45 Minutes and 100 Years from Las Vegas…

…stands my mother’s magnificent ranch.  She appropriately named it La Sonrisa, which means “smile” in Spanish, and the place certainly lives up to its moniker with an extraordinary flair for putting a grin on your face.  At La Sonrisa, everyone is welcome, and most of the time, the odder the better.

Gublette getting a belly scratch

Rawhide getting an ear scratch

Character, and characters, run rampant at this little oasis in the Mojave desert.  In the chicken coop lives Giblette, the world’s friendliest turkey, and a three legged pig named Tripod.  Sometimes you’ll find Rawhide (the calf we saved after he fell off a moving trailer and was dragged along a gravel road) buddying up to the goats, pigs and humans instead of hanging with the other cows.

Movies, television shows and music videos have filmed there.  Fashion shoots have used the ranch as their backdrop.  People come from overseas to get married under the expansive western sky.  They celebrate their anniversaries, and some celebrate their divorces.  We’ve hosted bachelor parties, birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, Mexican rodeos, Western reenactments, roping contests, and Halloween howls.  The ranch has seen it all.

Rusty and me penning cattle in the arena

At La Sonrisa people come out of their shells.  There is no judgment.  They try things they have always been afraid to try.  They do things they have always been too chicken (pun intended) to do.  They laugh, cry, dance, discuss and unwind.  I guess it’s fair to say that the ranch is a veritable therapist, helping you to think more clearly, relax into a peaceful pace, and let go of silly inhibitions.

I vividly remember the day I got my first horse.  I was 12.  She was a leggy black Morgan named Onyx, and she was gorgeous.  Quickly, our vacant stables began to fill up with the addition of a rescue burro that we fittingly named Burrito and another Morgan named Beauty.

The ranch and our horses have influenced my personality.  They have taught me important lessons, and have inspired an inner confidence that encourages me to dream big.  It was on the back of my horse that I decided to move to NYC to become a fashion designer.  It is through horses that I’ve met some incredible people.  Horses have made me more patient and understanding and have always reciprocated my love and respect.

my brother Gray on the tarzan swing

Knowing that this post has gotten semi sentimental, let me bring it down a bit and just say – La Sonrisa freakin’ rocks.  Take a poll of any of my friends who have survived raging parties, skeet shooting, horseback races, the Tarzan swing, and bottomless bottles of whiskey and I would bet my Stetson that they agree.

So, to my beautiful Mumzy, thank you for filling my life with unique adventures and joyful smiles.

xx laura

the Boss Lady and me all dudded up