Happy Trail!
After a long ride to completion, Temecula trail advocates celebrate
From Horsetrader staff reports
TEMECULA — Travelers along DePortola Road aren’t accustomed to big commotions on a Thursday morning, but there it was on Feb. 22: dozens of observers, several dignitaries, a mounted posse, even media.
It was a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Pat Ommert Trail. After 15 years of dedicated work, the stars had finally aligned and the 2.3-mile trail through Valle de los Caballos, linking Anza Road to the vineyards, would officially open.
The brightest star, legendary horsewoman and lifelong horse advocate Pat Ommert, arrived promptly at 11 a.m. — pulled at age 94 by a team of draft horses instead of Roman Riding them as she gracefully did for decades. When she cut the ribbon, flanked by Riverside County officials including Supervisor Chuck Washington, about five dozen supporters, sponsors and trail users cheered.
Cow horse Kick Off
New year, same excitement in SCRCHA opener
By SUE CARTER / for the Horsetrader
TEMECULA — Southern California s cow horse community came together Jan. 5-7 to salute its 2023 champions and also launch the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association’s 2024 campaign.
SCRCHA members were glad to be back on their horses after the bustle of the holidays, and the Kick Off Show sponsored by Dr. Doug Lawrence and Dr. Wayne McNeel of Equine Health Management was a great start to the new campaign.
Tucalota Creek Ranch hosted the show, including a fun pizza party with wine tasting that took place while SCRCHA 2023 Year End Champions received their buckles and awards.
Getting the Scoop
Educating users on trail manure aids communities
By LYNDALL ERB, PHD. / courtesy of ELCR.org
Horses have been a critical part of human progress from the early days of our history. They have carried men and supplies in times of war and peace, pulled the plows of farmers’ fields and were the main source of transportation during the settlement of the American west. Horses were the backbone of farms, the transportation to town for supplies and social activities, and a family necessity. Historically, many trails were created by horses ridden by people who needed to get from point A to point B. Today those trails are a critical part of recreation in open spaces and parks.
Mules are different…
After 50-plus years’ experience, here is a saddle-maker’s insight
By COLIN DANGAARD / for the Horsetrader
Mules Are different, in more ways than ears.
The biggest difference is something not visible to the human eye. It is wrapped up in their spirit. For example, you can put a horse in a trailer and go down the highway and have a wreck and you manage to get the horse out, but from that day forward you will have trouble loading that horse into a trailer.
Have the same wreck with a mule, and he will never forget that YOU put him in the trailer. Thereafter he will have a different view of YOU. Over time, this feeling might vanish. And it might not.
Simply Spectacular
SCRCHA’s Jimmy Flores, Sr. Memorial show attracts top talent
By Sue Carter / for the Horsetrader
TEMECULA — The Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association hosted its annual Jimmy Flores, Sr. Memorial Horse Show on May 11-14 at Green Acres Ranch. Great weather treated the riders, horses and cattle with cool temperatures.
There was some fun to be had with the added team branding class on Saturday afternoon. Exhibitors and spectators alike enjoyed watching the teams have success — and calamity! The SCRCHA will have more opportunities for exhibitors to practice their roping skills with a steer stopping class at its next show July 7-9. The July Show is also an opportunity for the youth riders to try their hand at cow horse, as youth ride free at the Grant Berg Memorial show at Green Acres Ranch.
Leader of the Pack
For decades, Craig London, DVM of Rock Creek Pack Station has shared Sierra wilderness with folks on horseback
HORSETRADER: Craig, where did your journey into Sierra wilderness trips begin?
CRAIG: My parents, Herbert and Marge London, bought Rock Creek Pack Station in 1947. My dad was an executive for American Airlines, and when he left L.A., he had been sort of head of flight operations,and he decided he wanted to be a packer. He wanted to go to Bishop.
So, he just had a passion for the outdoors — the wilderness and simple lifestyle — and he never regretted it.
Ranch and cow horse combine
New cow horse division comes to WCRH
Special to the Horsetrader
Since 2020, West Coast Ranch Horse has been producing high quality and well-attended ranch horse shows throughout Southern California. This year, WCRH is introducing a new Ranch Cow Horse Division, featuring three classes: Ranch Cutting, Ranch Boxing and Ranch Reining.
There is a division for all levels of horse and rider including Open, Amateur, Green Horse, Green as Grass, Youth 18-under and Short Stirrup 10-under. This line-up of classes and divisions is designed to make cow horse and reining events more accessible, as it does not require a finished reined cow horse or reiner.
The club will introduce this new division with a two-show buckle series April 8 and May 6. Silver buckles will be awarded in every class for the two-show series. As part of the April event, the club is also offering an AQHA Ranching Heritage Challenge on April 7.
Ease into easements
How trail easements support equestrian access
By LAUREL A. FLORIO / Courtesy ELCR.org
So many aspects of equine activities, such as sport horse training, ranching, or recreational riding, rely on large areas of land — be it for grazing, riding arenas, turn-out or, to a smaller degree, trail access.
Sometimes land-locked areas provide fabulous multi-use opportunities for riders to enjoy the trails. However, access often is restricted to trailer parking gateways, so the need for trail access over privately-owned land is essential to equine use. The lack of this access can minimize trail availability.
EHV-1 cases at Desert Circuit forces cancelation of Feb. 19-20 Western show
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — With three confirmed cases of non-neurologic EHV-1 over the weekend at the Desert Circuit hunter-jumper series in Thermal, the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park has cancelled the Feb. 19-20 SoCal Ranch & Slide event.
The show is the first of four 2022 ranch riding and reining competitions scheduled at the Orange County venue, and it marked the first western events ever scheduled at the venerable facility known for hosting world-class hunter-jumper competition.
“Out of an abundance of caution due to the EHV-1 equine virus and for the safety of the horses, the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park has canceled the Feb. 19-20 western show,” announced management of the SoCal Ranch & Slide Series, Orange County-based Track One Events.
Track One Events added that the second western show in the SoCal Ranch & Slide Series, set for March 5-6 at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park, remains on schedule.
Additional info on the show series: https://www.trackoneevents.com
Additional coverage of the EHV outbreak at the Desert Circuit: https://bit.ly/ehvdesertcircuit
Trails are Common Ground
ELCR joins coalition launching nationwide trail etiquette campaign
Courtesy of ELCR.org
Any recreational trail user will tell you there are more people on the trails than ever before. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, automated counters at trail systems around the country recorded four times as many users compared to the same time frame in 2019.
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