WILDWONDER™
Women of the West
Darcy Hemley’s style of portraiture creates an instant interest in her subjects. Infusing her images with subtle emotion through her use of light and intimate space. whether shooting a celebrity or a friend in their home, her set ups look unstaged and natural, as if she happened upon her subject-catching the ambiance and mood of that moment. chosen as one of pdn’s 30 emerging photographers, her work has appeared in Vanity Fair, W, WSJM, NYT, Dwell, Seven, Sunday Telegraph, Teen Vogue, GQ, Details, and Big. advertising clients include PPG, Ergo Baby, Logitech, Pony and MUU.
Carrington Garland is a third-generation Californian, born in Los Angeles. Her father, Fillmore Crank, was a real estate developer, and her mother, Beverly Garland, was a film and television actress, who starred in, among many other movies and show, “MyThreeSons.”In 1972, her parents built a 250-room hotel in North Hollywood, The BeverlyGarland Hotel (recently renamed the Garland), which Carrington’s family still owns and operates.
Carrington attended Pepperdine University as well as LA’s Fashion Institute of Design and merchandising, where she majored in merchandising and interior design. Shortly after finishing her studies, Carrington pursued a career in acting and was cast in the role of“Kelly Capwell” in the well-known 1990s soap opera, “Santa Barbara.”Carringtonstarredinthe series for three years.
In 1998, Carrington married her husband, Carlos Goodman, an entertainment lawyer in Beverly Hills, and they have two children, Tula and Beau, now 23 and 21. Carrington has always had a fascination with the West and a few years ago, as her children were beginning to leave the roost, she dove into Western horse-riding. She now has two horses and enjoys trail riding, cattle drives, and team penning.
In the Spring of 2021, Carrington and Carlos purchased a home in Santa Ynez. The property, Sky Ranch, includes a barn and pasture for her horses, as well as a wine vineyard that has given her the chance to learn the wine business. Working with local winemaker, Fidencio Flores, Carrington has bottled a Rose for the Garland Hotel, the“Sky Ranch Rose’,” and intends to expand the vineyard’s offerings in coming years. Wine making ties back to Carrington’s family history in California, as she recently learned that her great-great-uncle, James Fillmore Crank, started a wine business in the early 1880s, The Sierra Madre Vintage Company, from his property, Fair Oaks Ranch, in the Pasadena area
Jeanne Kelley is an award-winning author of six cookbooks. A food writer, culinary educator and food stylist, she was a contributing editor at Bon Appetit magazine for twenty years. Jeanne is an edible garden expert who specializes in seasonal and sustainable cooking. Her articles have appeared frequently in the Los Angeles Times food section, Fine Cooking and CookingLight magazines
Tara Gomez:
Tara’s passion for wine began when she was young and her parents used to take her wine tasting throughout the Central Coast. When she was a child she enjoyed looking at life through a microscope and it was the connection of wine to nature and science that made her want to pursue an Enology Degree.
Tara graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology from CSU Fresno. She worked for a few wineries, including Fess Parker and J. Lohr, at the same time she started her first label — Kalawashaq’Wine Cellars (named for the village where her Chumash ancestors once lived) — sourcing fruit from her friend and mentor Larry Gomez, from Via Vega Vineyards in Paso Robles. Tara left her job at J. LohrWinery in 2008, and put Kalawashaq’ on hold while she went to explore the world. During that time she worked two harvests at Castell d’Encus in Spain, the same winery where her wife, Mireia was the winemaker. When Tara returned to California in 2010, her Chumash Tribe had purchased Camp 4Vineyard and she started Kitá Wines, a small, premium winery in the Santa Ynez Valley where she was the winemaker. Kitá Wines closed its doors in the summer of 2022. She is the first recognized Native American winemaker in the country and brings a unique perspective to her winemaking style.
In 2017, Tara was ready to bring her personal project, Kalawashaq’ Wine Cellars back to life, and along, added a new label with her wife Mireia. Thus, Camins 2 Dreams was born out of their shared love for wine, winemaking and each other. They source fruit exclusively from vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills, a unique appellation in Santa Barbara County. Her focus is on minimum intervention, natural winemaking. She sources fruit from vineyards that share in the same values of respect for the land and their workers and works exclusively with organic, biodynamic, and SIP Certified vineyards.
Tara’s most recent accolades include “2021 Winemaker of the Year” by VinePair and “2022 Winemaker of the Year” by The Hue Society. She is honored and humbled to receive such prestigious awards back to back and see all of her hard work, dedication, and perseverance not just seen, but celebrated. She was also awarded 2022 ChangeMakers by the American Association of University Women, Lompoc-Vandenberg Branch. Tara is also about building community and is a part of many groups which include The Hue Society, Advisor for Woman-Owned Wineries, Advisor for The James Beard Legacy Network, Board of Director for The Vinguard, and a Mentor for The Roots Fun
Mireia Taribo:
Mireia was born and raised in Catalunya, in the northeastern part of Spain. Her interest in wine started at a very young age. Growing up in Spain, wine is considered a food and was part of almost every meal. Mireia knew from a young age that she wanted to learn more about wine. Mireia graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Barcelona and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology at the University of Rovira and Virgili. When she was in her last year of studies, she came to California as an intern for a harvest season, which is where she met her wife, Tara Gomez. When that harvest finished, Mireia went back to Spain. In 2008, she accepted a harvest position at Castell d’Encus, astart-up winery in the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain. She quickly earned a winemaker position and worked there until 2014. While working at Castell d’Encus, Mireia went back to school to earn her Masters in Enology, Viticulture, and Marketing of Wine. Meanwhile her relationship with Tara grew and they traveled the world and visited all the wine regions together. In 2014, Mireia moved to California and began working as a wine broker and wine consultant.
In 2017, she started Camins 2 Dreams, a new adventure with her wife, Tara Gomez, making wine together and sourcing fruit from selected Sta. Rita Hills vineyards and coolest sites from Santa Barbara County.
When she’s not working, Mireia enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and her dogs. She loves nature and hiking but also enjoys relaxing at home with a glass of wine and a good book.
Hayley Firestone has been a Santa Ynez Valley resident off and on throughout her life always drawn back to the beauty and authenticity of this region. She moved here from Central London as a young teen when her parents founded The Firestone Vineyard. Hayley joined her parents and siblings in all aspects of the wine business including driving tractors in the vineyard, picking grapes, hoeing weeds, and eventually running the tasting room and building the event and wedding business on site. Hayley attended Smith College and then Stanford University where she earned her BA and Master’s degrees. Starting her career as a teacher of French and History, Hayley has spent many years working in the independent school world both in California and in the greater Boston area. Turning her focus to the fundraising world, Hayley transitioned to the role of Director of Major Gifts at Direct Relief, a non-profit medical supply organization, and then to the Granada Theatre as the VP of Development. In 1998 Hayley became the proud owner of two alpacas. Since that moment, Hayley’s life has been blessed with the presence of alpacas and llamas building a side business which included showing, breeding, boarding, and hosting teaching clinics for other alpaca and llama breeders from around the world. At one time, her herd numbered just under 200 animals and is now 43.
Since meeting Dennis 6 years ago, Hayley and Dennis have started every day with a few minutes of quiet time, together in two specific chairs in their home and a good cup of coffee. This commitment to the ritual of the morning and a great cup of coffee led them in 2020, during the height of Covid, to create their new venture, Zaca Coffee. Today, Hayley and Dennis manage their 1600-acre cattle ranch where they raise cattle, llamas and alpacas, and host special events; and together they run the growing business, Zaca Coffee, a central coast based roastery supplying retail and wholesale coffee, and canned Cold Brew to restaurants, hotels, markets and coffee shops throughout the Central Coast. In her spare time, Hayley enjoys travel, hiking the ranch, riding her horse, great local restaurants, and, most importantly, the company of her 4 adult children, 2 stepsons, son in law, and 2 granddaughters.
Sasha Emoniee is an herbalist, cook, Earth tender, and artist from California. Sasha spends her days facilitating full sensory herbal food experiences, creating a native and medicinal garden in Los Angeles, leading plant walks, creating herbal remedies for Commune Apothecary, writing seasonal recipe books, and practicing living in flow of Earth’s rhythms. Sasha is deeply dedicated to nourishing all aspects of the self and is rooted in the belief that you can be in reciprocity with the land wherever you are. Her work is an exploration of ancestral wisdom in the modern era and the cyclical ways of Earth wisdom.
She is interested in creating spaces and experiences that encourage people to interact with the Earth through all of our senses. Sasha hopes that her offerings can encourage people to go out and connect with the land around them and in turn connect with themselves.
Jill has been on a lifelong journey as a “student of change.” Her first job in the recreation industry was teaching aerobic dance and swimming and then directing the department at the YWCA in Madison, Wisconsin, which was followed by teaching kayaking and skiing in the Alps . Completing her MBA at USF brought a fun, decades-long run in high-tech publishing, creating and managing many brands in the Bay Area and New York. After 9/11 and a transformative week-long stay at Rancho La Puerta in 2002, she discovered the importance of mindful practice in making choices for her life. Creating easily identified tasks to ensure desired changes and outcomes started with annual retreats with her family and evolved into an 8-step process for and with friends. The effectiveness of the program became clearly evident with zoom sessions during the pandemic. This success spurred her on to launch Club Change, where participants support each another in making the necessary choices to enhance their bodies, minds, spirits, and communities. When Jill is not leading Club Change Zoom events, she guides guests at Rancho La Puerta through the docent program and teaches chant, swimming, hiking pole use, and intention setting and practicing.
Wildwonder Itinerary
Day 1 – Sunday
3:00pm
Check in and enjoy your in-room gift bag
4:00pm
Welcome Intention setting with Jill Thiry
Select your Lovely Bird hat and make a hatband
7:00pm
Welcome Dinner in Sycamore Room
Day 2 – Monday
7:00-9:00am
Private Breakfast Horseback Ride featuring cooking demonstration and coffee workshop
12 – 2:00 pm
Lunch at Leisure
2 – 4:00 pm
Trunk Show and Photography Workshop
6:00 pm
Spirits Tasting
7:00 pm
Dinner and Wine pairing with Carrington Garland
Day 3 – Tuesday
7:00 -10:00 am
Breakfast at Leisure
8:00 am
Yoga Class at Alisal Lake
10:00 am
Plant Walk
12 – 2:00 pm
Cooking demo followed by lunch
1:30-5 pm
Ranch free time: horseback riding, hiking, spa, etc.
7:00 pm
Dinner in the Cottonwood Room with Camins2Dreams Wine
9:00 pm
Line Dancing Class
Day 4 – Wednesday
7:00 – 10:00 am
Breakfast at Leisure
8:00 am
Morning meditation walk
10:00 am
How to Take your Inner Cowgirl Home
11:00 am
Check-out and departure
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