INNER-CITY SLICKERS REVEL IN RANCH LIFE'S LESSONS PROGRAM TEACHES INDEPENDENCE, RESPECT.Byline: Amy Raisin raisin, in botany and cooking raisin, dried fruit of certain varieties of grapevines bearing grapes with a high content of sugar and solid flesh. Although the fruit is sometimes artificially dehydrated, it is usually sun-dried. Staff Writer AGUA DULCE Agua Dulce is Spanish for "sweet water". It also refers to various locations: In Mexico:
v. scram·bled, scram·bling, scram·bles v.intr. 1. To move or climb hurriedly, especially on the hands and knees. 2. out of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County sheriff's vans Saturday - should they unfurl their sleeping bags in the saloon, the general store or the town jail? Each of the Old West buildings is part of the ghost town ghost town, term for any once flourishing American community that has been abandoned, generally for economic reasons. While most of the towns have little or no population, they often contain old buildings, which may serve as tourist attractions. at Inner City Slickers Ranch, a 10-acre spread run by Michael McMeel and his wife, Erlinda, where city kids learn self-confidence, respect and independence by working with horses. ``Yesterday we couldn't sleep, we were so excited to come here,'' said Melanie Segura, 15, of La Puente La Puente (lä pwĕn`tē), city (1990 pop. 36,955), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles; laid out 1841, inc. 1956. Primarily residential, the city manufactures hardware, electronics, and paper products. . ``I like the whole little town. It's kinda Adv. 1. kinda - to some (great or small) extent; "it was rather cold"; "the party was rather nice"; "the knife is rather dull"; "I rather regret that I cannot attend"; "He's rather good at playing the cello"; "he is kind of shy" kind of, sort of, rather funny, though, because when we were riding the horses, the horse gets kinda stubborn stubborn Vox populi → medtalk Refractory; unresponsive to therapy after a while. It just decides not to move.'' Segura and the other girls, from 8 to 15 years old, are regulars in the Youth Activities League, run by deputies at the City of Industry sheriff's station. The program teaches local youth about the operations in law enforcement. When the cowgirls arrived for their sleepover Saturday morning they were greeted by McMeel - a former drummer for the rock band Three Dog Night - and a handful of wranglers who showed the inner-city slickers how to rope and ride steers and horses. While the horses were the real deal, the steers didn't move around much - the novice ropers practiced on bale bale 1. a package of wool in a wool pack weighing 150-250 lb depending largely on whether it is greasy or scoured. 2. a compressed bundle of hay, either about 100 lb tied with wire or twine, or large, round, untied bales, as big as a small hay stack and referred to as 'big bales'. of hay with attached plastic steer heads and horns. ``We used to sleep up in the tents,'' McMeel said during a lunch break at the chuck wagon, ``But we figure that if we really want to get them out of the city, we're going to take them back in time, to the early 1800s and 1900s. Now we sleep in the town buildings.'' Without radios, TV sets or the Internet, the Internet, the, international computer network linking together thousands of individual networks at military and government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, industrial and financial corporations of all sizes, and commercial enterprises girls were able to learn the ways of the cowboy and provide each other with support with few distractions. To demonstrate the trust that must exist between a rider and her horse, McMeel had some of the girls climb onto a table after lunch and close their eyes. ``I want you turn around a few times with your eyes closed and then fall backwards,'' McMeel said. ``You have to trust that someone is going to be there to catch you.'' It took most of the girls a few times before they were able to let go and trust the group, but by then they were ready to bond with the horses. Deputy Sheriff Phil Cook, who has escorted others to the ranch before, praised the program's character-building objective. ``It's a program that teaches kids respect for animals, respect for property and respect for each other,'' Cook said. ``Mike and Erlinda put their heart and soul into this. Mike's philosophy is don't say no. He just doesn't quit.'' While Saturday's group consisted of girls who are in school and out of trouble, Inner City Slickers Ranch also invites at-risk youth and juvenile offenders to experience the outdoors. In addition to learning to rope steers and ride horses, the La Puente cowgirls were treated to a rough ride on a mechanical bull - minus the mechanics. Instead of climbing atop a jerky jerky see biltong. bull powered by electricity, novice ranchers at the Agua Dulce site are place on a faux bull's back that is suspended in the middle of four wood posts by bungee cords. Once the cowgirl's in place, the ranch hands gather around and jangle the cords until the rider is bouncing in every direction. ``That was scary,'' said Jessica Abney, 13. ``You have to hold on really tight. But it was funny, too. I was crying and laughing. I like to come up here. It keeps me out of trouble.'' In true Western spirit, the girls planned to sit around a campfire Saturday night and roast marshmallows. ``I really like that they do this for us,'' said Melanie Segura, the girl who could barely sleep the night before arriving at the ranch. ``It's a great place to learn about horses and to help each other out.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Denise Olivares tries her hand at roping under the direction of Scott Miller Scott Miller may refer to:
(2 -- 3) Former Three Dog Night drummer Mike McMeel, above, talks with weekend ranch hands about the care, feeding and saddling of horses. Below, girls get to ride horses on Saturday during the Inner City Slickers Ranch outing. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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