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Where do our trails lead?

- March 31st, 2021

Equestrians, working together and allied with supportive partners, make a difference in perpetuating riding trails. Here are some tips — and some easy-to-access online resources from ELCR.org

By Denise O’Meara / for Equine Land Conservation Resource

Public riding trails like this one in San Marcos are a treasure worthy of protecting for the next generation. (Horsetrader photo)

Here’s a question that you may ask yourself every time that you load up your horses to trailer to the nearest equestrian accessible trail — wouldn’t it be nice to ride out my back gate, get on a local trail and head out to the park, the woods, the shore or anywhere that didn’t involve a fill-up or two? Some of you are very lucky and have that situation. The vast majority of us are not.

Community Planning — Are You In or Are You Out?

Urban and suburban community members need to see and understand horses and their riders. Unless they learn how joyful and useful horses are to humans, and how they can interact safely with non-equestrians, these folks can help deny horseback access to trails and other equine facilities.

Horseback Adventures

- March 1st, 2021

From the Black Range Mountains of New Mexico to the Oregon wilderness, memories await to be made

Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch
Winston, New Mexico
(575) 772-5157
GeronimoRanch.com

Serenity and solitude are concepts not often discussed, much less experienced, amid the turmoil of life in the 21st century. You’ll find them at Geronimo Trail Guest Ranch! Here, beneath the tall Ponderosa pines, in the cool higher elevations of the Black Range Mountains of southwest New Mexico, the quiet is such that you can hear the approach of an eagle from the beat of the air beneath his wings. Large herds of elk frequent the meadows, streams and lakes nearby.

2020 HORSE HEADLINERS

- November 30th, 2020

A year of ‘whoa!’ and ‘let’s go!’

From Horsetrader staff reports

A funny thing happened when we sat down to put together our annual Horsetrader Year In Review, a traditional December look back at our newsmakers for the year about to end. Actually, it wasn’t funny at all: There weren’t many headlines because of the year’s biggest newsmaker — a pandemic that shriveled shows and activities..

COVID-19 didn’t erase all stories, it just made them harder to find after March. And the ones that surfaced revealed the heart, grit and community of the horse world.

Back-to-back SCRCHA events gets regional talent back on track

From Horsetrader staff reports

TEMECULA — After three event-less months, cow horse competitors enjoyed back-to-back summer shows put on by the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association. Green Acres Ranch hosted both events, the SCRCHA July Jubilee Show on July 10-12 and the Jimmy Flores, Sr. Memorial Aug. 7-9.

Classes were well-filled, attracting entrants from throughout the southwest, and there were plenty of inspiring stories from the two weekends. Here are three of them:

Meet ‘No Quit’ Sparky

- August 2nd, 2020

No obstacle, even a lost eye, could keep a determined trio — horse, trainer and owner — from reaching the 2020 NRHA Derby Open Finals

By Warren Wilson / Horsetrader staff

Trainer Marty Bales and White Tye Affair, aka “Sparky,” owned by Robert Heindl. (Shezashootingstar.com photo)

TEMECULA — Marty Bales saw White Tye Affair’s potential as a National Reining Horse Association Open Finals horse the first time she saw the yearling in a sale video. What she didn’t see—what nobody could have imagined—was the 4-year journey that would get him there, on the floor of the Coliseum in the NRHA Open Derby last June.

After a promising start through his 2-year-old year, White Tye Affair (Smart And Shiney X Cowgirl Affair) hit a series of setbacks that would demoralize most horses, not to mention their trainers and owners.

Committed to a Comeback

- June 2nd, 2020

Leaders of California’s associations and facilities are prepping to relaunch show seasons

Melissa Brandes
Blenheim EquiSports

First and foremost, we want to ensure that we welcome our exhibitors to the safest environment we can possibly achieve by thoughtfully and thoroughly working with local, state, federal and USEF guidelines to put the necessary protocols in place. Once that has been achieved, we have to make sure that we have a smooth implementation of the current practices, allowing for the level of competition to stay intact and providing an enjoyable experience to those who attend.

We’ve worked with local, state. federal and USEF guidelines, health expert consultants, as well as collaborating with other managers, in order to compile the proposed plan. We are diligently creating implementation procedures, to make our return smooth and seamless, as we all adjust to the “new normal”. We have come to understand this is a fluid situation, with new discoveries and information emerging on a daily basis. We have worked together as a team at Blenheim EquiSports for over 20 years and we are committed to the sport, our exhibitors and our staff, and can’t wait to welcome everyone to our home. We have taken this challenging time to think outside the box, find solutions and remember what it is that binds us together — our love for horses.

‘Making lemonade’

- May 5th, 2020

On April 10, sour moments for a mare and foal turned into something sweet

Kiskasen, a Clydesdale colt born April 9, and his adopted Quarter Horse mother, Whiz Ms Dolly, who lost her stillborn filly the same day. (John O’Hara photo)

SANTA ROSA—You’ve heard the saying, “when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.” Well, a pair of misfortunes 130 miles apart in early April led to a refreshing feel-good story about an unlikely match.

It began with the joy of two new foals about to enter the world. One was a long-hoped-for colt out of the 18.1-hand black Clydesdale mare, Nakita, and the other a filly out of a 14.1-hand Quarter Horse reining mare, Whiz Ms Dolly.

Tragedy struck both foalings. Nakita, after delivering a healthy colt, died soon after from complications. Meanwhile, at a ranch in Santa Rosa, Britta Jacobson’s mare, Whiz Ms Dolly, gave birth to a stillborn filly.

Corona Coping!

- April 6th, 2020


Readers share how horses make a difference…

The horses are the ONLY thing in my life that has seen relatively no change since the virus. I get up, shovel poop, brush the horses,  tend to my human family and then I saddle up and ride. From the second that I get on, the rhythm of riding relaxes my whole self. The trail is in front of me, the horses quietly flick their ears and plod along — and for a while, there is no virus. Just us.
I’ll ride ’til they close trails, and then I’ll just take walks on the street with them. I hope everybody out there is just breathing in their horses and staying well.

 Juliet Johnson, Los Angeles

See more inspiring “Corona Coping” comments!

Finding your Social Distance

- April 1st, 2020

Appreciation for horses only grows when humans have to stay six feet apart


Angel, my Arabian mare, seems to ponder the long road back to normal. She completed her first 100-mile race a couple years ago in endurance and has always finished in the Top Ten. She is now retired, living and riding these trails on the Ortega. The horse of a lifetime.

–Jill McGovern, Capistrano Beach


Learning a new style of riding in Ione.

The young lady in the mask is from Germany, where she rides English. She’s the niece of a friend, and she’s riding my retired bridle horse, “Reese,” and getting the feel of a Californio-style cow horse. I’m on my two-rein youngster. Even with the light rain that was falling during our ride, it was a good day. (BTW…her aunt, the photographer, was “masked up” also!)

–Peter Taylor, Ione

Season starter

- February 5th, 2020

SCRCHA opens 2020 at Tucalota Creek Ranch

Special to the Horsetrader

Little Morias Bet, ridden by Jason Grimshaw for owner Lauren Boychuk, edged Nicolas Barthelemy on Purr D Metallic by a half-point in Junior Working Cow Horse competition. (Danger Dingo photo)

TEMECULA—The Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association “kicked off” its 2020 show season Jan. 10-12 at Tucalota Creek Ranch, showcasing the new venue as well as its talented member riders and horses.