Make plans to attend the National Stock Horse Association Select Horse Sale on Saturday, Aug. 20, during the NSHA Futurity week.

Auctioneer Rick Machado will once again be at the podium for this first-rate event, part of a world-class six-day line-up at the Mid-state Fairgrounds from Aug. 16-21, including the NSHA Futurity, the World’s Richest Stock Horse Bridle competition and the pre-futurity horse show.

The competitors and attendees at this event is a “Who’s Who” in the reined cow horse world, and the competition is fierce among the world’s top riders and horses.

Twenty-two year old Los Angeles native Lucy Davis is on the four-person U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team heading to Brazil for the Aug. 12-19 games.

USEF photo

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lucy Davis, a 22-year-old jumping rider from Los Angeles, will join fellow Californians and dressage riders Steffen Peters and Kasey Perry-Glass when the respective U.S. Olympic Show Jumping and Dressage teams head to Rio De Janiero, Brazil, next month for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The USEF announced the squads last week. The Games will be held Aug. 12-19 at the Deodoro Olympic Equestrian Center in Rio.

Davis, who will ride Old Oak Farm’s Barron, a 2004 Belgian Warmblood gelding, will be flanked on the U.S. Show Jumping squad with an abundance of international experience, as she will be joined by Kent Farrington of Wellington, Fla., riding Voyeur, a 2002 KWPN gelding owned by Amalaya Investments; Beezie Madden of Cazenovia, N.Y., on Cortes ‘C’, a 2002 Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Abigail Wexner; and

McLain Ward of Brewester, N.Y., on HH Azur, a 2006 Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Double H Farm.

Heaven’s Ranch comes to Norco! Since 2002, Heaven’s Ranch in Chino Hills has been sharing its distinctive version of paradise with area horse lovers, both young and old. Anne Capelle, owner and founder of the historic, working cattle ranch recently announced the opening of a second Heaven’s Ranch facility in Norco. The Grand Opening is planned for July, 2016. The new establishment, located at 4036 Pedley Ave., has the ability to house more than 40 horses and will feature box stalls, outside pens, a 60′ x 200’ arena, round pen and hotwalker, and is a short ride to river trails. Heaven’s Ranch specializes in assisting newcomers to the equine world by providing the foundational skills and education necessary to truly enjoy life with an equine companion. As with the Chino Hills location, horsemanship skills for all levels, as well as lessons on cattle, will be in the offerings at the Norco site. For information, contact Heaven’s Ranch at 909-597-4920. For updates on their grand opening, visit their website at www.heavensranchllc.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Horse Council’s Annual Meeting concluded June 14 with the National Issues Forum, sponsored by Luitpold Animal Health, an update on the “Time to Ride” campaign, and a panel on benefits of Microchipping.

Christie Schulte of Lead Change Management Inc. and Marketing Manager of the AHC Time to Ride campaign, emphasized that the campaign’s goal is not to just grow the horse industry, but to make the equine experience attractive and accessible to newcomers. She also gave an update to meeting attendees on the progress of Time to Ride in 2016, as well as the new programs and sweepstakes that were introduced this year. Most notably, Time to Ride will be working with the U.S. Equestrian Federation on the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign to engage youth in as many Olympic sports as possible.
Schulte added that Time To Ride has introduced over 60,000 new people to horses.

1st Place, American Horse Publications Print Media

California Horsetrader was presented with the first-place award for winning the best Publishing Media Equine-related Specialty or Custom Publication in 2015 at the American Horse Publications banquet July 18 in Orlando, Fla.

LAKESIDE — Diana Cavender, a veteran of more than 50 parades since she joined the Escondido Mounted Posse six years ago, was killed April 23 when her horse spooked and fell, knocking her to the ground at the Lakeside Western Days Parade. The incident occured about 10:50 a.m. after the posse had concluded the parade, as Cavender and her horse were approaching a staging area. Emergency crews rushed her to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where she died at 5:41 p.m.

CHATSWORTH — Chatsworth equestrian community leader Mary Kaufman, a longtime president of ETI Corral 54, died unexpectedly March 24 on the second anniversary of the death of her favorite horse, Ace.

Kaufman, 68, who had endured a months-long battle with a troublesome hip replacement, also served of the board of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and was chair of the equestrian committee and chief organizer of the Council’s annual Day of the Horse festival.

Kaufman was appointed by Councilman Mitch Englander to the Los Angeles Equestrian Advisory Committee and was active with the West Valley Volunteer Mounted Patrol. She hosted Mayors Eric Garcetti and Antonio Villaraigosa, and Council Members Greig Smith and Englander and other dignitaries on horseback tours of Chatsworth’s hills and trails, promoting the need to preserve the rural environment.

The Equine Health & Pleasure Fair, sponsored by the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council (FTDNC), is Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Orcas Park Equestrian Center. The entire community and equestrian friends are invited to share in this FREE, fun-filled event by riding on the trails at Hansen Dam, then continuing on your horse to the Fair! There will be lots of vendors, including L.A. Animal Services for micro-chipping/licensing of horses and dogs, horse-and-rider bling, BLM and other horse rescues, farriers and vets, various equine products, info booths from various equine-based organizations, political candidate booths, free food and drinks, free pony rides for the kids  — and much more!

2016 World’s Greatest Horseman Champion Clayton Edsall and Skeets Oak Peppy.

Primo Morales photo

FORT WORTH, Texas — With two big scores in four tough events, Clayton Edsall of Oakdale earned the title of World’s Greatest Horseman during the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions event held Feb. 12-20 at the Will Rogers Equestrian Center.

Riding his own gelding, Skeets Oak Peppy, Edsall scored a 221 to lead the herd work to set his winning pace.

“We were fortunate to up earlier (in the draw), and there were still some cattle we had picked out,” he said. “Some of them got cut. Doug (Williamson), right before me, cut pretty much my whole list, so we went with some backups. Kelby (Phillips) had a good cow picked out, and it all worked out.”
The NRCHA’s World’s Greatest Horseman competition requires the same horse-and-rider combo to compete in four events: herd work, reined work, steer stopping, and fence work.

“In the reined work, he was solid,” Clayton said of “Sly.” “He was a tick better in the prelims. He let me do all the maneuvers and run pretty honest.”

The City of San Marcos held its 25th Annual Trail Days and Membership Drive on March 5, and the community’s horse people showed up in force — more than double of last year. The event asks for residents to come together, put on their hiking shoes or saddle up their horses, and step back in time and experience the rural trails of San Marcos’s extensive trails system. All funds raised from the Friends of San Marcos Parks & Trails Membership Drive directly benefit existing 52 miles of trails and help complete the final segments of the 72-mile multi-use trail system.