Hello friends,
Here's a letter I recieved from my new friend Micheal Martin Murphy.
A great singer and fellow horseman. Love that song "Wildfire"
Regards, and "Just Ride" Smokie
Smokie,
I loved the book! It's so practical, and down-to-
earth; a real breath of fresh of air and dose of reality in the
midst of all the "new age" horse stuff that's going on. Some of that
stuff gets a little too weird for this cowboy!
My family ranch in Wisconsin, The Rocking 3M Ranch, is deeply
involved in equestrian activity of all kinds. We are breeders,
horse trainers, and competitors- as well as the show business
activities that I do. We mainly show Paint and AQHA horses
though we do work with some pony breeds and draft horses,
mostly in Working Cow Horse Events. Our oldest daughter,
Jessica, is studying to be a Large Animal Doctor at
UW- River Falls, and is the one who is most motivated about Paint
Horses. Our middle daughter, Sarah, spent all Summer working for Bill
Freeman in Texas, and has huge talent as cutting horse competitor.
She came within one point of the Superstakes Finals on her first
competitive ride! Sarah is also a very talented cowgirl poet. Morgan,
my youngest daughter, buys-trains- sells ponies( she does very well-
and is the most naturally talented rider in our family) and is
attracted to the farming side of agriculture, too. She is currently
working for, and being mentored by, an excellent dairy operator in
our area.
My wife, Karen is the real driving force behind the horse side of the
Rocking 3M Ranch. That's not to say that she doesn't do an awfully
lot of work with our Texas Longhorn Cattle and other critters on the
ranch- and she loves them all.
We'll be in touch soon, as soon as we hear from Mike. And regardless
of what happens with the event at Steven's Point, I'm hoping that we
can get to know each other as time goes on.
Murph
About Smokie
Smokie Brannaman grew up on a 5000-acre horse and cattle ranch in Southwestern Montana. Working with horses, cattle and rodeoing as a professional trick roper was his way of life as a youngster. Upon graduating from high school, Smokie chose to serve his country in the United State Coast Guard. Although his military duties did not always allow much time to spend with his horses, he never the less, rode and trained horses of his own and others throughout his military career. Smokie retired in 2000 from the Coast Guard and worked as a Corporate Operations Manager for a security company. But he soon realized that his true enjoyment came from being around horses, training, riding and helping others with their horses. After working for 2 years as a stable manager for a large boarding stable, Smokie hired on at Ots Sunrise Farm to work with the young horses halter breaking, ground work and starting horses under saddle to progress to more advanced training. Smokie started his own business, Horsemans Services Limited, llc in 2006 and now works full time as an educator of the horse and rider. Smokie utilizes the training methods of his brother Buck Brannaman, Jeff Griffith, and others, as well as his own techniques learned during a lifetime of working with horses. Smokie is a published author of two books about horses and their riders, Whisper This
Not to your horse, to yourself, and his newest book Equiknowlogy 101
and numerous horse training DVDs. Smokie lives in Greenleaf Wisconsin with his sweetie Vickie, and has three grown children, Kat, Travis and Jason. He raises and trains registered quarter horses of his own, which he uses as, Cavalry horses for his hobby, Civil War reenacting, and performing in Wild West Shows throughout the Midwest.
