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Exciting horseback riding stunts, vintage Old West guns, a terrifying cougar attack, a mysterious Arizona gold mine map and an arising love affair kept the Cell and the other Waterfall Canyon residents busy as the Christmas holiday approached. Work on the Western movie Trail Ridin' Mama, starring Tasha Khoury, began; the first scene was rehearsed and filmed by Assistant Director Gopher Gutz. This scene, filmed out of sequence, featured stunt doubles Sam Sackett, appearing as U.S. Cavalry officer Jack Hardin, and Beth Hunter as
heroine Clementine Carson.
The scene required Beth to be thrown from her horse during a cattle stampede, a stunt Sam taught her; he trained her horse to fall, and trained her to jump off and roll. She was then saved from being trampled by the cattle by Sam, who performed a trick riding maneuver. He rode past her at a gallop and pulled her up onto the back of his horse.
The rehearsal for this scene was difficult and frightening for Beth. The cattle seemed wild to her, and she thought she might really be trampled. However, she kept her nerve and performed her stunt well.
Sam was pleased. He continued his own private "rehearsal" with her. On the way back from the location with Beth, he pulled his Ford pickup truck off the road in an isolated area and began to make love to her, though he held himself back when he saw that she felt intimidated.
The movie costume department hired a new designer, Yves St. LaFlounce, an assistant to
head designer Fifi Clouseau. Both of them had trouble dealing with the tempermental and
demanding Tasha. Diretor C.B. DeFille and Gopher Gutz continued to insist on changes
to the script, driving writer Leggy Barber crazy. Yves tried his best to fit the buxom Tasha
into an authentic whalebone corset, but when he tried to lace it on her, it burst into pieces
which flew out the window. Despite this debacle, Tasha boasted to everyone about her
slender figure and the exercise tape she planned to make as a new entrepreneurial venture.
When Beth showed up for the filming of the cattle stampede scene, Sam and the cowboy
extras were startled at her appearance. Made up to look like Tasha, Beth had to wear a
costume that included two large plastic false breasts. Sam requested one last rehearsal of the risky rescue stunt, and when he lifted Beth up onto his horse, one of the falsies popped out of her shirt. The false boob was snatched by Calamity the stunt dog, who thought it was a toy and took off with it in her mouth. Beth was so exasperated that she yanked the other falsie out and threw that one to the dog also, to the great amusement of Gopher, Sam and the cowboys.
On the morning of the cattle stampede filming, Sam had been outfitted in a sharp-looking U.S. Cavalry officer's uniform by Fifi, and he cut a fine figure. Unknown to Sam, Tasha saw him as he left the costume trailer. Since she loved men in uniform, she demanded to Gopher that Sam be the one to teach her to ride. Sam was irritated, but reluctantly agreed. Tasha showed up for her riding lesson and proceeded to flirt shamelessly with Sam, bending over in the saddle and flashing her breasts at him. Sam, unimpressed and eager to get rid of her, took the risk of having her gallop her horse while he rode alongside shouting encouraging words. He convinced her that she now knew how to ride and no longer needed his instruction, and she was very pleased with herself.
Dame Kate, who had come to Waterfall Canyon Ranch for a performance engagement and the hope of adventure, toured the streets of the new movie set town, called Red Bluff, and promptly fell into a cow patty. She then met three charming middle-aged cowboys, Jeremiah Jackson, Roy Beal and Wilfred Brummel. They bought Edma drinks and chatted with her in the Wild Card Saloon. The SSC women made plans to return home for their Christmas vacations. Alan Quickman and his lover Belle Pharr decided to spend the holiday together in California. Max Montezuma began to admire Vicki Paleon.
The actors began their training with antique and Uberti replica Old West guns under the direction of Waterfall foreman Mike Perez, who told themthe history of these famous guns. They learned to load and fire the Colt .45 "Peacemaker" revolver and the lever action Winchester 1873 .44-.40 rifle. Although they would be shooting blanks during the movie scenes, in this practice they used live black powder load ammunition so they could
experience the recoil and shoot at targets.
Sam was in charge of training the actors in mounted shooting. As he demonstrated how to shoot revolvers and rifles from horseback at high speed, two strangers rode up and watched the practice: Faustino Carvalho, the second-in-command of Florian da Silva at Diamantina Ranch, and his beautiful companion Serafina Duarte. After observing the training, Faustino abruptly requested a mounted rifle shooting competition with Sam, who agreed. A few minutes into the competition, Faustino started racing Sam recklessly, and appeared to try to shoot him off his horse. Sam escaped injury by utlizing a riding trick where he hung off one side of the saddle. The SSC women realized Faustino was trying to kill Sam in the belief that
Sam was in the SSC too. Sam, who knew nothing about the secret activities of the SSC, saw the danger but did not understand the motivation, and accepted Faustino's explanation that it was simply a daredevil prank designed to impress Serafina.
Tasha left to spend Christmas in Nevada, but several of her associates stayed behind at the ranch and spent an evening at the Wild Card Saloon: Fred, Garth, Cleo, Dr. Jen Errick and her sister Dr. Naime Brande. At the saloon, Fred and Garth approached two old prospectors,
Grizzly Pete and Paddy, with the intention of getting them to help find the gold mine described on Tasha's map. Later, Fred and Garth, wishing to keep control over Grizzly and Paddy, enlisted Ruff to draw up a cunning contract and non-disclosure agreement for the two prospectors.
On Winter Solstice Day, Beth went off alone in the wilderness and brooded at length about her former lover Hans Richter, remembering what he was like and how he had dominated her. She decided that since she would never see him again, it was time to cast off his lingering influence, forget him and free herself for a love affair with Sam. She told her sister Claudia she would not be going home with her to San Francisco for Christmas; instead
she would stay at Waterfall with Sam. She made a shy overture to him, and he began to advance his plans for her, seeing a chance for consummation over the holiday while they had more privacy. They attended a Christmas dinner held by Waterfall owners Frank and Elena Delgado for all the other "orphans" who didn't go home for Christmas: Dame Kate, Max, Vicki and Tasha's friends.
Dame Kate went on a holiday ride with Max and Zach, refreshing her riding skills on a mare named Phoebe. While separated from her companions, Kate was thrown from the horse and lost her glasses. She heard growling and put her glasses back on, the pair of fluorescent blue ones with the rhinestone curly-fry shaped, light-embedded trim. Kate was horrified to see a cougar stalking her and Phoebe, ready to pounce. Phoebe saved Kate by rearing and pawing at the cougar, who was doubly frightened by the sight of Kate's formidably decorated glasses. Kate recovered nicely at her cabin, surrounded by her friends and soothed with spiritous libations.
Sam, now sensing victory at hand, invited Beth to his cabin for coffee before an early day of riding; within minutes of her arrival, he turned the topic away from horses. There on his living room floor, amid the clutter of his boots and saddles, they became lovers. Beth thought of Hans at the last minute, but was soon overwhelmed by Sam. She threw herself wholeheartedly into the affair, never dreaming that anything would go wrong this time.
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