Daniel & Michelle’s Bay Area Horseback Ride Surprise Proposal

I had been wondering when Daniel would propose to his girlfriend Michelle, and as it turns out, that day finally came last weekend. I was really excited in the days leading up to it… until the apocalyptic smoke hit the Bay Area. If you’re reading this from the future when those memories are (hopefully) a long-distant past, there was a week in 2020 when much of the west coast was engulfed in flames, and the resulting smoke covered the skies, turning everything orange. So Daniel had to reschedule, and luckily, yesterday (one week later) ended up being perfect for his horseback proposal on the beach.

On the big day, I went and met with David, who runs the Mar Vista Stables at the top of Thornton State Beach, and he gave me a quick briefing on how the horseback ride was going to go. Then down I went to the bottom of Thornton Beach, and I hid in the shade until the horses came trotting down. They stopped by the shore as planned, and Daniel got off his horse and walked over to Michelle. He had originally planned on having Michelle dismount and walk over to the water with him, but I actually like how this worked out, with her still on the horse, much better! You can see the rest of this story in the photos below. Just look at that smile on Daniel’s face. I think he’s one of the most excited/happiest grooms-to-be I’ve ever seen.

Congrats Daniel & Michelle on the engagement, and check out photos of their Bay Area horseback ride surprise proposal below!