Get up-close and personal with the 2018 Rose Parade equestrian units at Equestfest, scheduled for Friday, Dec. 29, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Presented by Wells Fargo, EquestFest gives the public a chance to watch beautiful horses and talented riders perform drills and dances and demonstrate trick riding and roping, as well as the chance to stroll through the stables, talk to riders and learn about the various tack and the many different breeds while enjoying the vendor court, displays, great music, food and drinks.

Tournament of Roses President Lance Tibbet is proud to announce 20 outstanding equestrian groups will ride in the 129th Rose Parade, presented by Honda this year with a theme of “Making a Difference.” The equestrian groups selected are (listed alphabetically): 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment (Fort Hood, Texas); Broken Horn Ropers (Baldwin Park); Budweiser Clydesdales (St. Louis, Mo.); California Highway Patrol Mounted Patrol Unit (Sacramento); Long Beach Mounted Police, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Mounted Enforcement Detail; the Los Angeles Police Department Metropolitan Division Mounted Platoon, Honor Guard, Bagpipe & Drum Band; Los Hermanos Bañuelos Charro Team (Altadena); Mane Attraction Equestrian Drill Team (Riverside); Mini Therapy Horses (Calabasas, California); The New Buffalo Soldiers (Shadow Hills); the Norco Cowgirls & The Little Miss Norco Cowgirls Rodeo Drill Teams; Ramona – California’s Official Outdoor Play (Hemet); Scripps Miramar Ranch (San Diego); So Cal Mini Horse Sanctuary, Inc. (Hemet); Spirit of the West Riders (Leona Valley, California); United States Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard (Barstow); The Valley Center Vaqueros (Valley Center); The Valley Hunt Club (Pasadena); and the Wells Fargo Stagecoaches (Meeker, Okla.)

Equestrians participating in the Rose Parade showcase a variety of breeds as well as unique tack and costumes. Riding in the five-and-a-half-mile long Rose Parade route on New Year’s Day is a prestigious honor. Riding groups are selected by application months prior to the event and these groups are available for public viewing and interaction during the EquestFest event.

The Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that hosts America’s New Year Celebration® with the Rose Parade® presented by Honda, the Rose Bowl Game® presented by Northwestern Mutual and a variety of accompanying events. 935 volunteer members of the association will drive the success of 129th Rose Parade themed “Making a Difference,” on Monday, January 1, 2018, followed by the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 104th Rose Bowl Game. For more information, visit www.tournamentofroses.com. Be sure to like them on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The Los Angeles Equestrian Center is located at 480 W. Riverside Drive in Burbank. The gates will open at 10 a.m., with the vendor court and activities planned from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The equestrian show in the main arena is scheduled to take place from noon to 2 p.m., rain or shine.

Tickets are available at http://www.sharpseating.com.

With winter rains coming, those who don’t have pasture turnouts, will face a constant — and often losing — battle to keep ahead of the mud and odor problems associated with stabling. Dry Stall, Cedar Dry, Best Cedar and Best Pine help create optimal living conditions for a horse to be outside in all but the most inclement weather. Most horse lovers who board their horses in outside paddocks are continually searching for a suitable bedding. Do nothing, and they face ankle-deep mud in winter and hard-pan in summer. Add sand, and they face the potential issue of paying the vet for sand colic visits. Pour down the pine shavings and they often watch them blow away. Or, put down nothing and the stall develops such an ammonia odor that no one would want to go near the horse’s corral.

Since horses carry all their weight on four small ankle bones — one of their most vulnerable areas – its encouraged to give them that extra dryness and cushion where the hoof meets the ground.

In winter, when installing any DryStall product before the rains, simply cover the entire stall to a thickness of at least two inches. If installing after the rains, simply remove the muck and cover the entire stall or just place the product over the mud. Summer application of all our products will break up the hard clay and leave a safe, soft footing for your horse. For best results, pre-wet the stall area and spread the product of choice to a thickness of two to four inches. The horse will work the material into the ground, or you can speed up the conditioning process by mixing, spading or rototilling the product into the soil.

The mud stops here! For more info, call (949) 636-8102 to order yours today!

Looking for the best boarding facilities with a variety of amenities and stabling options? Then turn to the California Horsetrader and Horsetrader.com to find the facility that’s just right for you. Anaheim Equestrian Center/ Rancho Del Rio Stables offers Lessons, Boarding, Training, and a Feed & Tack Store in Historic Anaheim. Courtship Ranch, located off the 210 near Hansen Dam, Sunland, and Tujunga area, is a private boarding facility offering a variety of stabling options, trail access, covered arena and round pens, and in-house trainers. At Deer Springs Equestrian located in San Marcos, you can ride in comfort all winter in their lighted covered arena, and they offer 24’× 24’ covered pipe corrals, 7 arenas, turnouts, round pen, access to trails; take lessons and training from a variety of professional trainers; and they have a feed and supply store right on site. Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center (HCPEC) is situated on 25 acres of beautiful, sea breezed land in Orange County, California, just two miles from the beach with multiple trainers and arenas, annual horse shows in several disciplines, a wedding venue, and more than 150 acres of public trails. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center offers complete boarding facilities with access from our property perimeter to over 50 miles of Griffith Park horse trails. LAEC is amenity full with over 20 professional trainers, 17 riding arenas, and the covered Equidome. Rancho de Felicidad, as the name implies, it is a ranch of happiness. Located in Chino Hills, they offer horse boarding, training, lessons, and lay-ups in a relaxing atmosphere and welcome beginning as well as experienced riders. San Pasqual Valley Ranch located in the San Diego county foothills just east of Escondido, provides many stabling options, all lighted jumping, sand, sorting, cutting, and rodeo arenas for great evening riding and lessons. Choose from their accomplished western and English trainers. See our ad index on page 82 to find your next boarding home. Visit horsetrader.com for many more boarding options closer to your home – just type in the word “boarding” into the search bar!