May started with our second Willow Glen show on Sunday the 4th.  Thanks to Katrina for slaving the day away helping everyone get ready, and taking such great care of the horses.

Katie Shipley and Smart Like Jose - 3rd Green as Grass Reining
Martha Vargas and Masterful Reiner - 1st Novice Horse NonPro, 2nd Limited Non Pro, 1st WG NonPro
Lori Riis and Taris Gold Dancer - 1st Novice Horse Open
Manuel Campos and Smart Wimpy Lena - 2nd Snaffle Bit Open
Lori Riis and Miss Top Prize - 1st Rookie Professional

Michell Kimball and Smart Wimpy Lena and Nifty Dun It, Julie Jensen and Rockin With Me and Carrie Umphrees and Docs De Peppy Tops also had great runs!

Martha Vargas and her first place ribbon!

Michell Kimball and Nifty Dun It

The very next weekend we headed to Casner Ranch in Temecula for the CRHA Double Judged Jackpot Show. We were all very worried about the heat as 3 days before the show it was 100 degrees in Imperial Beach! The heat was tolerable and we had a great time all crowding together under one sparse little tree. Thanks to Bob and Michell Kimball for keeping us fed with all the snacks - especially the cakecups! (no that’s not a typo…)

Doug Danner and Plaudit Seabreeze - 1st Prime Time Rookie, 2nd Jack Baker Qualifier
Doug Danner and Sunshine Seabreeze - 3rd jack baker Qualifier
Katrina Schecter and Captain Iceberg - 1st Youth Ribbons

Katrina Schecter and Captain Iceberg

May 25th was our final Ranch Horse Trail Challenge. The whole series was a great success and we are currently planning our second series to be held this fall. THANK YOU to Lori and Katie for all their hard work, Katrina for her excellent timekeeping skills, Manuel and Victor for setting up and taking down and moving around and changing and making bigger and making smaller all the obstacles, Alex Alvarez-Malo and Maryann Taylor for announcing, Maryann Taylor (again!) for planting, pruning, watering and keeping all our beautiful plants alive, Victor Sandoval for always being around to help, Cathy and Monty Montagne for letting us use their soundsystem at the last minute and a BIG BIG THANK YOU to Steve Shipley for jumping itno action and grilling us up some delicious hamburgers and hotdogs after our caterer cancelled the morning of the event.

 Congratulations to our Buckle Winners!
Caitlin Owen and Iggy - Youth
Caitie Corella and Elly - Novice
Julie Jensen and Tony the Tiger - Over 50
Kathy Aparacio - Nonpro
Julie Jensen and Tony the Tiger - Open

Youth/Novice/Over 50 Buckle Winners

Paula Hugill and “Sugar”

Adele McCandlish and “I Shaved My Legs for This”

David Rivera

Linda McMorran and “Simi”

Welcome from texas Kelly and her paint mare Lady. Lady is adjusting to life in a pipe corral from her 2 acre pasture back in Texas well and hopefully Kelly will be able to hit the trails soon!

 The newest RLA member is Barbara Caron’s newest baby out of her mare Sugar by our own Talk About This owned by Antonio Marquez. A cute little filly she is super sweet and loves butt scratches. Barbara’s other mare Flicka is also due with a foal by Talk About This and s/he should be here by the next newsletter.

 UPCOMING EVENTS!

July 5 - SDCTPA Cowboy Race, Lakeside
July 13 - Willow Glen NRHA/Buckle Series #3
August 14-17 - Classic Championships Burbank, CA
August 16 - SDCTPA Cowboy Race, Lakeside

We’ve been busy! So busy Lori doesn’t even remember we HAVE plants, much less to water them. Thank goodness for Maryann Taylor for keeping all our trail class plants healthy (and alive!) If you ever journey allllll the way to the back of the ranch you might notice the two scarecrows guarding a large spot of fenced in tires. That spot is Maryann’s new garden. Almost everyday she can be found tending to her little seedlings growing up in the tires for protection from the chickens, squirrels and other assorted RLA wildlife. So far we have cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, corn, cucumber and carrots all starting to grow. Hopefully the next RLA cowgirl’s club party will include some fresh fruits and veggies!

Congratulations to Michell Kimball on the purchase of Nifty Dun It. Since Michell still wanted a bay horse we of COURSE got her another palomino. They are already working great together and Michell is already having tons of fun on her most favorite gelding!

Also congratulations of Jim and Letha Lowry of Vista, CA on the purchase of Summer Seabreeze. Doug Danner bred Summer and then sold her. Late last year he repossessed her after her previous owner abandoned her after several months of neglect. Doug fixed her up and set out to find her a good home. Jim, Letha and Summer should have many great years together.

The LAPD updated us on Destiny Seabreeze, whom they purchased last month. Destiny is doing GREAT, he fit right in with their program and hasn’t had a problem with anything they’ve asked of him. They absolutely love him and say he is the best trained horse they have ever had. He is also their first appaloosa recruit, and probably not the last. This is his official uniform, complete with face shield.

 Well we haven’t stopped showing since last month! With such a big show team this year even Billy Bob (the blue dodge) has had to go to almost every show pulling an extra trailer.

April started with our second Ranch Horse trail Challenge. Saturday April 5th was the clinic and this time we separated the clinic into three class - 9:30-11:30am, 12-2:00pm and 2:30-4:30pm. The new schedule worked great and everyone was able to have one on one time with Lori and Katie. Sunday brought the trail challenge and the strong winds really made some of the flag obstacles interesting! There is one more challenge left for the 25th of May, SIGN UP NOW!!

The Nonpro and Open class walking through the course.

Caitlyn Owen and “Iggy” winners of the Youth Class.

Kim Lenahan and “Shotgun” - 3rd in Open

Caroline Dilman and “Sadie” - 4th Open 

 Lauren Haggerty and “Bara Ben Tov” - Winners of the Novice class

Caitie Corella and Elly

April 13th was the first Willow Glen show of the year.  The saturday before the show it was 99 degrees at the barn while Katie was giving baths, so we were all a little nervous about how hot it was going to be. It turned out to not be AS hot as the day before but we all indulged in a 50/50 Orange cream float to help keep cool. It was a successful day and despite the heat all the horses were very good. A big thank you to Katrina Schrechter, our groom for the day for her many trips to the trailer and back for forgotten chaps, bell boots and hairspray and for taking such great care of the horses.

Lori and Taris Gold Dancer - 2nd in Novice Horse Open
Katie and Smart Like Jose - 3rd in Green as Grass
Julie Jensen and Rockin With Me - 4th in Novice Horse NonPro
Carrie Umphrees and Docs De Peppy Tops - 1st in Limited Nonpro and Nonpro
Martha Vargas and Masterful Reiner - 3rd in Limited NonPro
Michell Kimball and Nifty Dun It- 3rd in Rookie Professional
Michell Kimball and Smart Wimpy Lena - 4th in Rookie Professional

Carrie Umphrees and Docs De Peppy Tops, Martha Vargas and Masterful Reiner, Lori, Katrina Schrechter and Michell Kimball on Nifty Dun It

Michell Kimball and Nifty Dun It

Carrie Umphrees and Docs De Peppy Tops

With only one day to recover from Willow Glen, on Tuesday we took all the horses up to Del Mar for the Nationals. We brought Tigger, Nifty, Barbie, Iceman, Tony, Roxy, Gallo, Sunshine, Breeze, Master and Chiquita. Everyone had a great time in the show pen and on the sidelines in the sheering squad. Julie Jensen kept us fed everyday with a delicious lunch AND a key lime pie cheesecake in honor of Martha Vargas’ birthday. THANK YOU to Bob Kimball for being the official videographer and taping everyone’s rounds!!

Lori and Taris Gold Dancer - 4th, PCHA Open Reining
Michell Kimball and Nifty Dun It - 4th Senior Horse Reining
Michell Kimball and Smart Wimpy Lena - 6th Junior Horse Reining
Katrina Schrechter and Captain Iceberg - Reserve Champion PCHA Youth Reining
Julie Jensen and Rockin With Me - 4th and 5th Basic Amateur Reining
Doug Danner and Plaudit Seabreeze - 3rd, 5th Jack and Linda Baker Qualifiers
Doug Danner and Sunshine Seabreeze
Martha Vargas and Masterful Reiner - 3rd Novice Horse, 4th Jack and Linda Baker Qualifier
Carrie Umphrees and Docs De Peppy Tops - 2nd, 3rd Jack and Linda Baker Qualifiers

Martha Vargas and Masterful Reiner

Katrina Schrechter and Captain Iceberg

Julie Jensen and Rockin With Me

Michell Kimball and Smart Wimpy Lena

UPCOMING EVENTS - Hope to see you there!

May 4th - Willow Glen Buckle Series Show #2
May 10 - CRHA Jackpot Show, Casner Ranch - Temecula
May 24-25 - 3rd Trail Clinic/Challenge - Clinic is on Saturday, Show on Sunday
May 29-June 1 - Showtime Classic - Burbank
June 5-8 - Lights, Camera, Action - Burbank
July 13 - Willow Glen NRHA/Buckle Series #3

~ It’s a lot like nuts and bolts - if the rider’s nuts, the horse bolts ~

What a month! Hope you’re ready for pictures!

WELCOME to Jessica Diaz and Ruby. Jessica will be checking out the miles of trails that surround our barn with her new mare. (Don’t worry, Katie’s already working to get her into the trail challenges!)

Congratulations to Michell Kimball on the purchase of her new mare, Smart Wimpy Lena. “Barbie” is a 4yo mare by Wimpy’s Little Step, and was trained by Andrea Fappani. Of course she is a goregous palomino (since Michell STILL wants a bay) They are certainly going to be a force to reckon with this show year! Now Barbie is looking for her Ken!

Also congratulations to the Los Angeles Police Department on the purchase of Destiny Seabreeze. Destiny carried Doug Danner to many ribbons and 2 top ten world titles. He was a solid horse in every way, huge stop, great spins even great on the trail. He is doing great in his new home, and we are sure he will have many happy years as a LA Police Officer.

March 8-9 was our FIRST RANCH HORSE TRAIL CHALLENGE! It went great with rave reviews from everyone. Saturday was clinic day, we had well over 10 people in each clinic. Lori, Katie and Katrina went around helping everyone with their horses as they took them through all the obstacles. By the end of the day there was a great improvement in horses and riders.

Sunday morning started bright and early, horses were saddled and everyone was ready to go at promptly 8:30 (ish) The Youth, Novice and Over 50 ran concurrently, we broke for lunch and the non-pro and open went concurrently. The winners were presented with RLA Ranch Horse Trail Challange custom hats, Wild Bill’s Gift Certificates and we gave ribbons through 6th place.

A BIG “THANK YOU!!!” to Jamie Willey for all her help leading up to and during the challenge. She put up with countless “Jamie, can you…..” and “Jaime! HELP!” the whole week as Lori and Katie scrambled with last minute details. She rode Sadie in the novice class did a fantastic job.

 Also a big thank you to Don and Maryann Taylor for all their help setting up the course, planting all the potted plants (and watering them) and generally helping out. Thanks to Wild Bills Western ( http://www.shopwildbills.com) for the donation of gift certificates which were given to the 1st place winners in the novice divisions.

Lori and Katie

Erika and Gringo

Julie Jensen and Tony The Tiger

Jaime Willey and Sadie

March 27th-30th was the spring classic in Del Mar. Lori, Katie, Julie, Martha, Toni, Michell and Doug brought Tigger, Smoky, Iceman, Roxy, Tony, Master, Rosie, Barbie, Summer, Breeze, Sunshine and Gallo. Lori brought Taris Gold Dancer and after a so-so round on Friday walked the walk on Saturday and Tigger really showed his stuff. Katrina and Captain Iceberg did a fantastic job sweeping up the blues in everything they entered. Iceman made a triumphant return to the show pen and the pair look to have an incredible season ahead of them. Julie Jensen showed her mare Rockin With Me for the first time and did a fantastic job. Toni Urtiaga showed Buenos Noches Rose and had some nice circles, this was their warmup show for the year and Rosie is in great shape!

Katrina Schrecter and Captain Iceberg

 Julie Jensen and Rockin With Me

Lori and Taris Gold Dancer

Toni Urtiaga and Buenos Noches Rose

 Lori and Taris Gold Dancer with Michell Kimball and Miss Top Prize

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 5-6 - 2nd Trail Clinic/Challenge - Clinic is on Saturday, Show on Sunday

April 13 - Willow Glen NRHA Show

April 17-20 - Del Mar Nationals, Del Mar Fairgrounds

April 26-27 - Hollywood Charity, Burbank, CA

May 4 - Willow Glen Reining

May 24-25 - 3rd Trail Clinic/Challenge - Clinic is on Saturday, Show on Sunday

“one man’s wrong lead is another man’s counter-canter”

The days are getting longer and warmer - Spring is in the air! We’ve busted out the show saddles and have four new box stalls full of baby chicks.

Barn News:The new box stalls are ready. Victor spent many late nights working well past dark getting the roof put on and it looks great. It still needs a coat of paint and some finishing touches, but is open for business. Michael and Sarah Bunney’s colt “Rudy” was the first resident and he gave his new digs two hooves up.

Manuel’s new brood is just too cute! Three mama hens with about ten chicks each. The babies are getting bigger and braver everyday and are now coming to the front of the stalls to say “hi” (versus running and hiding under mom). Manuel also added a second rooster and four new hens, who will soon be patrolling the front half of the ranch. We certainly will have a reduced bug problem this year.

What about ChaCha’s puppies? Well, as Lori would put it, “she LIED her way through 23 cans of pedigree” She told everyone she was pregnant, gained 10 pounds and then … nothing. Then again, could YOU resist this face?

Next month is worming month! We will be worming with Ivermectin. Even horses on daily dewormer (Strongid) need to be wormed with Ivermectin twice yearly. Contact Katie if you’d like to add your horse to our worming list.

February 22-23 was the first big show of the season. Manuel, Lori, Katie, Michell Kimball and Doug and Lou Danner headed up to Burbank for the “Winter Madness” reining show. The rain during the week closed all the outside arena so everything was moved into the equidome leaving almost nowhere to warmup. It POURED on us all day Sunday and by the time we hit the road we were all ready to go home. For Doug it was a chance to dust off his show saddles and get Plaudit Seabreeze and Sunshine Seabreeze back in the slide of things. Doug came home with an armful of ribbons for both horses. Michell Kimball also did well on her mare Miss Top Prize. She went to Burbank with a few specific things to work on from her Scottsdale experience and was very pleased with Summer. Lori brought along Taris Gold Dancer to school and brought home a first place in the Senior Horse. “Tigger” sure can be good when he wants to be! Thanks to Toni and Emily Urtiaga for making the drive up to spend the afternoon cheering everyone on. Its great to have a support group in the stands.

With show season in full swing we will often be spending our weekends in Burbank, Del Mar or at Willow Glen. Even if your horse isn’t going to the show feel free to stop by and cheer on your barn mates.

Rancho Los Amigos Trail Challenge

The trail course is finished and Lori and Katie are (mostly) ready for the trail challenge. Our training horses are already benefitting from having a little mental break before and after their workouts. Nothing cures a horse anxious to leave the arena and head to the crossties like a trail pattern! We have all had a lot of fun torturing training with the bridge, log drag, walk overs and mailbox. Don and Maryann Taylor have made GREAT guinea pigs and have been the first ones to try all the new obstacles Lori and Katie keep coming up with.

The 1st Trail Challenge will be SUNDAY, MARCH 9th. We are almost completely full for competition but feel free to stop by and watch. It will be a lot of fun and we will have sign ups for the next two challenges. The clinic will start at 9:30am. On Sunday morning, sign ups or any available challenge spots will be at 7am, there will be a draw for order of go at 7:30, a course walk-thru at 8:00 and the event will start at 8:30.

The next Trail Challenge will be April 5th-6th. Call Katie at (619) 227-5364 or e-mail ktbme@aol.com for more information. A competition based on horse and rider skills over natural trail obstacles. For example - opening and closing a gate, over the bridge, log drag etc. There will be 3 Novice buckle divisions, Youth, Novice, Over 50, with limited obstacles. There will also be two buckle/jackpot divisions, nonpro and open, which will feature more difficult obstacles. The Saturday before each show Lori and Katie will be holding a clinic for anyone interested in working on there ranch skills.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

March 8-9 - 1st Rancho Los Amigos Trail Clinic/Challenge Clinic is on Saturday and Show is on Sunday

March 29-30 - AQHA Spring Classic, Del Mar Showpark

April 5-6 - 2nd Trail Clinic/Challenge - Clinic is on Saturday, Show on Sunday

April 13 - Willow Glen NRHA Show

April 17-20 - Del Mar Nationals, Del Mar Fairgrounds

April 26-27 - Hollywood Charity, Burbank, CA

May 4 - Willow Glen Reining

May 24-25 - 3rd Trail Clinic/Challenge - Clinic is on Saturday, Show on Sunday

 

May your belly never grumble,
May your heart never ache.
May your horse never stumble,
May your cinch never break.
-Cowboy Blessing

Whew! The holidays are finally over! Lori took down the last Christmas wreath from the office and the poinsettias haven’t been watered in two weeks. (Did you know Home Depot will replace them next year!?)

Barn News:
The barn has taken in a LOT of rain these past few weeks. The front arena and sliding track are very wet and muddy, however the heavy footing in the back continues to remain rideable no matter how much rain we get. After a certain overnight downpour of almost an inch we were still able to ride the next morning, and Manuel was even bragging in the afternoon about the south side needing to be watered.

** February is worming month!!** We will be worming with pyrantel pamoate, the first wormer on our rotation of the year. If your horse is due to be wormed please contact Katie. Worming is a very important part of keeping your horse healthy and happy. We worm horses every two months, so we will be worming again in April, this time with Ivermectrin.

January started with a meeting of the Rancho Los Amigos Cowgirls Club complete with a chocolate fountain. All was well in the office as Lori ‘The Trail Boss’, Martha Vargas, Lou Danner and her twin sister Lori, Rebecca Alvarez-Malo, Barbara Caron, Julie Jensen, Maryann Taylor and Michell “speedbump” Kimball and Katie discussed the finer points of dipping chicken strips in chocolate when we were ambushed! Out of nowhere Manuel, Victor, Fernando, Alex Alvarez-Malo and Doug Danner appeared and crashed the party. It was well worth it when we had a impromptu vignette of World Famous of Matador Alejandro with his fondue sticks. As usual a great time was has by all.

The next morning we all rolled out of bed and headed to Andrea Fappani’s ranch in San Marcos where he was giving a clinic. He was very patient, had an excellent way of teaching and really helped the riders. Doug Danner rode Sunshine Seabreeze and gained a lot of good knowledge with Andrea’s help. He is a wonderful clinician and we all learned a lot and enjoyed watching.

The 18th, 19^th and 20^th, Lori, Julie Jensen, and Katie with Woody, Tony and Sadie headed out to Borrego Spirngs, for a weekend camping trip. We met up with a great group of ladies that Julie has been riding with yearly. We had a great time riding through the beautiful desert and an even better time chatting away with the girls. Sadie and Tony, the seasoned trail horses showed Woody all the tricks of the trade for his first big trail ride, and before we knew it he was crossing chest deep water like a pro.

January 28^th, Lori, Michell Kimball and Katie headed to Scottsdale for the Arizona Sun Circuit with Michell’s mare Miss Top Prize (Summer). It was Michell’s first time showing Summer and the pair did great. The three of us had a great time in our wonderful hotel and spent more time shopping then riding!

::::::NEWS FLASH::::::

Manuel is expecting!!! That’s right, before too long we will have a whole brood of new chicks. The hens have been sitting on their eggs diligently and Manuel has been checking them several times a day.

Speaking of expecting……. we’re all going to be surrogate parents! Cha Cha and Tango are due to have their third litter of puppies the third week of February (the same weekend we are in Burbank) The puppies are adorable and so much fun to have. I’m sure Fresa, Cody and Bandit are looking forward to meeting their new brothers and sisters.

Rancho Los Amigos Trail Challenge

RLA will be hosting three ranch horse trail challenges in March, April and May. A competition based on horse and rider skills over natural trail obstacles. For example - opening and closing a gate, over the bridge, log drag etc. There will be 3 nonpro buckle divisions divisions, Youth, Novice, Over 50, with limited obstacles. There will also be two buckle/jackpot divisions, nonpro and open, which will feature more difficult obstacles. The Saturday before each show Lori and Katie will be holding a clinic for anyone interested in working on there ranch skills. For more information please call Katie: (619) 227-5364.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

February 22-24 - Winter Madness Reining, Burbank, CA

March 1-2 - Andrea Fappani clinic in Mexico

March 8-9 - 1^st Rancho Los Amigos Trail Clinic/Challenge Clinic is on Saturday and Show is on Sunday

March 29-30 - AQHA Spring Classic, Del Mar Showpark

April 5-6 - 2^nd Trail Clinic/Challenge - Clinic is on Saturday, Show on Sunday

April 13 - Willow Glen NRHA Show

April 17-20 - Del Mar Nationals, Del Mar Fairgrounds

April 26-27 - Hollywood Charity, Burbank, CA