The 17th Annual Valley Center Stampede Rodeo is hosting the first professional rodeo in Valley Center during Memorial Day weekend! This year’s rodeo, now sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association, will offer a full line-up of professional rodeo performances on May 25-26. Also, the Valley Center Stampede Rodeo is moving this year to Valley Center’s newest park, Star Valley Park, located at 29902 Valley Center Road in Valley Center. What will not be changing is the fun, family-friendly, quality rodeo entertainment that commemorates Memorial Day by honoring our nation’s Veterans throughout each performance. Tickets can be purchased at the gate, Joe’s Country Feed & Pet or Armstrong Feed & Supply. General Admission is $15, with children age five and under free. VIP admission tickets, including a catered dinner and preferred seating, are $50. A free live band and dancing will be offered after each rodeo performance.

This year’s rodeo is sponsored by the Valley Center Optimist Club, and proceeds will benefit the youth of Valley Center. Each rodeo performance will include mutton bustin’, bareback bronc, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc, tie down roping, barrel racing, and junior barrel racing. A calf scramble, free to all kids at the rodeo, will be offered during intermission, along with a donkey race and drill team performance. For more info, visit www.VCStampede.org.

Rancho Tujunga hosts a special fund-raising horse show event on May 19! Mark your calendars for the Let’s Ride Therapy Horse Show & Fundraiser, which will feature both English and western pleasure classes with fees that are just $10 or $15 per class. THere also will be a tack sale and lunch! Located in Tujunga and founded by Ann Marriner, the program specializes in helping adults and children with emotional and developmental disorders or disabilities. It offers participants an opportunity to improve their attention spans, concentration, memory, and language skill development through the use of specially trained horses. A horse’s gaits and rhythmic movement help riders of all types improve balance, muscle control and tone, as well as motor development and coordination, balance, posture, strength and overall body awareness. Horses also help them to learn to better communicate with the people in their lives.

Now in its eighth year, Let’s Ride has stepped up fundraising efforts with horse shows and it developed additional programs for kids (summer camps) and corporations (team building, company communication programs) — all with the goal of offering more low-cost and free services to our disabled community. Close to Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena, we welcome all clients. Learn more about our programs, volunteer opportunities and horses at www.laequinetherapy.org.

Rattlesnake avoidance training for your dog! In California, the mild climate provides the perfect environment for rattlesnakes to remain active year-round. You can protect your dog with rattlesnake avoidance training; dogs will learn to recognize the sight, smell, and sound of hiding rattlers — a skillset that could save his (and your) life. Ma & Paw Kennel Training Services provides these sessions all over Central and Southern California, and any dog can learn. Upcoming dates include May 5-6 at Griffith Park in Burbank; May 20 in Lancaster; and May 26 in Simi Valley, with more dates and locations coming soon. Ma& Pa Kennel Training Services hopes that by taking part in this training, the dog as well as its owner will be spared the pain and distress (as well as the expense) caused by the dog becoming a victim of a rattlesnake bite. It serves the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Fresno, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Kern, Orange, and San Diego. Private sessions are available, too, at your home or ranch. For more info, call (805) 523-3432 or visit www.SnakeSafeDog.com to register for a monthly newsletter and be kept informed of upcoming dates in your area. Get a special discount by using code CHT052018 when you register!