Cadence in Arizona’s Sky Islands: Winter Riding with Gaited Horses in Cochise County

The Assignment

In the fall of 2025, I pitched Stephanie Ruff, editor of Sound Advocate, the online magazine of the nonprofit organization Friends of Sound Horses (FOSH), about writing an equine travel piece on winter horseback riding in southeastern Arizona.

The Delivery

In addition to writing the 1600-word piece, I gathered photos, credit info, and copyright permissions for all images and submitted all to Stephanie.

Click on the link to read the entire piece.

Cadence in Arizona’s Sky Islands: Winter Riding with Gaited Horses in Cochise County, FOSH 12 2025 Janet de Acevedo Macdonald

 Legends in the Land of Cochise
In Cochise County, Arizona’s southeastern edge, the Huachuca Mountains rise to the south and the Chiricahuas to the east—ranges that seem to float above the desert like islands in a sea. This is a land where history and landscape are inseparable. Named for the Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise, the county was carved from Pima County, home to Tucson, in 1881 and quickly became a stage for frontier drama. Tombstone was first established as a silver mining town in the late 1870s, before it became famous for its gunslingers, the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and other frontier conflicts.

Threading through it all is Historic Arizona Highway 80, once known as the “Broadway of America.” Beginning in Benson at Interstate 10, the highway carried travelers southeasterly through Tombstone, Bisbee, and Douglas, linking Cochise County’s mining camps and frontier towns to the broader world, echoing the same paths of migration, commerce, and adventure that shaped the American West.

From the saddle, each horizon promises discovery: quail darting across the path, deer slipping through the brush, and hawks circling high above. Every stride feels like a passage through shifting worlds, where horse and rider move in harmony with landscapes that change as quickly as the light.

The mission of FOSH, Friends of Sound Horses, Inc.:

To promote all “sound,” naturally gaited horses, with a specific emphasis on Tennessee Walking Horses.

(“Sound” means not “sored”)

Education is vital to humane care, training, and treatment of all gaited horses for their emotional, mental, and physical well-being. FOSH will only support flat-shod or barefoot horses and will never endorse any event that uses stacks and/or chains as action devices, nor any mechanical, chemical, or artificial means to modify the horse’s natural gaits.

FOSH FOCUSES ON THREE AREAS FOR GAITED HORSES:

  1. Educating people on sound training principles
  2. Supporting sound shows, events & activities
  3. Working to end soring