Nov 30, 2010

On the radio with Mary Charlotte



Listen to our segment on Radio Cafe by clicking the link below

Listen to the Interview Here

Nov 21, 2010

Christmas de Caballos Parade

We were honored when Melanie Scholer of the Corrales Horse and Mule People asked us to be the Grand Marshals for this years Marine Corps' annual Toys For Tots - we of course accepted and today was the day! They provided us with a wonderful red wagon driven by Gus Kefallinos and Ralph Abeyta. His team carried our veterans along with his mascots Lizzy and Chico to greet all who came out to see the parade and donate toys - thank you all!







Crossed Arrows Branding November 20th

We branded the last of our cattle this past Saturday before turning them out to winter pasture. Some of our program veterans participated in the branding themselves with the roping chores being done by our good friend and neighbor Mr. Henry McKinley and his son Ward.

Because of the size of the cattle Mr. Henry and Ward rope and stretch out the calf in order to receive the brand. After the first roper ropes the hind legs and drags the calf to the fire the ground crew will go in to 1). fold the foreleg prohibiting the calf from getting up and 2). attach the rope to the steer's horns so that the second roper can complete the stretch in order to receive the brand. Now that is old school! To illustrate this I have put various pictures together in order sequence:











Cowboy Up! Road Trip to Visit the Mavericks

On November 18th we accepted an invitation from Randy Chambers, Asst. Ranch Manager to visit the Vermejo Park Ranch in Cimarron, NM. Our Cowboy Up! crew had the unique opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the only genetically pure bison herds in the world. This herd of bison are the ancestors of the same prehistoric bison that wandered the plains thousands of years ago.
We stopped for lunch at the Historic St. James Hotel, posed for a couple photos where Jesse James and other notable characters have also spent time then we were off to speak at the Maverick Rodeo Club monthly meeting. The Maverick Rodeo Club was established in 1922 and is one of the oldest rodeo clubs in the country. We were honored to speak there about our program and even more honored when we were all presented with membership cards to this great organization.
We are proud to now have the Maverick Rodeo Club as our newest program partner.



Nancy, sterling, Randy & Johnny



St. James Hotel in 1872 - Click photo for Larger view

St. James hotel in 2010

The chutes at Vermejo Park





Sterling, Johnny, Rick, Shyle & Mike Hobbs from the Express UU Bar Ranch.

Nov 19, 2010

Nov 15, 2010

New options available to treat PTSD | KOB.com

Please click the video clip to see KOB Eyewitness News 4 Jeff Maher's interviews with some of our Cowboy Up! Veteran Participants...



New options available to treat PTSD | KOB.com

Nov 6, 2010

A Cowboy Christmas - December 9th, 2010




Click invitation for Larger View

Please join us for A Cowboy Christmas Benefit:
Thursday, December 9th, 2010

Hosted by: Vanessie's Restaurant, 434 W. San Francisco Street
Santa Fe, NM
5:00 - 5:30pm Cocktail Reception
5:30 - 6pm Guest Speaker
6:00 - 7:00 Dinner

Tickets are $75 per person or $100 at the door.
Corporate tables of 8 are available.
You can purchase tickets via our Donate Link to the right or call:
Nicole-(505) 450-8850 or Rick-(505) 670-2059

If you cannot attend please consider purchasing a ticket for one of our Cowboy Up! veteran participants.

Your Donation Is Tax Deductible!

Nov 4, 2010

VA/PRRC Visits Our Cowboy Up! Program

On November 3rd an outstanding group of veterans from the VA moseyed on up to join us for the day. handshakes and smiles were plentiful on a beautiful NM fall day. Veterans were started as we always do with grooming, ground work and before long were in the saddle. Our four legged instructors carried every veteran that attended through not only introductory horsemanship but a few challenges that were even more advanced. After dismounting and caring for the horses and stowing the gear, we enjoyed some cowboy coffee, hot coco and great conversation round the fire. Our cowboy hats are off to a hard charg'in group that we were honored to have here. Welcome home brothers.










A Great Sunday Session October 31st

Here Kristy is working on the use of core muscles and leg aids to guide her mount through poles

One of our active duty participants using 100% determination to work on his horseback skills prior to his next deployment.

2010 NM Veterans' Wellness Conference

Cowboy Up! staff and participants attended the Veterans' Wellness Conference Clinicians Day on Friday, October 29th, 2010 - An integrative approach to treating veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sec. John Garcia's vision to bring a wellness center for PTSD here to NM based on the Fort Bliss Restoration & Resilience Center's innovative treatment program consisting of integrated state-of-the-art treatment modalities is exciting and necessary to say the least.

Senior Military Affairs Advisor to Horses For Heroes Cowboy Up! Program, General George Franzen, USAF ret., speaking about Sgt. Andrew Brandi's book The Warrior's Guide To Insanity. A copy was provided to every veteran!

Day two was Veterans' and Family Day where we had the chance to meet many of those who have served our country and offer them a chance to see what our program is all about by meeting some of our four legged instructors and watching demonstrations by some of our program participants - the response was superb. We were also honored to have spent a part of the afternoon with a visit from Cabinet Secretary John Garcia, his endorsement was inspirational to our hardworking staff and program participants.