Hunger for the old west? Do you get nostalgic watching
re-runs of Bonanza and the The Wild Wild West? If you think everything from
those days are gone for good, think again. The horsey community of Rolling Hills Estates
offers a respite from the pressured urban working life here Los Angeles County.
An aromatic mixture of grilling hamburgers, native sage
grass, horses, and the spicy zest of pepper trees wafts through the droughty
and dusty air at the Dapplegray Community Horse Arena. The loudspeaker
announces raffle winners in a low-fi crackle. It’s downtime before the last
event of the rodeo horse show. Girls sit on horses under Pepper trees to escape
the heat, their mounts aimlessly shuffling their hooves and sniffing the disturbed
ground in hopes of finding an alfalfa cube or two in the chalky dust. Others
lean up against tree trunks or hang on the white split rail fence of the riding
ring. One girl primps her horse’s mane, colored bright pink to match her own
tank top. An eye-catching and fashionable pair they are.
[VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP]