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Happy Trail!

- March 7th, 2024
Legendary horsewoman Pat Ommert of Temecula cuts the ceremonial ribbon to open the Pat Ommert Trail, flanked by (from left) Riverside County COO Juan Perez, County Supervisor Chuck Washington, County staff member Phayvanh Nanthavongdouangsy, and emcee Mark Madsen. (Photo courtesy Supervisor Chuck Washington)

After a long ride to completion, Temecula trail advocates celebrate

From Horsetrader staff reports

TEMECULA — Travelers along DePortola Road aren’t accustomed to big commotions on a Thursday morning, but there it was on Feb. 22: dozens of observers, several dignitaries, a mounted posse, even media.

It was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Pat Ommert Trail. After 15 years of dedicated work, the stars had finally aligned and the 2.3-mile trail through Valle de los Caballos, linking Anza Road to the vineyards, would officially open.

The brightest star, legendary horsewoman and lifelong horse advocate Pat Ommert, arrived promptly at 11 a.m. — pulled at age 94 by a team of draft horses instead of Roman Riding them as she gracefully did for decades. When she cut the ribbon, flanked by Riverside County officials including Supervisor Chuck Washington, about five dozen supporters, sponsors and trail users cheered.

Cow horse Kick Off

- February 1st, 2024

New year, same excitement in SCRCHA opener


Chris Delmer and Kiana Cat kicked off their 2024 SCRCHA season with a herd work title at the Cow Horse Kick Off Jan. 5-7 at Tucalota Creek Ranch in Temecula. (Danger Dingo photo)


By SUE CARTER / for the Horsetrader

TEMECULA — Southern California s cow horse community came together Jan. 5-7 to salute its 2023 champions and also launch the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association’s 2024 campaign.

SCRCHA members were glad to be back on their horses after the bustle of the holidays, and the Kick Off Show sponsored by Dr. Doug Lawrence and Dr. Wayne McNeel of Equine Health Management was a great start to the new campaign.

Tucalota Creek Ranch hosted the show, including a fun pizza party with wine tasting that took place while SCRCHA 2023 Year End Champions received their buckles and awards.


Getting the Scoop

- February 1st, 2024

Educating users on trail manure aids communities

Equestrian trail users’ education of non-equestrian trail users can be extremely beneficial to the horse trail community. (ETI photo)

By LYNDALL ERB, PHD. / courtesy of ELCR.org

Horses have been a critical part of human progress from the early days of our history. They have carried men and supplies in times of war and peace, pulled the plows of farmers’ fields and were the main source of transportation during the settlement of the American west. Horses were the backbone of farms, the transportation to town for supplies and social activities, and a family necessity. Historically, many trails were created by horses ridden by people who needed to get from point A to point B. Today those trails are a critical part of recreation in open spaces and parks.


Leader of the Pack

- March 9th, 2023
Rock Creek Pack Station riders enjoy a “trip of a lifetime” — sometimes again and again. Courtesy photo.

For decades, Craig London, DVM of Rock Creek Pack Station has shared Sierra wilderness with folks on horseback

HORSETRADER: Craig, where did your journey into Sierra wilderness trips begin?
CRAIG: My parents, Herbert and Marge London, bought Rock Creek Pack Station in 1947. My dad was an executive for American Airlines, and when he left L.A., he had been sort of head of flight operations,and he decided he wanted to be a packer. He wanted to go to Bishop.
So, he just had a passion for the outdoors — the wilderness and simple lifestyle — and he never regretted it.

Ranch and cow horse combine

- March 1st, 2023
Danger Dingo photos

New cow horse division comes to WCRH

Special to the Horsetrader

Since 2020, West Coast Ranch Horse has been producing high quality and well-attended ranch horse shows throughout Southern California. This year, WCRH is introducing a new Ranch Cow Horse Division, featuring three classes: Ranch Cutting, Ranch Boxing and Ranch Reining.

There is a division for all levels of horse and rider including Open, Amateur, Green Horse, Green as Grass, Youth 18-under and Short Stirrup 10-under. This line-up of classes and divisions is designed to make cow horse and reining events more accessible, as it does not require a finished reined cow horse or reiner.
The club will introduce this new division with a two-show buckle series April 8 and May 6. Silver buckles will be awarded in every class for the two-show series. As part of the April event, the club is also offering an AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge on April 7.

Ease into easements

- January 10th, 2023
Trail easements will allow equestrian access to strips of land which can connect larger trail networks or just allow the continuation of a rural trail. ELCR.org photo.

How trail easements support equestrian access

By LAUREL A. FLORIO / Courtesy ELCR.org

So many aspects of equine activities, such as sport horse training, ranching, or recreational riding, rely on large areas of land — be it for grazing, riding arenas, turn-out or, to a smaller degree, trail access.
Sometimes land-locked areas provide fabulous multi-use opportunities for riders to enjoy the trails. However, access often is restricted to trailer parking gateways, so the need for trail access over privately-owned land is essential to equine use. The lack of this access can minimize trail availability.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — With three confirmed cases of non-neurologic EHV-1 over the weekend at the Desert Circuit hunter-jumper series in Thermal, the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park has cancelled the Feb. 19-20 SoCal Ranch & Slide event.

The show is the first of four 2022 ranch riding and reining competitions scheduled at the Orange County venue, and it marked the first western events ever scheduled at the venerable facility known for hosting world-class hunter-jumper competition.

“Out of an abundance of caution due to the EHV-1 equine virus and for the safety of the horses, the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park has canceled the Feb. 19-20 western show,” announced management of the SoCal Ranch & Slide Series, Orange County-based Track One Events.

Track One Events added that the second western show in the SoCal Ranch & Slide Series, set for March 5-6 at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, remains on schedule.

Additional info on the show series: https://www.trackoneevents.com

Additional coverage of the EHV outbreak at the Desert Circuit: https://bit.ly/ehvdesertcircuit

 

Trails are Common Ground

- November 2nd, 2021

ELCR joins coalition launching nationwide trail etiquette campaign

Courtesy of ELCR.org

Horses and bikes finding Common Ground on the trails. (ELCR.org photo)

Any recreational trail user will tell you there are more people on the trails than ever before. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, automated counters at trail systems around the country recorded four times as many users compared to the same time frame in 2019.

Up to the Challenge

- November 2nd, 2021

BURBANK — The region’s top reining horses and riders returned to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center Oct. 26-31 for The Challenge, California Reining Horse Association’s pinnacle event of the year. Warm weather greeted equally hot performances during the show.

From Horsetrader sales staff

 

An exciting horse sale on this fall’s calendar is the Nov. 6 West Coast Ranch Horse Rendezvous Sale at the beautiful Tucalota Creek Ranch. Managed by XIT Western Productions, this sale will bring 35 head of high-quality ranch horses that “are ready to be your next partner.” The sale will specialize in horses that are show-ready or are great ranch horse prospects. There is a consignor application process and a selection committee to ensure only the cream of the crop are offered. The sale will take place alongside a series of events over the 2021 WCRH Rendezvous weekend Nov. 4-7. As for the show, the WCRH Rendezvous will include ranch horse clinics with Sami Hernandez, Cowley Performance Horses and others, a two-day ranch horse show, ranch horse futurities, a silent auction, wine and cheese reception, vendors, and a banquet dinner with live cowboy music from Eric Gorsuch. There will be a saddle awarded to the Top Hand of the weekend, division buckles, trophy knives, trophy stirrups and more! The sale preview will be held with the wine and cheese reception at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5, and the sale will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday.