I have two horses, one a 'Quarter horse' small and stocky, but with loads of character, and a black stallion, who is sleek and beautiful and huge, I love riding them both through the sims in Second Life. The black stallion had been a gift to me from Zephyr Pennell who owns the Lone Star Ranch in Second Life. Riding in SL is a joy and it's a good way of exploring, even in the big cities.

Zephyr's story is an intriguing one, as her life in SL is a mixture of horses and dragons and she and Jahdo Ohtobide, her good friend and partner in Lone Star, rarely take on human form as avatars. Indeed when I first arrived at the Ranch and talked Jahdo he was a tiny hatchling dragon and Zephyr too was in similar guise. They explained that they only put on human avs to test the horses out, but both revert to dragons for the rest of the time. Both of them showed me their adult dragon avatars as well and what an impressive sight they made, magnificent, proud looking creatures with giant wings and puffing smoke from their nostrils.
Zephyr and Jahdo make a good team, Zephyr does the prim designs and textures for the horses and Jahdo does the poses and scripts for the movement. Jahdo gave me a tour of the Lone Star Ranch, which is situated in the same location as the 'Isle of Wyrms' a Dragon sim (owned by Daryth Kennedy). In fact I'm told, 'Wyrms' is an old English word for Dragon. The horses are beautiful and it's difficult to pick one to buy. There are Shetland ponies for tinies and hatchlings to ride, and all the other large breeds of horses you could imagine, including Unicorns. What's more picking from the range of colours is also tricky as they are all so lovely.
I asked Zephyr how she started to make horses in SL. Zephyr told me she had joined SL in February 2007, she had been unwell and bedridden for a while and went on line to find something to do. Horses actually paid no part in the beginning for Zephyr, she had visited Caldeon sim and it was there that she saw her first dragon and she says her mind was blown away. The lady dragon took her to the Isle of Wyrms to see the other dragons there. Zephyr said that it was the day after the Spring Hatching in 2007 so the Cathedral was crammed with dragons. She says that she immediately became a dragon and since she started mixing and matching dragon parts, adding wings and other items, she had started to learn how to build.
Lone Star Ranch was unintentionally born from Zephyr's love of dragons. She tells me that her next door neighbour Aradia, purchased 'Hatchie Haven.' Zephyr said that Aradia was familiar with her building techniques and asked her to help with her new sim. Shortly before that she had met Jahdo and she said Aradia allowing her and Jahdo (Jahdo worked on the scripting) to build on her new sim was a lot of fun.
Zephyr went on to say that one day they thought 'wouldn't it be fun to have riding ponies for dragon hatchies.' They brought in another builder, friend Babo Bamaisin (who is no longer in SL), and the three of them made tiny ponies for the hatchies to ride. The tiny ponies went into production for about a month, but as they rode them they got people asking 'When are you making full-sized horses?' Zephyr had never considered it before, but one day she made a full sized horse (based on the original tiny pony), which was a Quarter Horse, then the Draft Horse was born and from the Draft horse the Unicorn. She said that after that she started reforming the horses to look more realistic, so all the horses they sell now are born of the original design. Jahdo said that the most recent horses are a further evolution and refinement of the original pony, but they can still trace their roots in many cases.
The saddle on the Clydesdale horse that Zephyr was showing me, was really well made and looked great, she said that the saddle is by 'Equine Works' which was created by Ty Gabe, however, he has recently stepped down from the business and Lone Star Ranch are now taking over from him. Zephyr went on to say that from what she understands, they were the only Ranch that offered to sell Ty's saddles already attached to their horses and pay him a percentage of those sales, they did really well.
One of the foundations of Lone Star Ranch is that they love to work with other businesses. They also invite other builders to come to the ranch and chat with them and ask advice, they say they are always happy to help new builders, Jahdo said that sometimes they learn from them too, there are many ways to approach a problem.
Zephyr and Jahdo have many horses to choose from and Jahdo requested that some British horses be included, so they have the New Forest Ponies and Shetlands. They also have jousting horses and beautiful Native American Ponies (outfitted by 'Amour Stall', Sydel Rau makes the decorations for them). They also make riding snails for the UK based wildlife charity Mrs Tiggywinkles.
Well, reluctantly my meeting came to a close and I can only say that I'll be back to cover the Dragons on the Isle of Wyrms, of which Zephyr and Jahdo are both Elder Guardians. I asked Zephyr if she would like to add anything, she said 'it's been great fun...the people I've had the pleasure of working with - Jahdo Ohtobide, Slydel Rau, Ty Gabe, PennyWhistle Cameron, Cindy Bolero to name just a few....' She added 'It's mostly been a learning experience, and the big joy is helping others get the most out of their SL experience.' (Lone Star Ranch, Equus Region 128/55/25)