Leader of the Pack
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
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
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.
EHV-1 cases at Desert Circuit forces cancelation of Feb. 19-20 Western show
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
300 miles… with a mission!
Back Country riders made it from Norco to Bishop!
Follow their journey…
After months of planning—and training—Mike Williams and Rebekah Wan completed a 320-plus mile trek from Norco to Bishop. A foursome of Mike, Rebekah, Linda Wesch and Carol Kelly left SoCal Equine Hospital on Sixth Street at 8:02 a.m., Friday, May 3, and Mike and Rebekah reached Bishop Wednesday, May 22.
Day 20: Made it!…we arrived in Bishop!
Wednesday, May 22
20.2 miles / 5 hours, 21 minutes / 482 ft. / 3.8 mph
We made it! 320-plus miles in 19 days through mountain ranges, desert, flood plains, aqueducts, streams, train tracks, trestles, wind, rain, heat … and patience. All the horses are showing the wear-and-tear, as are the riders, but they all made it! Mike and Rebekah are ready for some good R&R — no more midnight waterings, 4 a.m. feedings, 7-8 a.m. starts in the saddle, and riding from dawn to dusk. The horses are ready to relax, heal up from some minor scrapes and soreness. After 320-plus miles, Mike has lost weight, Rebekah is already talking about another ride, and the horses all look healthy. They have kept their weight and look stoic, and the spouses are ready for their loved ones to be home.
Upon their arrival in Bishop, Mike and Rebekah were greeted by Backcountry Horsemen of California members Alan Sanderson, the Moslers, and Terry Jorgenson. What a day! Here’s the final leg of the journey: http://bit.ly/190522-Day20
Day 19: It’s the homestretch
Tuesday, May 21
14.5 miles / 3 hours, 55 minutes / 446 ft. / 3.7 mph
We trailered out to Taboose to pick up the trail Mike and Rebekah left yesterday. All four horses are with them. http://bit.ly/190521-Day19
Day 18: Going in circles!
Monday, May 20
21.8 miles / 5 hours, 57 minutes / 312 feet / 3.7 mph
Today’s ride took Mike and Rebekah to Taboose where they were picked up and taken back to Independence to spend one more night. Only took two of the four horses today and left two in camp to have a break from yesterday. Land-locked on several occasions, we had to go in what seemed like circles! You can follow the crazy route here: http://bit.ly/190520-Day18
Day 17: An extremely HARD ride
Sunday, May 19
26.9 miles / 8 hours, 18 minutes / 1,234 ft. / 3.2 mph
Today’s ride was extremely hard. Between the wind, locked gates, inaccessibility because of floods and washouts, and again wind, it became a hard day for horses, riders, and our ground crew. We had over 50-mph gusts and were told that some gusts exceeded 70 mph. We were all exhausted when we arrived in Lone Pine. The longest day yet. Tomorrow will bring us a shorter day — 17 miles and three days away from our final destination. Follow our challenging day here: http://bit.ly/190519-Day17
Days 15-16: Let’s give horses a break
Friday, May 17
Time for a layover and let the horses have a break, get laundry done and have some down time. Sigrid came up and made our meals and then we all enjoyed a movie (The Man From Snowy River) and popcorn along with some liquid refreshments.
Saturday, May 18
Another layover day to relax. Another movie (“Return to Snowy River”). Sigrid made tri-tip today with baked potatoes and beans. No one can say we didn’t eat right on this trip. Some shopping done earlier this morning to buy the rest of the food supplies for our last week.
Day 14: Slight change of route today
Thursday, May 16
26.3 miles / 7 hours, 57 minutes / 1,644 ft. / 3.3 mph
Last night was a cold windy night. Rain in the forecast and 50 mph gusts. Mike and Rebekah have decided not to trailblaze today and use the DWP access road to take them into Lone Pine. Follow the day here: http://bit.ly/190516-Day14
Day 13: Steak & Eggs
Wednesday, May 15
21.4 miles / 6 hours, 22 minutes / 801 ft. / 3.4 mph
Riding to Olancha tonight. Breakfast this morning consisted of steak and eggs. Only the best for our loved ones. Mike, Rebekah and the horses had to go through a boulder field and had to rock hop for several miles. Horses were quite tired after their day. They rode a little over 21 miles.
Relive the day here: http://bit.ly/190515-Day13
Day 12: Sharing the trail with sheep
Tuesday, May 14
17.4 miles / 5 hours, 13 minutes / 1762 ft. / 3.3 mph
Riding toward Lonepine today. Staying in Coso Junction tonight. Shorter day than normal—only 17 miles. Mike, Rebekah and their horses Cowboy, Razor, Jack and Fancy had to ride among the sheep that were on the DWP trail.
Relive the day here: http://bit.ly/190513-Day12
Day 11: Today was a HOT one!
Monday, May 13
16.8 miles / 4 hours, 52 minutes / 384 ft. / 3.5 mph
Extremely hot day riding through the desert. Over 90°. Had to stop several times to allow the horses to rest. Water was limited. Staged at 9-mile. Heavy wind. Dale Crawford joined the team today to provide ground support for the next several days.
Relive the day here: http://bit.ly/190513-Day11
Day 10: Time to rest… and add horses
Sunday, May 12
Day off for the horses in Inyokern, to re-up on supplies and do laundry. Sigrid arrived with a second horse for Mike. Both Mike and Rebekah are ponying a second horse so they can switch off every few days. All four horses are now on the journey.
Day 9: Happy Birthday, Mike!
Saturday, May 11
24.7 miles / 6 hours, 55 minutes / 922 ft. / 3.6 mph
Long day in the saddle but it was beautiful. That evening Misha surprised Mike with a homemade birthday cake. 58 candles, no fire permit needed. Relive the day here: http://bit.ly/190511-Day9
Day 8: Rest day following a night of heavy rain
Friday, May 10
Rained like crazy last night. Everything got wet. The group decided to take today off and ride tomorrow instead. Misha, Rebekah’s daughter came out to help this morning with the trailer and moved horses to Ridgecrest for the day and overnight so they would be under cover instead of in the open desert. Today was the last day that Carol and Linda are riding with Mike and Rebekah. Tomorrow it becomes a two-person ride unless others decide to join. Pete also leaves as ground crew support and Misha and Nolan begin the chore of keeping everything in order.
Day 7: Halfway to Bishop! Trek continues…
Thursday, May 9
25.3 miles / 6 hours, 37 minutes / 1,270 ft. / 3.8 mph
After a week’s worth of riding, the halfway point has been reached! Relive the day here: http://bit.ly/190509-Day7
Day 6: Making progress along Highway 395
Wednesday, May 8
23.8 miles / 6 hours, 20 minutes / 692 ft. / 3.8 mph
Today, the group traveled about 300 yards off of west side of Highway 395, finishing two miles north of Kramer Junction. According to Mike, the day was uneventful. The day got warm, but they had two water stops. They crossed the 58 behind the truck stop which turned out to be pretty easy. Everything worked in their favor! Relive their day with this link: http://bit.ly/190508-Day6
Day 5: After a windy, damp start…sunshine
Tuesday, May 7
24.8 miles / 6 hours, 31 minutes / 220 ft. / 3.8 mph
Horses and riders took a one-day break on a Day 4 layover in Phelan, and it also marked the first day of cold wind and rain. Day 5 started with Mike and the group in thick fog—everything was damp. They rode through heavy wind which made for a long ride, but eventually it warmed up. They stayed on trail until they got north of Adelanto and then cut across the desert to their overnight destination. Relive their day on the link!: http://bit.ly/190507-Day5
Day 3: Through the Cajon Pass
Sunday, May 5
21.8 miles / 6 hrs, 11 mins / 2,789 ft. / 3.5 mph
The group traveled along Highway 66 through Cajon Pass to Phelan. Water stop for the horses and lunch stop for the riders along the PCT at the 138. 21.8 miles / 6 hours, 11 minutes / 2,789 ft. / 3.5 mph. Follow their Day 3 route with this link!: http://bit.ly/190506-TrailRide
Day 2: Along the Santa Ana River basin
Saturday, May 4
18.8 miles / 5 hrs, 25 mins / 1,325 ft. / 3.5 mph
An uneventful day… after leaving Grand Terrace, they traveled through the Santa Ana River Basin and the city of Colton to reach Saturday’s final destination, Devore. Ride along with the day’s link: http://bit.ly/190504-TrailRide
Day 1: Journey begins!
Friday, May 3
19.6 miles / 5 hrs, 18 mins / 909 ft. / 3.7 mph
Mike Williams, Rebecca Wan, Linda Wesch and Carol Kelly left Socal Equine Hospital at 8:02 a.m. on the 320-plus mile ride from Norco to Bishop. First night’s camp: Grand Terrace. Relive the first day: http://bit.ly/190503-TrailRide
Get the story! Here’s background on the riders and the ride…
If you missed the California Horsetrader’s Feb. 1 cover article on the ride, get the story by clicking here: http://bit.ly/1902-TrailRide
San Marcos equestrians host Feb. 26 `Focus on Fire’ panel
SAN MARCOS — Horse owners are encouraged to attend a Feb. 26 community forum at Walnut Grove Heritage Park for a presentation of lessons learned, preparedness and effective reaction strategies in event of a fire emergency.
The Twin Oaks Valley Equestrian Association and Horse Heritage Conservancy will host the meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. in Mary Connors Hall, 1952 Sycamore Drive, San Marcos, CA 92069.
Positive dialogue is expected between the public and community leaders including Laura Ward, Deputy Director of the County of San Diego Animal Services; Tonia Haynes, Sergeant of Community Relations, Animal Rescue Services; Buck Martin, City of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Director; as well as representatives of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department and Cal Fire.
For additional information, contact TOVEA at twinoaksvalleyequestrian@gmail.com.
If you have news or important community service items that you would like distributed by California Horsetrader magazine or horsetrader.com, send items to: news@horsetrader.com
Three more L.A. horses test positive for EHV-1
Link to Oct. 27-29 Las Vegas horse show continues
BURBANK — State officials last night confirmed that three additional horses in L.A. County have been confirmed positive for the non-neuropathogenic strain of Equine Herpesvirus-1, all of them boarded in the same barn at Los Angeles Equestrian Center.
Two of yesterday’s three confirmed cases were at the same Oct. 27-29 horse show in Las Vegas that two previously confirmed horses had attended, according to reports from the California State Department of Food and Agriculture. One of those two previous cases, a 5-year-old Saddlebred, was euthanized Thursday.
All five horses resided in Barn A at the L.A. Equestrian Center, which acted quickly with biosecurity measures upon early cases to isolate any virus.
All three of yesterday’s confirmed cases are in isolation. Two of the three affected horses display neurologic signs, and the third horse has a fever.
Saddlebred dies of EHV-1 in L.A. County
Returned Oct. 30 from Las Vegas horse show
BURBANK — State officials confirmed Nov. 4 that two ill horses at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center have tested positive for equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) after they had returned Oct. 30 from a horse show in Las Vegas, Nev.
One of the horses, a 5-year-old Saddlebred, was euthanized Nov. 3 because of the severity of its clinical signs, the California Department of Food and Agriculture reported.
Out of an abundance of caution, the CDFA has issued a quarantine for exposed horses at the facility and has implemented enhanced biosecurity measures. All exposed horses will have temperatures taken twice daily and will be observed for clinical signs compatible with EHV.
While the CDFA investigates the source of the virus and monitors for any potential spread, officials and L.A. Equestrian Center staff encourage owners of horses exposed to the area to follow basic protocols in the days ahead:
Lucy goes clean, U.S. jumpers tied for first at Rio
Lucy Davis and Barron
Guilherme Jorge’s course was less technical than what he had set for Sunday’s first individual qualifier. He included added dimensions with long approaches to the fences for a time allowed of 81 seconds that proved to be a challenge for some riders. Power, speed, and accuracy proved to be the winning formula to complete Jorge’s second course clear.
The trailblazer for the U.S. was Farrington (Wellington, Fla.) and Amalaya Investments’ 14-year-old KWPN gelding, Voyeur. Repeating their foot-perfect performance from Sunday, this dynamic duo produced the second clear round of the day to get the U.S. off to a great start.
“I wouldn’t say it’s massive in size yet, but I am sure that’s to come,” Farrington said of the round one course. “I think tomorrow will be significantly bigger. It’s exactly what you would expect at a championship level. The time allowed is quite short, which I think is going to be a factor either through time faults or rails down because of people worrying about the time. Obviously, I am thrilled with my horse. It was a great start for Team USA.”
The second rider for the U.S. was Davis (Los Angeles, Calif.), piloting Old Oaks Farm’s Barron, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding. Davis and Barron were poised and ready, matching Farrington’s performance with a second clean round for the U.S. team.
“I’m very relieved now that it’s over. After yesterday’s rail I hoped that it would set me up well for today and it definitely did,” Davis said. “He was incredibly sharp and with me. I was maybe a little more tense than usual. I really wanted this for the team. I think tomorrow I will be a bit more relaxed after seeing how well he handled this day and how confident everyone on the team is. It’s nice in my position. I can really count on them [my teammates]. I am pretty lucky, especially for the Olympics, to be on a mount like Barron. He makes it easy.”
“Once I jumped through the triple I kind of settled in,” said Ward. “I knew the team was in a good position. Obviously, we needed to be clear today to be in a good position for tomorrow. We are a good team. So far we didn’t lose it. I think tomorrow will go up another level.”
Riding anchor for the U.S. team, Madden (Cazenovia, N.Y.) entered the ring on Abigail Wexner’s Cortes ‘C’ knowing that the U.S. had three clear rounds they would not need her score. Still needing a score for the individual competition, Madden and the 14-year-old Belgium Warmblood gelding experienced an unfortunate rub at fence three and a misplaced foot at the water jump to accumulate eight penalties.
“It was a short seven up the first line, and maybe I was a little casual about the back rail, and then he clipped that,” Madden said. “The water has been riding difficult all day. I just didn’t quite get across. I think he actually finished better than he started in the course, so hopefully tomorrow we’re in good shape.”
Madden and Cortes ‘C’ will continue Wednesday in the team competition, however with a total of 12 faults after two days of competition, they will not move forward to Friday’s individual final.
Action continues Wednesday as the top eight teams from round one return for the final round of the team competition. Riders who qualify will advance to the two-round individual final on Friday.
Good Time to win
RENO, Nev. — Corey Cushing, a National Reined Cow Horse Association Million Dollar Rider from Scottsdale, Ariz., captured the 2014 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship riding Good Time (One Time Pepto x Dual Nurse x Dual Pep), owned by Lynne Wurzer, Tacoma, Wash. The Snaffle Bit Futurity Open finals were held Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center.
Cushing guided the sorrel gelding to a composite 660 score (219 herd/219.5 rein/221.5 cow) to win the $100,000 Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship, the second of his career. Cushing won his first title in 2012 with CD Diamond (CD Olena x Shiners Diamond Girl x ShiningSpark), bred and owned by San Juan Ranch.
It was an emotional win for Cushing, who wiped tears as he rode Good Time into the spotlight at the Reno Livestock Events Center to accept the award.
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