Dude Ranchers Association
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Western * Adventure * Vacation
Whether you are looking to get your family to unplug and reconnect or to challenge and revive your body, spirit and mind in breathtaking off-the-beaten path locales, an all-inclusive dude ranch is the perfect vacation destination – paired with thrilling adventures, opportunities to recharge and a chance to explore the “Wild West.” Think horses, hats, hospitality, heritage, honesty and heart. And that’s just the beginning.
As the original all-inclusive vacation, dude ranches offer value and numerous advantages over other all-inclusive vacation options including no planning once you arrive, flexibility to customize your itinerary, and no additional costs once you arrive to your destination. Guest ranches also offer a wide variety of activities. From horseback riding and hiking, to zip- lining and archery, to swimming and yoga, a dude ranch vacation guarantees a memorable experience and memories that will last a lifetime.
The Dude Ranchers’ Association (DRA) represents a broad spectrum of 100+ guest ranches across the U.S. (two are located in Canada), ranging from rustic, no-frills working ranches to luxury resort-style ranches offering five-star cuisine and spa treatments. Dude ranches are located in some of the most scenic, pristine areas in the country, from valleys complete with untouched Rocky Mountain backdrops to desert sunsets across the Southwest. The DRA takes great pride in the quality and standards it requires its ranches to uphold. Find out more at www.duderanch.org

Katie Russell of Pasadena was one of trainer Cynthia Burkman’s 28 Scottsdale Champions, taking Lightning McQueen CRS to the Half-Arabian Hunter Pleasure AATR 40-over Championship.

Schatzberg photo

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The world’s finest Arabian and Half-Arabian horses and trainers come to Westworld here each year to, among other things, test the waters for the new season. And while their miles traveled may be less than their colleagues from other parts of the continent, the prospects of California competitors proved great again this year.

The 61st annual version of the show ran Feb. 11-21 and drew more than 2,400 horses in a myriad of disciplines and events. Among the thousands of entries were the likes of venerable show barns like Stachowski Farms, established in both Ohio and San Marcos, Calif., as well as individuals and smaller operations.

California champions hailed from all types of barns — big, small and in-between, and clearly the Golden State continues to be an influential force in the breed.

2016 World’s Greatest Horseman Champion Clayton Edsall and Skeets Oak Peppy.

Primo Morales photo

FORT WORTH, Texas — With two big scores in four tough events, Clayton Edsall of Oakdale earned the title of World’s Greatest Horseman during the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions event held Feb. 12-20 at the Will Rogers Equestrian Center.

Riding his own gelding, Skeets Oak Peppy, Edsall scored a 221 to lead the herd work to set his winning pace.

“We were fortunate to up earlier (in the draw), and there were still some cattle we had picked out,” he said. “Some of them got cut. Doug (Williamson), right before me, cut pretty much my whole list, so we went with some backups. Kelby (Phillips) had a good cow picked out, and it all worked out.”
The NRCHA’s World’s Greatest Horseman competition requires the same horse-and-rider combo to compete in four events: herd work, reined work, steer stopping, and fence work.

“In the reined work, he was solid,” Clayton said of “Sly.” “He was a tick better in the prelims. He let me do all the maneuvers and run pretty honest.”

DEL MAR — As the distinctive opening bass line of “Under Pressure” rang out in the covered arena at the Del Mar Horse Park with the voiceover “Hi, I’m Legolas, let’s go!”, there was no doubt that Legolas 92 was back in top form as he and Steffen Peters posted the second-highest Grand Prix Freestyle score of their career at California Dreaming Productions’ Dressage Affaire CDI3*/Y/J/U-25, being held March 10-13.

The veteran U.S. Dressage Team pair’s winning score of 82.000% was also the best of any other American team contender in the current Olympic selection year, second only to their own career best score of 84.050% earned at the LA Winter Dressage CDI in Burbank in January.

Wylene Wilson-Davis is coming to Rolling Horse Ranch in Ramona on April 16-17, 2016. Wylene is the most recent winner of Mustang Magic, a two-time winner of Supreme Extreme Mustang Makeover, and has been featured in Wild Horse, Wild Ride. She also has been in the 2014 three part miniseries, Mustang Millionaire for NatGeo Wild. Known for making quick and lasting changes for you and your horse, Wylene will provide lessons on how to ride, trust and communicate confidently with your horse, as well as how to create a safe partnership in both normal and “extreme” circumstances. She invites you to come, watch and learn, then leave with a more confident relationship between you and your horse! The clinic runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days and costs $400 for two days,  $30 per day for auditors. For more info, contact Ellen at e.kayegehrke@gmail.com or 760-419-6768.

The fearful horse’s progression into becoming a more confident mount depends on the timing of your release, not pressure. This goes without saying for any horse, but it’s most crucial in the fearful horse. Why? Because the fearful horse isn’t as forgiving, and a hole in your training is much more apt to produce a dangerous behavior.

Every time I work with a new horse, I learn something.   After getting to know the horse in the round pen, the first things I teach the horse is to walk, whoa , and to stand on command.

This introductory part of training is very important for building trust and mutual respect between horse and trainer. Time and patience is needed. Nothing will be gained if the trainer loses his patience and the horse gets frightened or resistant.

WHOA is the most important word a driving horse needs to know.  It’s never used in driving to slow a horse —  it means STOP all movement.  Stand is the next important word your horse must learn.    You stop at the stop sign, but the horse must stand until asked to move forward!

After an overview last issue on isolation and control of your horse’s shoulders, Les gets into detail in Exercise No. 2.

On our first shoulder exercise, we started in small circles and then moved his shoulder into the opposite direction of your circle, keeping the neck soft with no resistance. Now, let’s go through the sequence of exercise number two, moving the shoulder to the right:

Rich Fellers and Coupis at HITS Thermal.

ESI photo

THERMAL — Week VII of the HITS Desert Circuit kicked off an exciting week of big money opportunities for jumpers, and Rich Fellers took home another win, this time riding a new horse, Coupis, to the $5,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome. He took Leslie Nelson’s horse to a double clear round in a blistering 40.649 seconds. Canadian course designer Danny Foster had put riders to the test building a lengthy and technical course set at 1.45 meters.

The jump-off came down to who could master the tight roll back turns and gallop the fastest. Only five of nine entries who had made the jump-off went clean, and a pair of California riders, Mandy Porter of Encinitas and Susie Hutchison of Temecula, finished second and third, respectively.

The City of San Marcos held its 25th Annual Trail Days and Membership Drive on March 5, and the community’s horse people showed up in force — more than double of last year. The event asks for residents to come together, put on their hiking shoes or saddle up their horses, and step back in time and experience the rural trails of San Marcos’s extensive trails system. All funds raised from the Friends of San Marcos Parks & Trails Membership Drive directly benefit existing 52 miles of trails and help complete the final segments of the 72-mile multi-use trail system.