Kate MacDonald-Special to the Sun

Drive north from Lake Isabella - pass the lumber yard and the Silver City Ghost Town, keep going through Bodfish, where the road begins to bend and climb Hooper Hill. Over the top and head down to Havilah, the old county seat with its scattering of homes, ranches and historic buildings. And beyond HavilahŠBeyond Havilah is where we are headed. To the Walker's Basin, and Twin Oaks, Sand Canyon, and Lorraine, and the mountains that enfold these communities. The people who live out here embody the term “rugged individualist.” Some have lived here for generations, tracing their family back to the original pioneers that settled here. Others have come from far and wide to call this place their home. This is the Piutes; this is Cowboy Country. In this series we'll meet some of the people who live here.

Jeannie Gillen: Horsewoman,Trails Advocate “If you're lucky enough to live in the mountains, you're lucky enough.”

That's how Jeannie Gillen describes her life on her 20-acre ranch in Twin Oaks. Down a dirt road, and up a curving drive, the first thing you see is the barn - appropriate for this confirmed horsewoman, who was “born loving horses,” who rode in a parade at the age of 10 and years later, spent eight weeks on a historic ride from the Mexican desert to San Francisco.

Gillen has spent years devoted to community activism as a trails advocate and a defender of both public use of trails on public lands, and green spaces. “If you don't fight for them, we'll lose them,” Gillen says of California's trails. As a current appointee to the California Trails Committee, she was invited to Governor Schwarzenegger's inaugural gala. A black tie event, which created a small dilemma for Gillen, who wondered if it would be appropriate to wear, atop her black velvet gown, her trademark black Stetson cowboy hat.

“So I called the staff of the inaugural committee and was told, ‘the governor is unique so it will probably be okay', but there was a hesitation as if he wanted me to give it up. But I wanted to represent equestrians, if it was appropriate,” she said. In the end, both Gillen and her partner, Todd Rappaport, not only took their 100-pound dog Ringo to Sacramento, but walked down the red carpet to the gala wearing black Stetsons. “As soon as we walked up, there were cameras immediately in our faces. I ran into that staffer, who said, ‘You look great!' and everyone was so flattering, saying, “We love your hats!'”, Gillen said.

That's Gillen: a strong sense of herself, and the message is more important than blending in. She was first appointed by Governor Gray Davis to the Trails Committee in 2000, one of seven people and the only member who is not a government employee; Gillen serves as a volunteer.

Serving on the Trails Committee, which advises the governor's staff on trails development, use and maintenance, is just one of the long list of jobs that Gillen has taken on in defense trails and preserving nature.

Born in the Presidio, in San Francisco, Gillen's father was in the Air Force and as such the family moved often when she was young, until her father retired to Palm Springs when Gillen was in high school. There she received her BA in Legal Studies from the College of the Desert. She married her high school sweetheart and had her first daughter, Tiffany, and was a homemaker for four years until the couple divorced and she went to work as Director of Marketing for a home building company. The job involved a lot of travel, and at a conference, after five years of single motherhood, met her second husband. They had a second daughter, Melissa, and bought a ranch in Orange County, and finally Gillen realized a life-long dream, to own a horse.

“I was born with the love of horses. I always wished on my birthday for a pony. I worked at a stables to get to ride the horses. At 10 I received special permission to ride in a parade.” Dressed all in black, on a white horse, Gillen rode 52 blocks alone through the city to get to the parade route. “I'm extremely independent,” Gillen admits with a smile.

After 20 years of marriage, with her daughter in college, the couple parted ways - her husband wanted a condo on a golf course and Gillen was devoted to riding and the ranch life. But the area was being developed and a freeway was planned, so Gillen moved to a ranch on the Santa Rosa Plateau, crisscrossed with riding trails, perfect for Gillen and her horse. But the Nature Conservancy bought 7000 acres on the Plateau, and “no sooner than the ink was dry” on the deed, put up “No Trespassing” signs. That was Gillen's call to arms and launched her into a trail advocacy campaign that she continues to this day. Gillen formed the Santa Rosa Riding Club and met with the Conservancy until they reached an agreement to allow docent-led trail rides. Next, she took a Director's position on the Homeowners Board to establish a system of trails. “The biggest factor is convincing people that if there is a designated place to ride, there will be less trespassing,” she says.

Then Gillen helped raise $38 million to save areas of the Plateau threatened by development when the Metropolitan Water District in Hemet was subjected to mitigation - to offset a planned development, they had to purchase lands to keep in their native state. Gillen helped make sure the areas were protected because “it was important to our quality of life; it was why we all lived there. We had horses and wanted to keep access to the trails.”

After that success, Gillen began to receive appointments to committees, and her next big project involved fighting the Army Corps of Engineers on a planned flood control plan for Murrieta Creek. The Corps planned to capture the creek in a concrete channel, “like the LA river,” Gillen explained. She worked for 10 years and helped lobby the federal government to allot $92 million for an alternative plan, created by Gillen's committee, which maintained wetlands and trails along the floodplain. That project is now underway.

In the mid-90's, Gillen received a call from the National Park Service, asking if she was interested in becoming involved in the re-opening of the historic Juan Bautista de Anza trail. Anza was the first European to establish an overland route from Mexico to the Pacific coast of California, a route that explorers had been seeking for more than two centuries. In 1775, he led his colonizing expedition with livestock and more than 200 people, to establish the mission and presidio at what would become San Francisco. Gillen agreed to join the commemorative ride - and in 1996, starting in the Sonoran Desert, Gillen rode every day, all day, on Mexican horses, for eight weeks, to the Presidio in San Francisco - where she'd been born. She was one of only two - both women - to complete the relay ride, but each day they were joined by other riders, sometimes as many as 250. They visited towns and schools as a living history event, complete with authentic costumes and flags. Each village would greet them with fiestas, parties, food, music, proclamations, and celebrations. The event was documented by television, newspapers and two documentary films.

“It was an incredible experience, the people were so warm and appreciative,” Gillen remembered. Her favorite moments were asking the school kids, “Is anyone here named Ortiz? Ortega? Sepulveda, Moraga?” (Those are some of the surnames of members of Anza's 1775 expedition.) “Their hands would go up and their faces would light up, they'd say, ‘No one ever told me I was special for having my name before.' ”

Gillen met her partner Todd Rappaport when he “was the only one who could fix my truck,” she said. Rappaport is a mechanic, with his business in Twin Oaks. But Gillen did make sure Rappaport, a motorcycle rider and crew chief for a stocks car racing team, would learn to ride a horse before making a commitment to the relationship. He asked “How fast can they go?” and when she replied about 40 miles an hour, he replied, “I can survive that crash!” After “flying through the air a few times,” Rappaport caught the bug and now never turns down an invitation to ride.

The couple bought the property in the area in 2000, through a real estate ad in an equestrian magazine. They toured the area until they found the ranch. “I stood there and could feel my being melt into the earth, and decided here is where I want to be,” she said. They lived in their horse trailer for six weeks while the grading and home was assembled. “We fell in love with it and everything fell into place,” Gillen said. “Greg Bean did the grading all on a handshake and recommended all the other contractors.” And Rappaport was told that the area really needed a good mechanic, and was directed to an old barn that would serve as a shop.

What do they love best about the area? “I like this area the way it is, a way of life that's so down to earth, simple, and honest. We've met old-timers and cowboys. We came here to be a part of that, and not change it.”

Nowadays, Gillen works part time as a mediator, with a state credential to mediate from the community to Superior Court level. And keeps her hand in trail advocacy, always traveling with her horse, dog, and black Stetson. But the best times for Gillen are when she saddles up, calls the dog, and heads out behind her home to hit the trail.