ShowBiz Feature S
against jumping and time faults. Along the way, she helped create a horse treat company that bridges both her work and her passion. Fighting the good fight
in court, battling for some of the most vulnerable of society’s victims, try- ing to make a difference in the world, raising a fam- ily, competing in the rid- ing arena, and participat- ing in a business would more than complete most people’s list of life accom- plishments. Quite recently, however, Sharmin decided to enter another fierce arena to do battle, the po- litical arena. She is now a declared candidate for the office of District Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. Here is her story.
RIDING PROVIDES BALANCE Sharmin’s parents relocated to Australia during her ear-
ly childhood years. It was at the Forest Park Riding and Equitation School in Canberra that she began her riding. Soon after she started riding, her family acquired a couple of Morgan horses. She quickly bonded with the horses, and credits her riding with the early exposure and assistance in learning the important lessons of teamwork, perseverance, goal setting, and achievement. Since her return to San Francisco approximately forty
years ago, she has ridden with several notable trainers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her journey to the jumper ring started with the classical path of beginning in hunter ring, during which she ultimately won the NorCal Zone 10 Hunter Championship. She now rides with Rachel and Jeff Fields at Sandhaven Farm in Woodside, California. Although Sharmin maintains a hectic schedule that re-
harmin Bock is a fierce competitor. During the week, she battles in the Court Room for the People of the State of California against some of the worst predators imaginable. On the weekends, she battles in the Jumper Arena
Sharmin & Everything
insane workplace. It is a sanctuary from which all of us benefit in many ways, seen and unseen.” She believes that in this privileged sport in which we participate, we should never take for granted the privilege we have in working with and the healing value that horses provide us. Her “family” cur-
rently includes three horses. Her stallion, “Everything,” is a 9 year old Dutch Warmblood, an In- doctro offspring. “Cosmos 36” is a 14 year old West- phalian gelding, proven champion, and wily veteran of the jumper ring. Fi- nally, there is “Lara 368”, an 11 year old Westphalian mare. The team of
her to win a jumper classic by making an astounding turn di- rectly in front of the bank at a show at the Woodside Horse Park – a turn that the course designer, who was watching at the time, hadn’t envisioned as possible. After two of her horses decided to simultaneously take a
year off, Sharmin is returning to competition this year start- ing in the AA Jumpers, with the goal of then advancing to the Low and High Amateur Owner Jumpers. Her daughter Fiona, who recently graduated from ponies, is now riding and competing on Lara.
CRITICAL MISSION Sharmin is a nationally-recognized expert in human traf-
quires balancing an intense work environment, family, and a business interest, she typically manages to ride three days a week. Riding and horse shows are a truly family affair for the Bock family. Sharmin remarked, “My horses are an integral part of my family.” This is quite evident, as often present at the horse shows she competes at; there are three generations of her family. “Riding is borrowed freedom,” according to Sharmin. She adds, “Riding is my Prozac – it keeps me sane in my
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ficking, and for 22 years has been a Deputy District At- torney in the District Attorney’s Office of Alameda Coun- ty. She is assigned to the Cold Case/DNA Cold Hit Unit where she works with law enforcement agencies to investi- gate both older and serious cases, which often involve the use of DNA technology and other forensic evidence. Ms. Bock also created and heads the Human Exploitation and Trafficking (H.E.A.T.) Unit, where she prosecutes complex human trafficking cases, with an emphasis on those cases that involve sexually exploited minors as victims. It should be noted that there is a definite divergence be-
tween real life and the current crop of television shows that profit from the fictional and factually based stories
Sharmin and Cos- mos have often produced some re- markable rounds, certainly enhanced by Cosmos’ ability to turn on a dime. The duos’s daring and never say die at- titude, once allowed
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