Bareback riding Fortress, one of the lead mares and a very experienced horse
I moved to the Chilcotin Region of British Columbia in 2019 and live at the Chilcotin Holidays Guest Ranch with my partner, our young daughter and community partners. I learned how to be a horseback wilderness guide, then progressed to a certified hunt guide where I guide hunters for many species of big game including California Bighorn sheep, mountain goats and mule deer. I teach new students how to be guides through our guide school programs, passing on the knowledge I learned on my own guide school program. This sharing of knowledge is all part of the Chilcotin Holidays philosophy, mentoring others to learn all the same skills that I know. That means everyone can take responsibility, everyone can do everything and we are all empowered to try new things. When I'm not guiding, I also do logging, driving the skidder and D6 Cat bulldozer, hooking up chokers, running the chainsaw and welding on the equipment. I also run a trapline, which is a unique connection to nature, the history of Canada and an opportunity to contribute to conservation through predator management. There's more to ranch life than working with the horses, in the woodlot or on the trapline. Creating and maintaining websites, booking new guests, working on the community philosophy and bookkeeping are all part of the bigger picture. Having this holistic overview of ranch life means I can work with all the community partners at the ranch, sharing knowledge and tasks and know everything that's going on. Through all of these experiences, I've got lots of practice in all aspects of running a ranch, so when it comes to writing, I'm able to write from experience. One of the best things about having all these experiences is being able to write about them, to inspire other people to embark on these adventures too and share what I do. My blog stories can be found following the links on the Blog page. The websites I write content for are linked on the Inspirational Sources page. My five books, The Mountain in My Mind, Gerry Bracewell: Guide Outfitter, Pioneer, Matriarch, Are You Aware of Your Environment?, Lead Like a Lead Mare and Lessons From a Lead Mare can be found on their own pages.
Tatla and I, scouting for deer on a September mule deer hunt
Welding on the D6 Cat before going logging
Wild horse Apache's first ride
The barn cats, pictured here left to right, Chipmunk, Cedar, Leckie and Sheba, are part of the self-sufficiency program keeping down the rodent population
Jack and I scouting for California Bighorn sheep in preparation for the September hunt
Riding new horse, Teco, to see what he already knew
Chainsawing up a big log for firewood
Jessie the supervisor helping load Billy and Nean into the horse trailer
Building the new shop while seven months pregnant with Jessie