SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — The 2014 Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals West came to a thrilling close with the show jumping phase and the challenging Final Four test on Sept. 22.

The competition provides an ultimate canvas for developing young riders to test their skills at a level of competition resembling the top of the sport. Just a few weeks prior, four of the best show jumpers in the world contested similarly in the Final Four at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. And as noted above for these top four, rails and time faults played a role in the final results at the Games as well.

After three solid phases and performing well in the final four test, the 2014 championship went to Sydney Hutchins, whose horse Sorcerer was also named Best Horse of the finals. Savannah Dukes was second, with third place awarded to Mitchell Endicott and fourth to Michael Williamson.

I accidentally grew into being a horse trainer, after graduating from college with an English degree and a certificate to teach high schoolers. That is a long chapter that, now, doesn’t matter. It isn’t The Story.

I was a parent’s dream as I entered adulthood, a textbook evolution: graduated high school, graduated college, married a good man, got employed, saved a little money, and produced two perfect grandchildren for my parents. Surrounded by good friends, family, and clients, I lived in an idyllic setting and for almost 20 years. I worked in the sand, day-in and day-out, side-by-side with my husband, David, while our children grew and flourished in the country. But, again, that isn’t The Story.

SAN DIEGO — Owning and boarding horses in San Diego County became easier Sept. 11 when the Board of Supervisors approved a revised, tiered horse ordinance that could reinvigorate the region’s equestrian industry.

In the works for several years, the Equine Policy and Ordinance Development project updated the county’s zoning ordinance with regard to equine uses in unincorporated areas. With the Board’s vote, a long-standing need to obtain a major-use permit for small stables was eliminated — only operations with more than 100 horses on 10 acres or more now face such a requirement.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — On the heels of a dominant year in working cow bridle competition, Smart Boons has been retired from the show pen as he embarks on his new career as a breeding stallion.

Under trainer Corey Cushing, the striking 8-year old red roan stallion (Peptoboonsmal X Smart Little Easter) recorded two major 2012 wins in his first year in the bridle — the Magnificent 7 at Horse Expo in June, then the World’s Richest Stock Horse event at the National Stock Horse Association Futurity in August — and pushed his lifetime earnings to almost $200,000.

LAS VEGAS — The reined cow horse world lost one of its greatest champions Dec. 14 when Chics Magic Potion, the world’s highest-earning stock horse and an inseparable favorite of trainer Bob Avila, was euthanized after breaking a leg during a demonstration at the National Finals Rodeo.

The sudden loss of the 12-year old stallion, owned by Kenneth Banks of Schulenburg, Texas, sent the stock horse community grieving worldwide.

New owners of Deer Springs Equestrian Center and Deer Springs Feed & Supply, Ted and Elaine Olsen, celebrated the grand opening of the facility and store along with their crew and customers on Oct. 27. The covered, lit arena with fabulous footing drew raves during a line-up of demonstrations throughout the day, which featured vendor booths (below) and a dog costume contest whre Isabella Baralti (left) and Victoria Bonta showed off “Goldie.” At left, Lindley Mason shares her project goats. Far left is DSE trainer Clarissa Czuprynski. The facility is located at 140 Deer Springs Road.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Sandy Collier, who remembers vividly the first time she broke into the Open Finals at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity, joined another elite club recently when she was voted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

The Buellton-based Collier, 58, is one of four 2011 inductees into the Hall, located in Fort Worth Texas. In a ceremony planned Oct. 26 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, Collier will be inducted alongside Sarah “Sally” Buxkemper, Mary Lou LeComtpe and Anna Mebus Martin.

Appreciation was the theme of the day at the annual Business and Corporate Barbeque July 15 at the Compton Junior Posse in Compton, where Director Mayisha Akbar and her team gave current and future sponsors the chance to become better acquainted with the CJP – and each other.

Olympic Gold Medalist Will Simpson, a staunch supporter of the program, pitched in with a range of skills, from the clinic arena to the barbeque. Simpson will conduct a clinic for the CJP students at the Del Mar International Horse Show in October. This month, Horsetrader columnist and trainer Ray Ariss will be hosting the CJP at his Norco ranch for a clinic and trail ride. For more info on the CJP, see add on page 78.

SACRAMENTO – After determining the virus that caused the death of one horse in California and the quarantine of 17 others is closely related to a single Utah horse show, the University of California Davis has informed horse show and event managers that the shows can go on – albeit carefully.

The UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital informed horse show and event managers Tuesday it has concluded the EHV-1 outbreak is centered around horses that were present at the National Cutting Horse Association’s Western National Championships held at the Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden Utah, from April 30 to May 8 or the Kern County Cutting Event in Bakersfield on May 13. This includes

SACRAMENTO — The California Department of Food and Agriculture confirmed Sunday the list of California Equine Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) cases caused by the EHV-1 virus has grown to 17, including the first reported cases in Southern California.

All but one of the 17 confirmed cases participated in the National Cutting Horse Association’s Western National Championships April 29-May 8 in Ogden, Utah, according to the CDFA. The only EHM case not involving a horse that participated at the Utah cutting show was a horse that had participated in the subsequent May 13 cutting in Bakersfield at the Kern County Fairgrounds, the report said.

A mare that did not particpate in either of the cuttings yet exhibited signs of EHM was subject of an investigation by Anmal Health Branch veterinarians who determined she did not have the same strain of virus as the horses in the confirmed cases. The mare, a participant in the Rancheros Vistadores ride in Santa Ynez May 5 – 12, reportedly exhibited neurological signs compatible with a number of equine diseases or conditions, but three sets of nasal swabs and blood testing on this mare indicated she was negative for the mutant strain of EHV-1 that causes EHM. Instead, she tested positive for a more common strain of EHV-1 that most frequently causes respiratory signs and on rare occasion causes neurological signs.