Mounted shooters claim titles at CSMA State Finals at Tejon Ranch

Special to the Horsetrader

Talented equestrian marksmen—and women—brought the Tejon Equestrian Center to life May 3-5 for the California State Mounting Shooting Finals competition.

Hosted by the California Peacekeepers, the South Pacific Region the event lasted three days and featured top shooters from California, Arizona and Nevada.

Hoping wildfires will leave us alone isn’t enough; preparedness is our best bet to protect our horses

What does it mean to prepare for a disaster? Preparedness is important for all animals, but it takes extra consideration for horses because of their size and the requirements for transporting them. If you think that disasters happen only if you live in a floodplain, near an earthquake fault line, or in a coastal area, you may be tragically mistaken. Disasters can happen anywhere and include barn fires, hazardous materials spills, propane line explosions, and train derailments, all of which may necessitate evacuation. It is imperative that you are prepared to move your horses to a safe area.

Whether traveling to a trail adventure or to a circuit championship, horses will hit the highways in big numbers in the months ahead. How they get there can make all the difference, and these professionals are California’s leaders, ready to help.

California Custom Trailers & Powersports
Elk Grove (916) 714-2310
Merced (209) 580-4062
Paso Robles (805) 227-4665
CalCustomTrailers.com

California Custom is a true one-stop shop with dealerships in Elk Grove, Merced, and Paso Robles. It’s a shop built for riders by riders, and its staff knows what’s hot (and what’s not!) to keep you on the road with the newest and coolest products. The company takes pride in being different from other dealerships, and also in its “can-do” attitude—there’s no job it’s crew can’t handle. From custom trailers to ATVs and everywhere in between, California Custom will have you covered. It’s return-customer rate reflects its motto, “We sell to sell again!,” and customers can expect to receive the crew’s best service and attitude every time. California Custom is proud to be a 4-Star Trailer dealer, and in addition to horse trailers it offers utility, cargo, stock, and custom trailers. This company has the staff and products on hand to make your experience the best it can be. See ad on page 21.

The federal government enacted rules almost two years ago that continues to cause confusion across the livestock industry, including how it affects the transportation of horses. Last year, the American Horse Council worked with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to clarify concerns.

Bottom line: In general, these rules do not apply to the occasional, short-haul transportation of horses, provided it is not for compensation or commercial purposes.

The result of the AHC-FMCSA meetings were these two pamphlets:

http://bit.ly/non-businesstransport

http://bit.ly/commerciallicenseorno

Special to the Horsetrader

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO—From The American Tradition of Excellence in the equitation ring to a plethora of pony events and a National Derby of with over 50 entries, the third week of the Blenheim EquiSports June Series was chock-full of competition, education, and social events.

The small, medium, and large ponies gathered in the Pacific Field on Wednesday afternoon for a model clinic and the pony fun continued for division competition, classics and derbies, a horsemanship test, lots of tasty treats, and special awards into the weekend.

On Wednesday afternoon, National Show Hunter Hall of Fame 2019 inductee, Carleton Brooks, along with his wife, Traci, hosted the first pony event of the week. Riders of all ages and pony divisions were able to bring their mounts to the Pony Model Clinic to learn technique and how to handle their pony’s personality.

By Daniel H. Grove, DVM

With our animals, we usually have to cover the costs of healthcare instead of having insurance or the government paying for it. This leads us to look for ways to save money anywhere we can often times. One of the ways is by looking for less expensive medications for our animals. Often times, compounded medications can be less, but there is a reason for it.

Brand name and generic medications are commercially prepared. These drugs must past FDA approval. This is a long and detailed process with studies done as to the efficacy, consistency, and safety of a drug. The FDA monitors these drugs even after they are approved for use. They monitor side effects, and production continuously to ensure the safety of the patients receiving them. With this oversight and regulation, the companies manufacturing these products have to maintain their production facilities with strict adherence to the regulations. It is not uncommon for production of a medication to be stopped for a period of time for updating a manufacturing process or plant to comply with FDA changes that occur. While no one probably lacks appreciation for this safety in the pipeline of medication manufacturing, many of us do not like the idea that it does cost money. Since we are the consumers of the product, we have to pay for this service. Also, if something goes wrong with the use of the medication, most of these companies will stand behind their products and want to make it right with their customers. They will help with testing and treatment of side effects.

Top West Coast juniors and amateurs compete in equitation challenge

Special to the Horsetrader

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO—Junior and Amateur riders from across the West Coast made up a field of over 90 competitors looking to gain solid miles and rise to the occasion in The American Tradition of Excellence Equitation Challenge, presented by Whitethorne.

At the conclusion of three phases and a work-off by the top six, 16-year-old Payton Potter earned the 2019 championship honors with a final point score of 269.5. Second to Potter was Julia Stone, who finished with 257.25 points. These two young riders each claimed another challenging 3’3” victory in the last two years, as the 2017 and 2018 champions of the USHJA 3’3” Jumping Seat Medal Finals.

From Horsetrader sales staff

Discover Utah’s Canyon Country with Hondoo Rivers and Trails multi-day horseback riding vacations, hiking tours and Jeep tours. Two multi-day options include camping and inn accommodations. Camping with the horses allows a deeper interaction among people, horses and the backcountry that Hondoo Rivers and Trails is passionate to share with riders. With the camp pre-set and supplied by 4×4 vehicles, not only are they able to spend more time handling the horses, but also provide more opportunities for in-depth exploration of the surroundings—and ourselves. The backcountry featured on these Utah horseback camping rides access areas too remote for inn lodging. Camp location is generally situated at a higher elevation in mid-summer and a lower elevation in spring and fall seasons. Areas explored include Capitol Reef National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, San Rafael Swell Wilderness, or Utah’s High Plateaus. Inn trail rides offer a broad array of riding conditions, top notch lodges and restaurants. Each day can be easily tailored to optimize a group’s wishes, weather conditions and local attractions. Hondoo Rivers and Trails lodging location changes mid-week from Torrey to Boulder, as the ride meanders down the Waterpocket Fold towards Lake Powell. Horseback ride destinations move from the Capitol Reef National Park area into the Grand Staircase/Escalante Canyons National Monument. During warm weather or fall foliage, excursions to the lakes and alpine meadows of Fishlake or Dixie National Forest become part of the itinerary. Trails on all the Hondoo Utah horseback rides are mostly un-groomed and pioneered by wildlife, Indians, outlaws or herdsmen. Areas explored are selected for their scenic quality, pristine natural condition and remote location. As a special offer, for the months of June, July, and August, receive a 15 percent discount on horseback riding trips. Visit the Hondoo Rivers and Trails website, www.hondoo.com, for more details. Also, the telephone number is (435) 425-3519. See ad on page 43.

If at first you don’t succeed…you’re normal.
—Rick Warren

If your training is producing unwanted results, or if you gave a less-than-stellar performance at the last show, congratulations—you’ve just learned what doesn’t work.

I believe failure occurs when people blame. By blaming, the only pay-off will be attracting other people to your circle who also blame.

As Warren says in the first sentence of his book, The Purpose Driven Life, “It’s not about me.”

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.

Now up until this point you’ve been doing some real relaxed turnarounds while your horse learned what you wanted and where to put his feet. Now we’re going to try a few different things, and each will have a little different effect on your turns. First, every once in a while I want you to do a really collected turn, where you’re using both your legs to kick the horse’s back legs right up under his front and really making him bend in the middle and drop his head low. Once you have him collected you can release with your inside leg, or both for that matter, depending on the response you’re getting from him. While you’re doing this, you want to feel like you can put his head almost anywhere you want it and have him at any level of collection, while still maintaining the same cadence. Both of you will build confidence from this.