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Time to plan your Get-Away

Looking to escape from everything BUT horses? Here's a guide of prospects for you

- March 17th, 2016

1603BcoverDude Ranchers Association
(866) 399-2339
duderanch.org
Western * Adventure * Vacation
Whether you are looking to get your family to unplug and reconnect or to challenge and revive your body, spirit and mind in breathtaking off-the-beaten path locales, an all-inclusive dude ranch is the perfect vacation destination – paired with thrilling adventures, opportunities to recharge and a chance to explore the “Wild West.” Think horses, hats, hospitality, heritage, honesty and heart. And that’s just the beginning.
As the original all-inclusive vacation, dude ranches offer value and numerous advantages over other all-inclusive vacation options including no planning once you arrive, flexibility to customize your itinerary, and no additional costs once you arrive to your destination. Guest ranches also offer a wide variety of activities. From horseback riding and hiking, to zip- lining and archery, to swimming and yoga, a dude ranch vacation guarantees a memorable experience and memories that will last a lifetime.
The Dude Ranchers’ Association (DRA) represents a broad spectrum of 100+ guest ranches across the U.S. (two are located in Canada), ranging from rustic, no-frills working ranches to luxury resort-style ranches offering five-star cuisine and spa treatments. Dude ranches are located in some of the most scenic, pristine areas in the country, from valleys complete with untouched Rocky Mountain backdrops to desert sunsets across the Southwest. The DRA takes great pride in the quality and standards it requires its ranches to uphold. Find out more at www.duderanch.org

Nassar, Lordan win last West Coast WC qualifier

Special to the Horsetrader - March 3rd, 2016

1603AwpcoverTHERMAL — As the crowd gathered to watch the $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Thermal Feb. 13, an impressive line-up of horses and riders from around the globe gathered to jump for the final West Coast qualifying opportunity and a $100,000 prize purse.
Filling the last qualifier on the West Coast, riders were hungry for the opportunity to get on board the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final, scheduled March 23-28 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

German course designer Martin Otto had set a course that created excitement for spectators in the stands and challenged the skill of each horse and riders, which would ultimately separate three riders from the field for the jump-off. Tenth to go was France’s Eric Navet and Catypso, owned by Signe Ostby, testing the course of 16 jumping efforts—Navet and the powerful bay gelding took their time on the course as they navigated the track fence-by-fence in a precise, clear first-round.

West Coast ramps it up

Four-day Affiliate 1-2 WCRHA kicks reiner season into gear

Special to the Horsetrader - March 3rd, 2016
Open Champion Horse: Designed With Shine Rider: Riccardo Nicolazzi Owner: Julie Ridgeway note: co-champion

Open Champion
Horse: Designed With Shine
Rider: Riccardo Nicolazzi
Owner: Julie Ridgeway
note: co-champion

John O’Hara photo

RANCHO MURIETA — With warm weather and lots of qualification points at hand, the West Coast Reining Horse Association Affiliate 1 and Affiliare 2 shows on Feb. 4-7 attracted a competitive field to the year’s first big reining.

“The show was very well attended, and you could sense the excitement in the exhibitors,” said Michael Silva, WCRHA President. “For many of us, this was our first opportunity to show our horses since mid-October of last year. And, for many members, this was the first opportunity to perform with a new horse of theirs.”

In the past two years, some WCRHA members gave this first show of the year a the nickname: “Reining in the Rain,” because of weather that hit the event. This year, however, featured cool mornings and abundant sunshine that provided warm days for early February.

“I saw many of our members in short sleeves in the afternoon warmth,” said Silva. “Everyone was enjoying the fantastic weather after a rather rainy January.”

He said he believes the warm weather led to a very relaxed atmosphere for this first show of the year.

The rise of Western Dressage

Since a formal launch of Western Dressage with the WDAA in 2010, it has flourished

From Horsetrader staff reports - February 18th, 2016

1602BcoverAs an Olympic year revs up interest in Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 as a U.S. Gold Medal hope in dressage this summer in Brazil, there is another force revving up in California, too, with a lower profile.
Western Dressage.

Western trainers have long been using dressage techniques that enhance communication with their horses, but since 2010, the Western Dressage Association of America (WDAA) has provided a structure and consistency that that has spawned growth. And, since the California Western Dressage Association (CAWDA) started in 2012, interest and participation has grown widely in the Golden State.

Ready for Scottsdale

SCHAA Show moves to LAEC and new calendar spot

From Horsetrader staff reports - February 18th, 2016
Bridget Vice shows Serenity ER in a costume class during the Jan. XX-XX SCHAA Show held at the L.A. Equestrian Center.

Bridget Vice shows Serenity ER in a costume class during the Jan. SCHAA Show held at the L.A. Equestrian Center.

Laurie Taylor/TMA photo

BURBANK — While Southern California weather took a desert-like reprieve from mid-winter storms, the Southern California Half-Arabian Association had its own desert-like rehearsal as its new show slot in late January gave participants a chance to warm-up for February’s Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.

The 2016 SCHAA Arabian and Half-Arabian Horse Show had changes both to its venue and its calendar, moving to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on Jan. 22-24. Previously, the competition was held at Galway Downs in Temecula in May, on the weekend prior to the Region 1 Championship Show in Del Mar.

“When these dates came open for us, we really scrambled quickly and pulled this show together,” said Kay Kelley, who is in her fourth year as Show Manager of this event. “It worked out great for us. It filled a spot for people to get ready for Scottsdale, and to get ready for the show season. It’s a great facility and the people are exceptionally nice to work with.”

Connecting with Western Dressage

Passionate professionals like these are go-to sources for those looking to learn about this popular sport

- February 18th, 2016

California Western Dressage Association
www.CAWDA.org
Western Dressage discipline is a melding of training methods. Classical Dressage brings the techniques of master European horsemen, techniques that are hundreds of years old and based upon principles which encourage cadence, balance, and carriage. It is technical and it is precise, a rigorous discipline for horse and rider. It is also an art. Western Horsemanship has been practiced on the ranches of the American West since the 1700s and even earlier through the traditions of the Spanish vaqueros. The subsequent advances in Western Horsemanship begun by the Dorrance Brothers and practiced by a new generation of horsemen and women opened the door to the mind of the horse, encouraging patience and understanding. The concept of “lightness” and subtle cues grew from its acceptance. They found that the result was good for both horse and rider.

Here comes HORSE EXPO Pomona

Special to the Horsetrader - January 21st, 2016

1601BwpcoverPOMONA– One of the fastest growing expos in the U.S., California’s Horse Expo Pomona comes to the L.A. County Fairplex Feb. 5-7. In three short days, you can catch up on the latest training and education, shop the nation’s premier equine vendors and connect with your horse friends. Attending the Expo is a low-cost, high quality way to stay engaged in the horse industry, making sure you have the tools, knowledge and products to help make the most of your investment in the horse owning lifestyle year round.

Shopping
No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find best-in-class solutions in every equine category. Great deals and custom one-of-a-kind craftsmanship abound in equal measure, ensuring something for every horse person to appreciate! This year, there are several new, exciting vendors with innovative products, like Big Mare (see page 20).

Riding horses with a BANG!

Mounted Shooting competition is catching fire in the West

Special to the Horsetrader - January 7th, 2016

1601A Cover SNEAK PREVIEWA growing number of equestrians are taking up arms, as shooting on horseback continues to attract new competitors to its ranks.
Lured by the challenge and the camaraderie, memberships are swelling in the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association — especially in California and the birthplace of CMSA, Arizona, where the Arizona Mounted Shooters Association has three January events to start 2016.

With names like Roy Rogers Rangers and the Tombstone Ghost Riders, how can anyone resist a peek at this fast-action sport that requires horsemanship — and a special horse.

After last weekend’s New Year’s Shoot put on by the Tombstone Ghost Riders at Livery Stable in Tombstone, AMSA events will include a Jan. 15 competition at the American Quarter Horse Association Sun Circuit in Westworld, and a three-way Border Wars comeptition Jan. 22-24 at the beautiful Horseshoe Park facility in Queen Queek. Last year, the ACMSA conducted 19 shoots. Five California-based, CMSA-sanctioned clubs are gearing up, too, including the Nuevo-based Roy Rogers Rangers and the Norco-based SoCal CMSA.

Horse Headliners 2015 – A Year to Remember

Some standout 2015 news items in – and out of – the arena

From News Releases and Staff Reports - December 17th, 2015

1512BwpcoverJANUARY:

Traveler, the striking Andalusian in his 14th year as the University of Southern California mascot, returned to lead the Rose Parade to honor the legacy of Louis Zamperini and his affiliation not only with USC, but his love of animals. Zamperini, a World War II hero and former Olympian who died the previous July, is the subject of a best-selling book and the movie “Unbroken.”

Horsepeople in Lake View Terrace and surrounding areas had three words for the State High Speed Rail Authority about a revised path for the futuristic 220-mph bullet train through their community: Not so fast.
Three alternative routes surfaced in December after an original plan for the leg from Palmdale to the Burbank airport, a 51-mile stretch along the Highway 14 corridor, was criticized by residents and officials.  Called the East Corridor, the newest trio of alternative routes cuts through Lake View Terrace and would impact horse ownership throughout the San Fernando Valley.  Further, the redirection of the Highway 14 route would require a 35-mile tunneling beneath the San Gabriel Mountains and the Angeles National Forest, with the bullet train screaming from a tunnel and over the Tujunga Wash, an equestrian paradise.

Horse Headliners 2015 – Western wins make memories…

REINING • WORKING COW HORSE • CUTTING • WESTERN RIDING

From News Releases and Staff Reports - December 17th, 2015
Phil Hanson

Phil Hanson

JANUARY:

The first big headliner of the year with California roots was National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame rider Phil Hanson, who closed 2014 by winning NCHA Futurity on Classy CD Cat with a 228. Now based in Weatherford, Texas, Hanson is the brother of Temecula-based cow horse trainer Brenda Brown and of Clements-based reining trainer David Hanson. Classy CD Cat, who picked up a $200,000 paycheck for the Futurity win, is a mare owned by Dottie St. Clair Hill of Texas.
California reiners also made news with their late-year accomplishments, as Golden State competitors took their momentum from strong West Coast campaigns into the NRHA Futurity and Adequan North American Affiliate Championships.
After finishing close behind highly regarded Robin Bond in the last two of Charles Wilhelm’s Ultimate Super Horse competitions, Don Moore put it all together Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at Horse Expo Pomona and scored a decisive championship with his partner, Nic-O-Lena.