It’s the season for surf and saddles, as the Compton Jr. Posse prepares to host its annual fund-raiser on May 21. The event—always a crowd pleaser, with bargains at the silent and live auctions—will take place at a new venue, the California Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey. “We’re going for a new energy and […]
When polo season starts in May it will mark the 100th Anniversary of the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, which will celebrate with festivities that include a star-studded charity match on July 9 and a black tie dinner gala on Aug. 12. An additional grace note to the centennial jubilance: the world’s No. 1 […]
California’s fair-haired boy, Richard Spooner, became the toast of Palm Beach, distinguishing himself at the Winter Equestrian Festival and on the Florida circuit with mounts including Cristallo and Billy Bianca. The international show jumping champion returned to Southern California in early April, having spent the prior month competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, […]
Steffen Peters danced his way to his highest score ever at the 2011 World Dressage Masters in Palm Beach, Florida, March 11. Riding to a collection of rock songs including Sympathy For the Devil and Viva La Vida, the San Diego-based Peters and Akiko Yamazaki’s 13 year old KWPN Dutch Warmblood gelding Ravel captivated the […]
It’s trendy to buy in Europe, but nice to have other options. Against great odds, some superb breeding operations have sprouted in the U.S. At an age when most women are retired, Jeanne Schamblin runs a successful business and a champion-producing breeding operation. Her Sierra Vista Sporthorses & Ponies in Bakersfield specializes in breeding top-quality […]
Leaving the juniors behind, 18-year-old Lucy Davis ignited the adult phase of her career with a stellar four consecutive grand prix victories on the HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, Calif., including the prestigious $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert on Nemo 119. It’s been a breakout season even by Davis’ standard of steady and […]
Dressage horses working cattle. Blindfolded trick riders not old enough for kindergarten. A man attacked, face ripped open by a predator horse. Horses are a reflection of our human selves. A mirror. A tool in life coaching whether we want it or not. I had previously felt little empathy for Buck Brannaman as he humbly […]
Mountain bikers have made a run on Verdugo Mountain Park in north Glendale, flaunting L.A.’s ban on mountain bikes by illegally constructing an elaborate dirt bike trail that undermines fire roads with 10-foot drops, switchbacks and rock canals, all less than a month after the City Planning Commission finalized a draft of the city’s 2010 […]
When Bert Bonnett turns 101 on February 19, it’ll be without his beloved mare Cassie. Bonnett and the Missouri Foxtrotter were a regular presence in the Los Angeles equestrian community, where large trail rides to celebrate his birthday have become the stuff of legend. Cassie was euthanized on Dec. 6, following a tragic accident in […]
Since 1947 Rock Creek Pack Station has led first-time and experienced riders alike on wilderness trips through California’s southeastern Sierra Nevada mountains. There are horse drives through the Owens Valley and expeditions to see one of the last remaining ungathered bands of Mustangs as well as parent/child rides through the John Muir Wilderness that take […]
