The proceeds from this fun filled day go to fund the Women Warriors & The Cowgirls Retreat for Women Combat Veterans. Held each year at the Cowgirl Co-op, the retreat has become one of the largest and most successful retreats for women combat veterans in the United States! Help us to make it an on going way to honor our women veterans.

Guided Winery Ride Starts at 10:30 AM ~ $25

Catered BBQ at the Cowgirl Co-op Ranch ~ $15

Juni Fisher Concert at the Cowgirl Co-op Ranch ~ $25

Come to all three events and receive a free pass for you and your horse for the Cowgirl Co-op Xtreme Trail Course the previous day, June 8th!! A $25 dollar value!

A portion of the profit will go to  “Cowgirls & Women Warriors, a benefit  for female veterans” .  This WA non-profit was set up this year by the cowgirls to continue their work and retreats for women combat veterans and their families.  For three years the Cowgirls & Women Warriors weekend retreat for women combat veterans has been the most successful and largest of its kind in the US. Help us to do more for the women who have so bravely defended our country.  For more information on how you can help  call 509.990.4496 or visit the web site at  http://www.cowgirlsandwomenwarriors.com

Oct 6 & 7 ~ 2nd Annual Renaissance Fair….The Tournement of the Golden Apple!  Last year was great!

Oct 27 & 28 ~ Freaky Farms & Haunted Hollow, a Cowgirl Halloween event to remember long after the chills subside

On May 19 to 21, the Cowgirl Co-op was  proud to host our third annual retreat for women combat veterans.  The retreat has become the largest and most successful retreat of its kind in the US.  On Friday May 19 , a convoy of 34 women warriors and 10 counselors  roared up the ranch driveway and were cheerfully met by a welcoming  group of over 25 volunteers and instructors. That was the start of a wild west weekend of fun, healing and connecting. We played together, broke bread together, cried together and all of us came away with renewed strength and new found friendships. What a phenomenal group of lady warriors honored us with their weekend visit! 

This is the new 2012 class of Cowgirl Women Warriors!

On Friday morning…up the driveway they came for the start of the 2012 Women Warriors & The Cowgirls retreat.

The cowgirl welcoming committee.

 They unloaded and immediately started to learn the art of becoming a cowgirl for the weekend.

First important lesson…..how to tie and use a cowgirl scarf!

Then it was on to a relay of cowgirl games! How fast can you dress yourself with chaps, spurs and a bandana?

Next up was the popular cowgirl raw egg throw! There were even some willing, well…semi-willing, human targets!You hit me with eggs!

Cowgirls and women warriors need to eat well, for all that fun! And at the ranch, we feed everyone very well! Then after lunch it was full speed ahead into the events of the day.  Take a look at the two days the warrior cowgirls spent on horseback.

 The “cushy way” down to the horse pasture!

The pottery classes were as popular as ever as cowgirls learned  the art of the spining potters wheel. Instructors Collista Benjjani and Kay Lodahl kept the class muddy, fun and informative.

Raku firing was one of the hits again this year with instructor Liz Bishop keeping everyone laughing and fired up! Vets painted pottery bowls and learned to fire them in the raku kiln. Everyone went home with their new tresured art piece.

Painting raku pottery was a blast for all involved! The only time you can do pottery with a instructor potter in full motercylce chaps!

The gardening classes were going full soil ahead under the instruction of Cowgirl Lou. Vets learned about sustainable gardening, bee keeping and how to make herb pots. They each went home with an herb pot tucked under their arm.

There were even tractor driving classes!

Some women warriors chose a quiet walk and talk in the ranch woods led by Donnell Sulivan, main horse caretaker at the ranch.

Flyfishing was a real catch with instructor Jeff Jenson,  also a vet himself.

Metal welding with a plasma torch was also a hot class with instructor Sean Smith helping all the vets to make a metal sign to take home.

A special time was written in the Diary and Journaling class with Nance Van Winckel, a nationally know poet and author of 12 books.

Drawing horses with well known artist Janene Grende  was popular with students and horses alike!

Card making and scrapbooking was taught by Sandra Zieroth with the use of Stampin’ Up! stampbook supplies. Sandra is a certified Stampin’ Up! teacher and there were some wonderful cards made that went home wit h each vet in the class.

A new class for 2012 was making Dream Catchers with Renee Sutherland. Bent willow circles adorned with meaningful beads went home with many a new cowgirl warrior to hang above her bed to protect her and make her good dreams come true.

Cooking classes were a big, delicious hit with the class growing in size each time the cooking samples started to be handed out! Connie Spugeon taught an extremely infomative class on dutch oven cooking. Krisha Charbonneau delighted vets about cooking with herbs and a class on very tasty and healthy cooking. Recipe handouts disappeared rapidly!

What could be better than a massage class with custom massages given?!!! Not only did participants learn about the art of massage from Paul Kays and Nancy they gratefully accepted  some welcoming massaging hands ….. especially the vets coming up from  horse riding!

Want to have a chicken coop or rabbit hutch at home? Vets learned just how to take care of chicks and bunnies and cusddled a few soft fuzzy creatures in the process.

Making cement stepping stones with instrutor Sean Smith was an artful hit and there were some very nice steps that were carted home to grace a garden.

At the Cowgirl Co-op we rope dragons! Cowgirl Shannon gave lessons on just how to handle a rope and rope those illusive dragons.

And of course we all ate like horses! The food was excellently catered by Connie Spurgeon and Janene Grende and cooked ranch style in dutch ovens.

There was plenty of time to eat and break bread together and also time to  just stand around talk and connect.

Then it was good by to the Cowgirl Co-op for the day as the women warrior cowgirls went off to ride in the Spokane Lilac Day Armed Forces Parade.

What a night they had yelling and cheering for women veterans in the Spokane Lilac Day Armed Forces Parade! We cowgirls were so proud of them!!  Our last break bread together meal was Sunday morning at the Green Bluff Grange where the women warriors had set up barracks and slept the two nights of the retreat.

Past Mayor Mary Vernor came to join us and honor the women veterans as she has done for each of our 3 retreats. New friendships were celebrated over breakfast and many connecting e-mails exchanged.  Last of all cadence of the weekend was sung and a smudging ceremony ended the retreat.

The Green Bluff grange generously cooked and served breakfast to the still hungry cowgirls! What a crew!

Dog gone we hope all the women warriors and new cowgirls will come see us again! The ranch gates are always open to you! And in the meantime … Happy Trails to each of you!

The Cowgirls want to give a great deal of thanks to all the people who made this Women Warriors & The Cowgirls retreat such a huge success! Our instructors were fabulous and all the behind the scenes back up crew were phenomenal! Our catered food was delicious and the ranch looked its best.

Thank you in particular to :

 The Wounded Warrior Project for their funding,

The Red Cross for their help in cots and bedding

The Spokane Veterans Outreach Center for their support and counseling

The Green Bluff Grange for their warm vet welcome and gracious use of the grange along with breakfast!

May 18, 19, 20, 2012

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The Cowgirl Co-op was once again honored to host a retreat for women combat veterans.  The end of May 30 women warriors and 8 counselors came to the ranch for a weekend of fun, healing and connecting. We played together, broke bread together, cried together and came away with renewed strenght and new found friendships.

The weekend centered around horses, art and gardening. All endeavors that connect us with the healing powers of animals, creativity and the earth.  Thanks to assistance from the Spokane Vet Center, Red Cross and VA Medical Center the 2011 Women Warriors retreat was another succesful veteran event. Just see for yourself below….

Smiling Faces were how the weekend ended and this is how it all started…

The Women Warriors are almost to the ranch! Nestled in a valley on the back side of Green Bluff, WA the ranch is a peacful setting for healing.

Up the ranch drive  in giant trucks, the arriving women warriors just weren’t quite sure what to expect for the weekend!

De-trucking and ready for adventure.

“Commander cowgirl” Jill gives the first briefing and threatens to keep everyone in line with her blue fluff whip!

The first instruction on horses came from THE Cowgirl Shannon mounted on her trusty steed, Raven.

Intently learning horses!

Next experience was learning how to fire the pottery raku kiln!

After serious horse and art talk…. the cowgirls got out the industrial strength egg launcher! Launching and throwing raw eggs was fun for all! Sometimes you just have to break down and do something “eggxactly” ridiculous!

 Time for lunch and a chance to relax and break bread together.

Next it’s saddle up and get ready to ride!

Cowgirl Shannon ‘saddles’ her dog.

Time to ride those ponies!

Another class was into heavy metal! Cutting out metal signs and designs with the plasma tourch and instructor Sean.

Then there was the wild and crazy raku firing area!

The raku kiln area was raucous with laughter the whole weekend as women warriors painted and fired pottery bowls and did the “raku rock” to get them through the whole firey process.

Working with clay and then conquering the potters wheel was also a popular endeavor. Instructors Colista and Virginia were right there to offer suggestions and support.

Next up…….cooking!

A class on working and cooking with herbs taught by well known cook Alison was also popular.

Out on the range, Dutch oven cooking is the way of the day. Instructor Connie gave a great demo that left mouths watering!

Fly fishing is a rapidly growing sport for women. Instructor Nancy came to help the Women Warriors launch a perfect cast!

Who can resist an impromptu game of jump rope. Cowgirls always have lots of rope handy!

Other classes centered around gardening and sustainability.

The horses were right there for counseling help and loved the hugs, pets and kisses.

Plenty of time was left for talking and connecting.

Last ride of the day, a great Dutch oven cooked diner and then a heart felt campfire around which to reflect, relate and connect.

Night was spent at the Green Bluff Community Center and was peaceful until midnight when the water pipes broke and flooded the basement sleeping area! No problem….Women Warriors and Cowgirls take everything in stride and just grabed their gear and moved upstairs!

Breakfast was scrumptious and made up for the water-filled adventure of the night before!

Load up the transport trucks and back to the ranch for another wild west fun day!

The horse corrals were ready for action … ride’m cowgirl!

Horses and fun horsing around!

The drawing horses class taught by nationaly known artist, Janene Grende,  created many warrior women artists!

The “healthy cooking” class taught by Krisha Charbonneau was a hit and a delicious treat for those who attended.

The pottery classes were off and throwing pots.

Who knew “mud” could be so much fun?!

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Over in the front garden, our Cowgirl Gardener, Lou, was giving instruction on sustainable gardening.

Herbs were there for each woman warrior to make their own herb garden and take it home. A living rememberance of the weekend

To add some art to the garden, Sean Smith was teaching classes on making cement stepping stones.

Each women warrior could take  a step home to remember the connecting steps that happened at the retreat.

Nationally known writer and poet, Nance Van Winckel, came to teach a diary and journaling class to the warriors.

Learning about keeping chickens and bunnies was a hands on feathers and fur session with Mandy! Ooooo, baby goats too!

Meanwhile things were still rock and rolling hot over at the raku kiln!

Grab those pots out of the hot fire!

Painting pots and doing the raku rock! Friendships sealed by fire!

Then came lunch! The whole weekend was deliciously catered and prepared on site in Dutch ovens and Bar-B-Ques by cowgirls Janene  and Connie. Cowgirl style eatin’ and was it ever good and plenty!

Dishin’ up the grub!

A precious moment by Women Warrior Precious!

Nationally known writer and poet, Nance Van Winckel, recited some of her poems for lunchtime entertainment.

A few more activities and then it was time to load up and leave the ranch. The Women Warriors proudly rode in the Spokane Armed Forces  Torchlight Parade that night  to the cheers of thousands of people lining the streets to honor our military.

Sunday breakfast was hosted by the Green Bluff Grange and literally stuffed us all with generous eggs, sausage and pancakes!

Lots of laughter and weekend memories flowed at each table.

Spokane mayor, Mary Verner, came and spent time with each women veteran to hear their stories and offer her thanks for what they have done for their country.

Mayor Verner and the Cowgirls all wish to thank these fearless Women Warriors for what they have  done and what they continue to do. We were honored to have you at the ranch for the weekend.

What was the weekend really about? Healing, connecting and making new friends and doing it through creative challenges, the feel of a horse, fingers in the soil of the earth and breaking bread together. Peace.

We heartily wish to thank the following for the generous support they gave this project. It couldn’t have happened without you!

Spokane Vet Center

Spokane Veterans Hospital

Wounded Warrior Project

Spokane Red Cross

Trading Company Stores

RnR RV Center

Generous Individual Donations

The faces of new friends!

Yee Haw!