Bred by Leah and Bill Heib of Roy, Washington, then owned as a filly by Rene Inman, Shalako blossomed into a first rate trail horse on the trails of the Cascade Mountains. My best friend Sue Duggan found Shalako online soon after Joan Zeleny brought her to Sonoma County, California. I went to see the lovely registered Morgan immediately, and, as my first horse, she trained me, a green rider, on countless Napa, Sonoma and Lake county trails.
After bringing her best friend, Dia H Shena home, my husband and I camped and rode together at Point Reyes, Shasta, Yosemite, and Joshua Tree National Parks. Shalako and I won ribbons in NATRC trail events; my favorite was at Cache Creek Wilderness in Colusa County, in the spring, among the rolling oak grasslands and elk herds. We loved Mt Diablo rides and Armstrong Redwoods rides, too! I still can’t believe how quietly she stood all night, tied to the trailer, anticipating those rides. I know Shalako enjoyed those adventures as much as I did! She would get a little feisty when competing with those Arabians, and often get her light gait on with the gaited horses! We did some dressage, and parades, but she most loved the trail.
Shalako always stepped out lightly, gracefully, with confidence and curiosity, and I trusted her implicitly. All my family members and best friends, including children, were safe on her back! In 2015 we moved to Tubac, Arizona, where we explored a new dramatic landscape on the open range near the Mexican border. She loved watching sunsets from her new home, and thrived in the dry weather, her sure and beautiful feet ever stronger on the rocky terrain.
I thought we would have many more years together! My golden girl, the color of dulce de leche, always willing and sweet, she was dearly loved by me and my husband and sons, and her stablemates, Shena and Cinnamon.