Backcountry Haven Vacation Rental
North Fork, Calif.
(415) 485-2994
vrbo.com/598877

Set among pine and oak woodland, Backcountry Haven’s authentic log home sleeps up to 12 people, featuring five bedrooms and two baths. It is located near Yosemite National Park, with a barn and covered horse corrals. The full kitchen offers ample countertop space, the large living room has a wood-burning stove, and a covered veranda invites outdoor living. Use the large barbeque to cook up your favorite dishes, then enjoy them at the outdoor tables!

Four bedrooms have a queen bed and one has a king-sized bed. The large bedroom also has a log-framed bunk bed. Two bathrooms and a separate vanity sink area provide plenty of personal space. There is an upstairs reading/game table area. Downstairs, you’ll find a large flat screen and surround sound system with BluRay and Apple TV. There is internet and cell phone coverage.

BURBANK — The much-anticipated inaugural West Coast qualifying competition for this year’s Reem Acra FEI World Cup Dressage Final came to a resounding conclusion on the final day of California Dreaming Productions’ Mid-Winter Dressage Fair CDI-W/Y/J/U-25 in Burbank as U.S. Dressage Team veterans Steffen Peters and Legolas 92 earned an impressive score of 80.825% for their popular U-2 themed Grand Prix Freestyle. This remarkable score is not only a personal best for the pair, but it also firmly cements them as favorites to lead the American contingent to Las Vegas. Finishing in second was Peters’ 2012 Olympic team mate Jan Ebeling aboard Vantage Equestrian Group LLC’s impressive Hanoverian stallion FRH Rassolini (Rubioso N x Sweetheart by Silvano) with 75.050%.

“We had an exciting ride today and I’m so pleased,” said Peters, who explained that he specifically asked announcer Brian O’Connor to raise the volume in the Equidome, which almost created a problem mid-test. “When we did the sound check, I didn’t want to take it easy because that’s not going to be the reality in Las Vegas. So the music was definitely louder, and at the end of the arena just before the one tempi’s, Legolas reacted to it. But even though we had that bobble, he recovered and still did the line of one’s, and I’m particularly happy about that. This is his fifth test in a row where he hasn’t made a mistake in the changes, and that’s huge improvement for him.”

FORT WORTH — Corey Cushing won the 2015 Kalpowar World’s Greatest Horseman competition on PRF Spoonful Of Gold, and California riders and horses also made their respective marks at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions, held Feb. 13-21.

PRF Spoonful Of Gold (Hes A Peptospoonful X Sons Miss Sprat) is a 2008 sorrel stallion owned by Cathy Corrigan. The reserve championship went to Phillip Ralls of Paso Robles on Dom Dualuise (Dual Rey X Smart Little XX), an 8-year-old gelding owned by Christian Larson of Park City, Utah. Jake Gorrell took fourth place on Smooth N Cash, owned by the Roloff Ranch in Temecula.

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.

RANCHO MURIETA — Sandy Arledge of Encinitas was inducted into the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Association Hall of Fame during the organization’s Feb. 14 banquet.

In addition to her lifelong contributions to California’s Quarter Horse scene, Arledge has contributed at a national level with the American Quarter Horse Association. Arledge has been an AQHA director since 1997 and was elevated to director emeritus in 2011. She has served on the AQHA membership, shows and Professional Horsemen, judges, stud book and registration, and hall of fame selection committees. She also served on the nominations and credentials committee and served as the committee’s chairwoman in 2010. She currently serves on the American Quarter Horse Foundation Council.

Tenth in a series
Now that Les has covered the importance of our hands in the last two issues, let’s learn another communication device.

Clucking is a conditioned response. I read somewhere that clucking goes back to Xenophon*, who lived in something like 400 B.C. Anyway, horsemen have been doing it a long time. And it is interesting how clucking makes a difference, as far as bringing up the adrenaline in a horse.

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

Dear Dana,
I am a beginner rider and when I take lessons at my local riding club I just don’t feel like I am very secure on the horse in my seat! I have come up out of the saddle a few times, not off of the horse, just out of the saddle. I am starting to lose confidence. My instructor keeps telling me that we need to work on my seat. Do you have any pointers?

Marcy