I'd been hearing lots of great things about the SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) from my friends Vicki Rorke (Dark Vic) and Vicki Heady (Light Vic). The Southern California chapter calls itself the California Desperados, and the Vickis, along with Desperado Webmistress BarbWire, have founded the purely unofficial Desperado Press Corps.

I finally managed to join the Desperado Press Corps last July, along with Sue Koci and Kay Brenner. The event was hosted by the Vice President of the Ponderosa Ranch, Wrangler Royce Anderson. Royce is the son of the ranch's owners, and he got permission for the contestants to camp on Ranch property. He provided fresh water and Port-A-Potties, and the contestants provided a great group of people who manage to compete fiercely and still have a great time while they do so. I've seen two such events now, and at both the sportsmanship was really amazing. Everyone wants to win, but nobody begrudges the rider who actually does.

This was also a chance for me to play with my new Canon ZR10 digital camcorder. I'm studiously not thinking about all the hours I spent going through the hour and a half's worth of footage and turning it into two videos, one featuring the lovely scenery around Lake Tahoe, and one with the actual Ride and Shoot footage. The stills from these videos are featured on all my pages, while some of the individual videos can be viewed at the Desperados website.

I've got pictures of: