W. A. "Wink" Chappell
One of the last of the Early California Horsemen AND
my beloved step-father!

 He loved the quiet moments as he rode through the mountains taking care of the cattle on their summer range riding that ever present string of youngsters.

 One of the stories that is told whenever the old timers gather today is about a big steer on one range that was running loose with 5 ropes hanging on him. None of the cowboys who had tried to catch this steer had any luck and 5 had lost their ropes. One day Bill came riding into camp with the 5 lost ropes. "You boys can have your ropes back for $5.00 each," Bill nonchalantly told the group. Bill had come across the steer that day, had roped him, and thrown and tied him up not too far from camp. He and another cowboy later led this wild steer back to the ranch between two horses.

Bill's background had exposed him to the broadest spectrum possible from riding the young, unspoiled horse to having to re-train horses that had been spoiled and gone sour from being ridden by ranch cowboys that did not necessarily understand the horses they rode. These horses were sent to what was at that time called the "condemned field" and were usually extremely rank. Bill and his fellow trainers often re-trained these horses during winter months while waiting for the next spring's group of horses to get old enough to start under saddle.

After over 40 years of working cattle and training horses for ranches, Bill decided to use his rare talent as a horseman to train horses, exclusively.

Bill came to the Ridgecrest/Inyokern locality in California in 1964 and started the areas first professional horse training facility in partnership with me at Sierra Dawn Arabians. In exchange for training me in the art of Early California Horsemanship, I provided the ranch base to set up the training stables. He married my mother, Winifred Mont-Eton, in 1969 and became my beloved step-father. We rode together for 28 years, training several hundred horses between us. The last 2 years of his life, when he could no longer ride colts, he was always on hand to watch me execute his teachings.

Although the stables trained all breeds, Bill and I concentrated on Arabians for the show ring. He trained many champion show horses, rope horses, and just plain pleasure horses. He trained many people of all ages to ride and enjoy their horses. At one time he had over 200 students. Bill retired from training for the public in 1974 at the age of 65, but continued to ride and train the young horses we bred and raised at Sierra Dawn Arabians until he was 83 years old. When he reached the age of 70, Bill stopped starting the young horses. It was too dangerous at his age. I started our young horses and he took over when they were settled and he could concentrate on preparing them for the bit and finishing them. I continued with the training stable, riding the horses brought in by the public for training.

Bill never knew what he would face each day and what talents would be called upon. When a group of people moved out of the area, they had chickens. What else would a person do with chickens they couldn't take with them but find a home for them on a ranch. Sierra Dawn Arabians got them. They were set free--no pen or containment. They laid eggs, hatched chicks, and before long there must have been at least 50 chickens running around. Then the chickens started to challenge the horses for the grain. They would jump into the grain trays and literally chase the horses away. It was time to get rid of the chickens. A local family was told they could have all the chickens they could catch. They caught all but one cantankerous rooster whom they chased for better than an hour. Bill watched this keystone comedy of errors and finally could not contain himself. He took his rope, circled it over his head a couple of times and let it fly toward the rooster--right over it's head with the first loop. That was the end of the chickens.