.  

          By October Norm was getting back to his old self and was able to do many of the things he once did. I was now working a lot at a good job and had moved into my own house in Huron. Denise and I had been fighting alot and we thought it would be beneficial for me to get my own place since we never really had a chance to date one another but was still spending alot of time out at the ranch and helping out where I could. I thought it strange when I got a dinner invitation one night to come over without Denise. Thats when Barbara told me that she wanted me to take a puppy in appreciation of everything. He would be named “Bear” and then Norm said “That’s not it” He pushed and folder across the table. Confused, I opened it up. It was lineage papers that had the name “Scotch Shy Shania” on them. He said, Shania loves you, she’s your horse now. And so would be the days at the Silver Shield Ranch. 

          That is just two thirds of the story of South Dakota. A lie of Faith would land me a Job that some 25 years later I would still call the best job I ever had. And this Job would complete the most pivotal year of my life. A drug rehab for teens.