Happy Veterans Day in the Wild, Wild, West

A friend of mine, a southern California dressage rider and eventer, works for the Riverside County Probation Department. Not only is she an excellent rider, but she is a badass at work. She also happens to be one of my favorite people.

From her Facebook page, "Thank you Marta and her team at the Friends of the Palm Springs Animal Shelter for helping another homeless dog! Rascal was neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped on Friday! Best part of my job is getting to help animals too ❤️ and so grateful I have resources to help!"

I mean really ... how many of us carry a gun, deal with dirt bags, and then spend our free time doing this? Like I said, she's my favorite Badass.

From her Facebook page.

Over the weekend, her best friend shared the Riverside County Probation Department's answer to the #lipsync challenge. 

The Riverside County Probation Department is proud to release our Lip Sync Challenge video! Staff had a great time and raised over $2,000 in donations to benefit local fire victims through the United Way of the Inland Valleys Holy Fire Fund in the process. The video features Wild Wild West by Will Smith. Special thanks to The Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Team Equestrian Drill Team, Water Wheel Saloon, March Field Air Museum and Mt. Rubidoux. You can still donate to the fund by clicking the donation card int he video. Learn more at https://support.google.com/youtube/?p...

The video is great, but what I love the most is that my friend is in the video riding her best friend's horse, Penny (with the windmills in back). But wait, there's more to this story. My friend is also married to a Marine who is actively serving. This weekend they attended a ball celebrating the 243rd birthday of the Marine Corp. Dog Nitro, a retired canine Marine, went in full dress.

At this weekend's Marine Corp Ball. Nitro is retired, but served as a bomb sniffing dog among other duties.

My friend writes:

These two marines, Danny and Nitro, had a great time celebrating the 243rd Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Nitro had many fans and many people wanting to take his picture and pet him. He was most happy hanging out with his dad and visiting with the other marines. It was apparent the Marines were in good spirits with the anticipation of their upcoming deployment, as the “hoorahs” were shouted out about every 5 seconds.

While we honor our veterans today, I think we should also keep in mind those who serve to protect us here at home. Families like my friend's, who serve both abroad and here at home, deserve a special thank you.

It is so fantastic to see a woman out there serving our community and doing it in style. I am honored to call her my friend.

​You rock, girlfriend! ​​