Author Biography
Ron Sill has been a horse lover all his life. His early horsemanship training was unusual given what was considered normal at the time. For three summers from 1959 through 1961 he spent 8 weeks each year at the Chippewa Ranch summer camp in Northern Michigan where campers rode every day (except Sunday). Campers handled foals, learned basic horse anatomy and tack as well as gentling, rather than breaking, young horses. Ron got his first horse at age twelve, a fifteen hand Saddlebred mare, a lovely horse that seemed quite happy to retire from the stressful world of horse shows and training for same. High School, College and a professional career in Motion Pictures and Television led him away from horses for several years but meeting his wife-to-be in 1978 brought horses back into his life. Bareback trail riding was a pastime frequently enjoyed. Ten years later they were introduced to the international competitive sport of Vaulting (gymnastics and dance on horseback). Horse ownership was necessary to ensure reliable mounts for competition. It was this horse ownership that led to his discovery of the concept of natural horse-keeping after many years dealing with the challenges of boarding horses. Ron's wish is to prove it is possible to create a place where a horse can be a horse be it on a small manageable space or whatever is possible given the property, needs of horses and imagination of humans.
