WOODSIDE– You know it’s going to be a weeklong battle in the saddle in every division when the increase in top horse and rider combinations over last year is a whopping 55 percent.

The 2014 Reining By The Bay once again surpassed expectations, drawing more reiners and spectators than before as the best in the west competed for more than $200,000 in added money and prizes at the Horse Park at Woodside on July 23-27.

Again, there were familiar stars this year — Tish Fappani and her longtime partner Premier Diamond (Like A Diamond x Sexy Chexy Nic) took top honors in the class of 17 exhibitors in the Non Pro Level 4 maturuity, earning $2,307 — and there were some who rose to the head of the class.

It was 1797 when Father Junipero Serra planted more than 1,000 grapevines in the pristine hills of California’s central coast. The vineyard, adjacent to one of the Central Coast’s most beautiful missions, San Miguel Arcangel, would eventually become part of a picturesque community rich in history, viticulture, and, of course, horses.

Paso Robles, located in northern San Luis Obispo County, is home to 30,000 residents. Incorporated in 1889, the name Paso Robles comes from the Spanish El Paso de Robles, or “The Pass of the Oaks.” Situated 230 miles north of Los Angeles and 210 miles south of San Francisco, this 19.9-acre city is a haven for horse lovers.

Holy Cow Performance Horses
Santa Ynez, CA & Weatherford, TX
(805) 688-4241
www.HolyCowPerformanceHorses.com
Holy Cow Performance Horses opened its doors in 1999, becoming one of the leading breeding operations of performance cow horses in the state of California. In December of 2012 Holy Cow Performance Horses expanded operations to a second location in Weatherford, Texas, introducing Holy Cow Performance Horses Texas, LLC. Breeding, raising and showing quality performance Quarter Horses is our passion. Holy Cow Performance Horses is dedicated to breeding quality working cow performance horses that are world class in their respective fields. Reined cow horses, cutting and reining horses, as well as all around working ranch horses are raised here at Holy Cow Performance Horses.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Kicking off the medal finals season, Blenheim EquiSports hosted the California Professional Horsemen’s Association Junior and Adult Finals at the Blenheim Summer Classic, and Abby Jorgenson and Leina King took respective Junior and Adult titles Aug. 17.

An impressive crowd gathered at Blenheim Farms’ indoor ring for the Final Round, as three experienced equestrians made up the judging panel in Stacia Madden, Rita Timpanaro, and Debbie Sands.

After two qualifying rounds, the top 10 juniors and top 11 adults came back to contest for the overall top prize in the finalround of their division. Jorgensen, a rider from Woodside, held on to her second-round lead and won decisively, and King, of Santa Barbara, topped the Adult section.

Are you a responsive rider or a reactive rider? If you are a reactive rider — responding to the reactions of your horse and are riding whatever he presents whether it be a spook, a buck or a bolt — you likely feel as if you are taken by surprise. Or, you feel at the mercy of what your horse presents and you do what you can to ride through an issue. When you return from a trail ride, you feel lucky to have made it back safely. Your confidence begins to wane, and you become more fearful – trail riding is more stressful than fun. You start eliminating things you used to do, places you used to go to.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Like the weather, reining competition heats up in the summer, so the California Reinng Horse Association took its schedule to the beach for an Aug. 3 show at the Huntington Beach Central Park Equestrian Center.

The headliner was non-pro Rebecca Armour, who took her San Cielo Ray to titles in Non Pro, Intermediate Non Pro, Limited Non Pro and Novice Horse Non Pro divisions. Monica Albair was judge at the one-day event, which also had Jack and Linda Baker qualifying classes.

The next CRHA event will be the big one — The Challenge, scheduled Oct. 22-26 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

MORE INFO: www.calreining.com

Fourth in a series

Before there were autos, there were carriages, and choosing an appropriate vehicle for our needs hasn’t changed!

What do you need it for? How many seats? Price? Type? Color? Do you want something new and modern, or an antique or classic?

The heartfelt campaign to bring a memorial for Korean War hero Sgt. Reckless comes to Camp Pendleton on Sept. 13, as the Camp Pendleton Historical Society will host a fund-raiser to assist building a memorial for the mare. Spearheaded by author Robin Hutton of Los Angeles, the proposed monument would duplicate the stunning statue by sculptor Jocelyn Russell dedicated last July at the National Museum for the Marine Corps in Quantico. Sgt. Reckless, who once carried 386 rounds– about five tons– 35 miles through rice paddies and up steep hills while enemy fire roared around her, was retired and buried at Camp Pendleton. The fund-raiser will be held at the historic Las Flores Adobe on the base, and it will include architectural tours, a book signing by Hutton with her book, “Sgt. Reckless, America’s Warhorse,” plus other activities including a war dog demonstration, Indian basket weaving, food, music, silent auction and more. Camp Pendleton CPHS will match any funds raised, dollar-for-dollar, up to $30,000! See the ad on page 87, and learn more about this amazing project, at CampPendletonHistoricalSociety.org. For a moving glimpse at the story of Sgt. Reckless, visit www.sgtreckless.com/Reckless/Movie.html

73rd in a series
After Les outlined the points to concentrate on last issue, now we’ll get to work.

In this session, we’re going to go back to turnarounds. As always, the most important part is the neck: start at the front and work your way back. With the body controls that you have developed in your exercises, you have the ability to fix almost any problem. Moreover, remember, if you’re having trouble in the turnaround, don’t fix the maneuver, stop the maneuver and fix the problem.