POMONA — 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.

Moore, who along with wife Janet have operated Reed Valley Ranch in Hemet since 2005, gives all the credit to his support team — and also to “Nic”, an 8-year-old gelding he bought in an out-of-state auction as a 2-year old.

“He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse, and I waited 50 years for him,” said Moore, a Northern California native who was a cowboy in Montana and Idaho for three decades before moving to Reed Valley Ranch. “And it’s been worth the wait.”

Moore received a custom saddle designed by Charles Wilhelm for the title, as well as a championship buckle provided by Horse Expo, Pomona, clippers from Andis, supplements from HorseTech, and other sponsor prizes.

RANCHO MURIETA — California’s Quarter Horse Show scene got off to a booming start of 2015 at the Murieta Equestrian Center Feb. 11-15, as the Back to Basics Show came to town for five days of busy competition.

The circuit hosted almost 900 entries per day with classes for everyone at all levels and age groups — both AQHA and all-breed. From halter to pleasure, cattle classes to trail, ranch riding to hunters under saddle, this show had it.

THERMAL — Rich Fellers and Flexible, owned by Harry and Mollie Chapman, won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Feb. 27, topping a field of 44 contenders at HITS Desert Horse Park.

Fifteen horses made the jump-off and nine went double-clear. John Pearce, of Bermuda Dunes and Chianto, owned by Forest View Farm, went second in the jump-off, finishing in 35.047 with the first double-clear, setting the Great American Time to Beat that held up through the next eight competitors who tried to catch him. Fellers, of Wilsonville, Ore., went 13th in the jump-off, completing the round in 34.488 seconds to take the lead.

The Valley Center Vaqueros hosted its Second Annual “Day of the Horse” on Feb. 7, featuring a wide range of activities for horse-lovers.Created to be a fun educational opportunity for the community, the event included vendors, drill team performances, and demonstrations of reining, mounted shooting, driving, vaulting, jumping, polo, dressage and more.

“We began the Day of the Horse to be a venue for all equestrians to learn,” said Vaqueros President Deanne Sanderson.

MORE ONLINE: Http://www.valleycentervaqueros.com

RANCHO MURIETA – Rain couldn’t dampen spirits at the West Coast Reining Horse Association’s Affiliate No. 1 show, as reiners of all ages and levels kicked the 2015 show season into gear Feb. 5-8 at the Murieta Equestrian Center.

Mike Boyle rode Vicki Dias’s I Spook to the respective Open and Prime Time Open titles, marking a 73 that tied for the event’s high score with Intermediate Open champion Raney Fichtner on her BP Gallardo.

The next WCRHA Affiliate Show will be the Rein For The Roses on Kentucky Derby weekend, April 30-May 3 at Brookside.

THERMAL — Will Simpson took one more HITS Desert Circuit Grand Prix win on Sunday, Feb. 8, on Monarch International’s Katie Riddle in the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. The victory marked Simpson’s sixth Grand Prix win so far at HITS Thermal. Simpson topped a field of 41 riders – including eight others who made it to the jump-off – going double-clear and completing the second round in 43.203 seconds to claim the victory at HITS Desert Horse Park.

NORCO – With the 60th Annual Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show on the horizon, Southern California competitors stormed to the Ingalls Park Equestrian Center Jan. 23-25 for the popular Sierra Empire Arabian Horse Association Show.

Each year – for 40 years now – the SEAHA event serves as a valuable tune-up before heading east for the Scottsdale show that gives trainers, exhibitors and owners of all levels a preview of potential rivals for the fall’s Arabian Horse Association National Championships. This year’s edition, with numbers slightly up, marked its second year in its new home in Horsetown USA.

THERMAL — Olympic Gold Medalist Will Simpson has virtually shut out the field of Grand Prix riders so far at HITS Desert Horse Park. Simpson, riding S.F. Ariantha, claimed his fifth consecutive victory with a first place finish in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix on Jan. 30. S.F. Ariantha, a new mount for Simpson, is owned Olivia Cox-Fill.

Thirty-five riders competed in the class and 11 returned for the jump-off. Simpson took home the $7,500 top prize by cleanly completing the jump-off course in 39.033 seconds — just a tenth of a second faster than second place finisher Karl Cook on Basimodo, owned by Signe Ostby, with a time of 39.130 seconds. A little more than a full second behind Simpson and Cook, to finish in third, was Kara Chad, riding Stone Ridge Farms LLC’s Alberto II, in a clean 40.551 seconds. Both Cook and Chad finished in the top six on other horses, Cook with Ostby’s Tembla in fourth, and Chad on Stone Ridge’s Zamiro 16, in sixth.

TEMECULA — More than 100 of Southern California’s top reined cow horse competitors attented the the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association banquet Jan. 10 at the Journey’s End clubhouse to honor its best performers of 2014.

Champions and reserve champions were awarded with custom buckles from A Cut Above Buckles, while the Top Five were awarded with custom breast collars created by Trophy Tack. Qualifiers were awarded with custom SCRCHA split reins donated by Thrifty Horse in Norco.
One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Yvonne Mathieu Award, a custom saddle stand by Trophy Tack, to Jimmy Flores.

PASADENA — Traveler, the striking Andalusian in his 14th year as the University of Southern California mascot, has seen his share of limelight — from sideline cameos at National Championship football games to countless other high profile pacings that include several Rose Parade trips. On New Year’s day, he tried a dutiful role, and owner Joanne Asman of Burbank says it’s her favorite of his illustrious career.