Horsing Around Gains Popularity : California Ring Riders

If you believe a race track is the only place to see horse and rider combine in a spectacular display of speed, strength and beauty, you’ve been heading down the wrong trail, pardner.

“There are probably more horse shows featuring more different breeds, riding styles and competitions in Southern California than any other place in the country,” said Corey Walkey, owner of Mill Creek Stables in Topanga.

Moreover, most of them are free or open to the public for a minimal charge.

Ironically, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, which hosted the equestrian events in the 1984 Olympics, can take much of the credit for boosting attendance at the horse shows with which it may one day directly compete. (Gov. George Deukmejian has signed into law a bill that would allow parimutuel betting on match jumping, steeplechase racing and barrel racing, the latter a speed event around three barrels on a clover-shaped course.)

“People saw world-class competition and got really excited by what they saw,” said David Schmutz, manager of the Paddock Riding Club in Los Angeles.

This isn’t just wishful thinking on the part of local riding schools, equestrian centers, tack shops and general purveyors of horse flesh, who stand to gain most by the surging interest in the sport.

Association Membership Grew

According to Kathy Fallon, secretary for the American Horse Shows Assn. (ASHA)--largest multibreed equestrian organization in the United States--membership in the association grew from 34,000 members in 1980 to about 53,000 members in 1989. Moreover, the group anticipates it will sanction 2,500 shows in 1990, up from 1,270 in 1980.

“It’s one of the few sports around where men and women compete equally,” Fallon said. “Also, I can’t think of a sport that attracts people with such a wide diversity of backgrounds.”

Walkey’s stable of riders during the recent three-day horse trials at Showpark in Del Mar revealed not only a rich variety of competitors in the combined dressage, cross-country and stadium jumping events but also a glimpse into why many of them risk life and limb to vie for a blue ribbon.

In the first day of the competition, Amy Bittner, a UCLA law student from Mill Creek Stables, was equal to the dressage challenge, in which the horse is judged on a series of ballet-like movements and gaits that can best be compared to the compulsory figures in ice skating. However, on Day 2 in the cross-country portion, which tests horse and rider over a series of jumps and obstacles in the open field, Bittner booked a much rougher passage.

“For a split second, I thought I was going down,” Bittner said after returning to the barn. “Then I looked down and saw all the rocks and sort of changed my mind.”

Although Bittner had a chance to preview the course with some of the other Mill Creek Stable riders, the horse is seeing the trail for the first time. To horses with limited reasoning powers but long memories, a 4-inch puddle may seem like a 4-foot-deep lake or lagoon.

To successfully execute all the jumps requires a blind obedience on the part of the horse that only the rider can convey to his mount after hours of practice and training.

“They say it takes 20 falls before you’re even considered a rider,” said Mark Watring, a professional trainer and rider for 17 years who was stabled next to the Mill Creek contingent.

Walkey wasn’t quite so fatalistic: “For me to be able to send my riders out and watch them compete, I have to feel they’re going to come back in one piece,” she said.

Sarah Graham, a Los Angeles architect, also experienced some rocky moments on the course.

‘Harder Than It Looks’

“The cross-country phase is significantly harder than it looks,” she said. “I’ve been a serious swimmer, tennis player, runner and all those other things, and I’d say it’s more work than all of them put together.”

Then why do it?

For Graham’s stablemate, Janice Romersa--who lives in Hidden Hills with her husband, a television producer, and two children--riding is the fulfillment of a childhood fantasy.

“My parents could never really afford to buy me a horse,” she said, “so when I had the money, I took the leap. Also, it’s good for me. Sometimes I think I should stop doing this, but I’m afraid of the alternative--turning into a blimp.”

Because of creeping arthritis in her hands, Romersa does allow for a few shortcuts. “I pay others to braid my horse; it’s real sad, I know, but it keeps me going.”

For Cindy Wilson of Altadena, riding is almost an obsession. “We’re all suffering from pre-senile dementia,” she said. “We don’t remember how scared we are when we’re actually out there riding.”

Her husband, Don, a pilot, had another explanation. “Before the event, she’s tongue-tied, but once on the course, the exhilaration propels her and the horse forward,” he said. “After she comes off, she’s so pumped with adrenaline, she’s ready to go back out again.”

In Agreement

Nonetheless, Wilson’s oblique view of the sport had several of the other riders and even her trainer nodding their heads in agreement.

“Consider that for every 30% of your time you’re on the horse, you’re spending the other 70% taking care of your tack (equipment such as halter, bridle, saddle, etc.) and your animal,” Walkey emphasized.

In addition to time, there is also the expense to consider. A good show horse may run $10,000 and above, be it a “warm blood” (referring to the high-strung temperament of the horse) like an Arabian or thoroughbred, or one of the color breeds like a pinto, palomino or appaloosa. Another eye-opener is the price of a saddle, which can range from $500 to $5,000.

Then there are boarding, training, veterinarian, vanning and farrier (horseshoer) costs each month, not to mention the outlay for riding attire such as boots, chaps, breeches and riding helmet or hat.

“It has to run at least $1,000 a month, and that’s if you’re just competing once a month,” Walkey said.

“It’s an addiction,” Bittner said squarely.

On the Plus Side

But there’s also a huge upside to this expensive habit, which each day is attracting more converts and spectators to the sport.

“I have parents who come and complain at first about having to buy a horse, drive to the barn every day and go through all the hassle and expense,” Walkey said, “and then about a year later, they are so delighted to see the tremendous change that’s come over their children.”

Mike Braun, chairman of the Orange County Horse Shows Assn. in 1988, believes you have a better chance learning about responsibility and discipline at your local stable than the neighborhood penny arcade.

“These kids don’t have time to get into trouble,” said Braun, whose two daughters, Heather and Jennifer, ride. “Horses always need something, and the people who train them pretty much have to follow the same schedule. The bottom line is they’re actually caring about another life.”

Not Just the Well-Heeled

Participating in horse shows needn’t be confined to the well-heeled set. Many of the riders earn the money they need to compete by mucking out stalls, cleaning tack, serving as hotwalkers or doing one of several other chores around the barn.

Equine Events

While it seems there is a horse show going on virtually every weekend from Coto de Caza to Santa Barbara, September happens to be an exceptional month to see your favorite breed or equine event.

Next weekend, the historic Empty Saddle Club on the Palos Verdes Peninsula hosts the 32nd annual Portuguese Bend National Horse Show, which should please both the casual spectator and well-versed equestrian.

More than 70 English hunter and jumper classes (hunters are judged on the style and manner with which they go over the fences, whereas jumpers compete against the clock in their effort to complete the obstacle course) will be featured in the top-rated competition.

Held in a distinctive country-fair atmosphere, the show also will offer a “Kids Korral,” featuring pony rides, colorful crafts, face painting and a wide variety of refreshments served from decorated booths.

Next Saturday’s special events will include the Medieval Times jousting team, re-creating 11th-Century tournament games and battlefield maneuvers in the clubhouse arena. Elegant horsemanship will be demonstrated in the dressage performance, featuring the Andalusian “Ambassador of Valencia.”

On Sunday, the Galloping Gossips of the Imperial Valley will perform square dancing on horseback, and “Malibu Faunetta,” a Morgan horse from Malibu, will prance a musical “kur” to the rhythm of “42nd Street.”

(To reach the Empty Saddle Club, exit Interstate 110 at Pacific Coast Highway and travel north about two miles to Century Boulevard. Make a left and continue to Rolling Hills Road. Proceed about a quarter mile to 39 Empty Saddle Road in Rolling Hills Estates.)

The following weekend, Sept. 16-17, the Coto de Caza Equestrian Center will be center ring for the Orange County Horse Show Assn.’s annual Championship Show. There will be at least 60 championships at stake, including a junior/amateur hunter classic and several medal equitation events that judge the performance of the rider more than the horse itself.

Other hoopla will include a watermelon-eating contest, chili cook-off and the IDS Financial Services $10,000 high jump, teaming horse and rider. A contest for miniature horses will round out the bill.

Admission is $5 for adults and $2.50 for children; 5 and younger are free.

(To reach the Center at 1 Coto de Caza Drive, exit El Toro Road from Interstate 405--the San Diego Freeway--and head east to Santa Marguerita Parkway. Turn right and proceed to Live Oak Canyon Road. Make another right and continue to the entrance of the gated community. Inform the attendant that you’ve come to see the show.)

Another highly rated horse show will be the Los Angeles International Jumping Festival, Sept. 23-24, at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Scheduled events include the $30,000 Hermes Grand Prix, a level of show jumping matched only by the Olympics, and the Rolex/United States Equestrian Team Western Regional, which tests riders on the flat and through a series of regular and gymnastic-style jumps. General admission is $8; reserved seating is $25.

(To reach the center at 4561 Cartwright Ave. in North Hollywood, exit Interstate 5 at Alameda Avenue in Burbank and go west to Main Street. Make a left and continue one block.)

On Oct. 1, you can attend the Arabian horse exhibition at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, partaking in a tradition begun by cereal magnate W. K. Kellogg in the late 1920s.

Talented students and staff ride the Arabians, demonstrating the beauty and versatility of the breed known as the aristocrat of the desert and the progenitor of all modern light horse breeds such as the thoroughbred, American Saddlebred and quarter horse.

Demonstrations include the Arabian as a jumper, driven under harness, vaulting (gymnastics on horseback), and working as both an English and Western horse. Remember that in English-style events, the horses walk, trot and canter; in Western they walk, jog and lope.

Spectators are expected to especially enjoy the trick routines of Beezar, a highly animated Arabian that smiles, pushes a baby carriage, sits in a rocking horse, picks up a coin out of a water bucket and rings it up in a register.

Visit the Stables

After each performance, visitors are invited to view the stable area and Kellogg Room, where numerous trophies and memorabilia are preserved, including the red saddle used by Rudolph Valentino in the “Son of Sheik.” Also, be sure to check the foal pole for a pink or blue flag, indicating whether a new Arabian has been born at the center.

Exhibitions are held on the first Sunday each month, October through June, at 2 p.m. Admission is $2 for adults, $1.50 for seniors and $1 for children, 6-17.

(To reach Cal Poly, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona, exit Interstate 10--the San Bernardino Freeway--at Kellogg Drive, which will take you directly onto the campus.)

Actually, Arabian lovers can get a sneak preview of their favorite breed Sept. 18-20 in the Carnation Ring at the Los Angeles County Fair at Fairplex in Pomona. For the first time in its history, the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center will duplicate its Sunday show as part of its ongoing outreach program.

Some of the smaller or less-rated shows listed below may offer as much color and appeal as the larger shows. For example, you may comfortably wander through the barn area and talk with trainers and riders between events at such shows. Or, as in the recent cases of the horse trials at Showpark in San Diego, spectators were able to go out on the cross-country course amid the streams, oak trees and wild brush and take photographs.

Sept. 9-10--Passport Series Horse Show. Showpark, 2847 Via de la Valle, Del Mar. For younger riders looking to move up. For information call (619) 481-6535.

Sept. 9-10--La Puente Knights of Columbus Appaloosa Show. Industry Hills Equestrian Center, 16200 Temple Ave., City of Industry. A color of horse, not an actual breed, appaloosas were selectively bred by the Nez Perce Indians of the Northwest for their rugged athleticism and ability in combat. For information call (818) 854-2370.

Sept. 10--Temecula Valley Paint Horse Club Horse Show. Color patterns rather than color alone distinguish this breed. For information call (714) 654-1806 (after 5:30 p.m.).

Sept. 16--Hunters and Jumpers Show. The Paddock Riding Club, 3919 Rigali Ave., Los Angeles (a neighbor of Griffith Park, located on the east side of Interstate 5). For information call (213) 662-3523.

Sept. 16-17--Golden State Palomino Horse Show, Industry Hills Equestrian Center. To be a registered palomino, the horse must have, as nearly as possible, a body color that is within three shades of the color of a newly minted coin. For information call (818) 854-2370.

Sept. 16-17--Antelope Valley Arabian Horse Show. Antelope Valley Fairgrounds, I and Division streets in Lancaster. Both halter (sort of a beauty contest for horses without riders) and performance classes in English and Western style. For information call (805) 944-1054.

Sept. 17--Century Riders Awards Circuit 100 High Point Show. Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, 18381 Golden West St., Huntington Beach. Western style in the morning, English in the afternoon. For information call (213) 592-1046.