When you read this, you’ll probably say, “What a great idea!”
But then, Kimberly Lorance is a multi-talented person with lots of good ideas. She is crazy about horses, she’s a fine artist and she loves to cook. One day, a wonderful plan popped into her head. She decided to take people out on horseback rides to scenic places and serve them a bountiful feast.
Kimberly was born in Canada of Scottish-Irish immigrants with a background of bed and breakfasts. At an early age, she became enchanted by the Canadian Mounted Police. They inspired her to believe that a career with horses could contribute to a rich life. When her family moved to America, she studied art at Pierce College and UCLA. When she met a charming young man who also had a horse, rockets went off and they were married.
In 2006 and 2007, Kimberly, her husband, Robert, and her daughter Shannon spent two meaningful years is Lexington, Kentucky. She studied art at the American Academy of Equine Art, at the Kentucky Horse Park. “During this wonderful family time,” she tells me, ”my daughter and I competed in events at the Horse Park almost every weekend. We were competing on our harmonious and kind Rocky Mountain horses. Shannon received the Ashley Hy-try National Juvenile Award, two years in a row. She was showing her one Rocky Mountain in seven different disciplines. I competed on my darling gelding, Rowdy.”
But their secret desire was to have a riding bed and breakfast in the Santa Ynez Valley and, as soon as their daughter went away to college, they moved here. But the bed and breakfast plan morphed into horseback rides topped with festive picnics.
“Everyone can go, because it doesn’t matter whether or not they have their own horses. I have several very gentle horses that are accustomed to inexperienced riders. I bring all my own food and equipment and since I have a degree in culinary arts, I prepare feasts for my guest with great joy. I discover their tastes and if it’s all women, they might say I’d like quiche Lorraine, with a creamy Caesar salad with baby shrimp. For dessert, they might choose chocolate mousse. If it’s a group of guys, it’s likely to be filet mignon, with blue cheese butter, a green salad, rose potatoes, with garlic bread, and an apple tart with caramel sauce. On our riding picnics, we might choose to go to beautiful wooded areas or the ocean where people can ride in the surf.
“One time I prepared a meal of Ahi tuna and fresh vegetables and gelato for dessert, for a Japanese group who had always dreamed of riding in the wild west. They bought cowboy hats and had the time of their lives. That was really fun! Another memorable group was one that had had a death in the family. They used it for a kind of therapy, and I painted the menu for them and then they painted, too. I can take groups with different themes, for instance, we could go for an art ride and the guests could bring their paints and brushes.”
Kimberly also belongs to the Valley Hunt Club, so after dismounting from her horse, she cooks brunch for 30 people or more. Although having a Rocky Mountain horse is a bit different, she rides on the flat course not over jumps, and she just might have the most comfortable ride.
These days, she has been busy painting for an up-coming exhibit in Gallery Los Olivos for the month of November, with the theme “What Horses do for People.” She will also be a guest artist at the SYV Horse farm Tour on Saturday, Sept. 22, and at the Quick Draw in Los Olivos Park.
In addition to these paintings, Kimberly also paints on wine glasses or tumblers. She will even do a likeness of a person’s very own horse.
To contact Kimberly Lorance, call (805) 748-7337 or email KreativeKim@gmail.com.