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AHASFV Trail Rides |
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AHASFV Trail Ride at Hansen Dam - April 14, 2013
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By Cynthia Binder DVM, Trail Ride Coordinator
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Seven riders gathered on a coolish overcast morning for our first trail ride of 2013. Although April is already into the second quarter (just) the ride was delayed/re-scheduled from our initial March date, partly so we didn't have a ride on Easter Sunday, and partly because my German Shepherd was busy having puppies! |
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We had four new riders join us for their first time: Kristina Marter, Amy VanLeuven, Kelly Miller, and Debra Bach. The first three were riding Arabians, and Debra was mounted on a National Show Horse. Old pros included Eric Gardner on his Mustang, Brooke Schick on her Arabian, and myself riding Orion, a Quarter Horse/Arabian gelding. However THIS time |
we were all riding in style—we had ground crew also! Tony Sinisi accompanied us on foot through the entire ride and helped take some of the ride photos so all of us could be in the picture. Thank you Tony!
The ride started by riding along the wash and under the 210 freeway until we got to the hills. Then a steep |
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| climb (with 2 rest stops on the way) up to reach the ridge line. From there we could see all of the valley and golf course laid below— looking very small from our height! It always amazes me just how far you |
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can get on a horse in a short amount of time…
Then we proceeded to climb, but more gently, along the ridge line. Ups were interspersed with downs. Upon |
| reaching a giant concrete structure I call the “mushroom” we started down the hill and wound our way back to a trail paralleling Little Tujunga Canyon road. Along the way we had a short stretch on the bottom of the Doc Larsen trail which is single file and rides behind a stream. It's really pretty and tree shaded, but sadly there was no water in the stream this year. |
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Once down the hill we were again riding along a stream bed/in a wash all the way back to the Hansen Dam Equestrian center. We did happen on a couple of puddles where the horses could drink and wet their feet a bit. Fortunately we had no water issues with the horses on this ride. And no horse issues at all either!!
Once back at the parking lot my horse Orion (this year's Region 2 Intermediare I Dressage Champion) gave a short demo in the public arena of canter pirouettes and tempi (lead) changes before we unsaddled and met for lunch. After a brief lunch and time to relax, all again loaded their horses in the trailers and promised to come again the next time. |
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AHASFV V6 Cattle Ranch Experience
Sept 28, 29 & 30, 2012 |
| Ride 'Em Cowboy |
By Kathleen Green, Ride Manager – most photos by Kathy Stegman
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The most amazing group of people gathered in Parkfield, California for the first held AHASFV V6 Cattle Ranch Experience. They were expecting to make new friends— and they did. They were hoping to move cattle— and they did. They were anticipating riding beautiful trails— and they did. They also experienced great Varian hospitality, delicious food, and lovely, warm weather.
Thirty-two cowboys and cowgirls arrived at the V6 Ranch on September 28th for 3 days in the saddle. John and Barb Varian and their 3 children, Lauren, Brinan, and Kathryn, were magnificent hosts, along with patriarch Jack Varian, offering an authentic western atmosphere at their beautiful 20,000 acre cattle ranch.
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| Blue Oak Camp is shaded with century old oak trees, coupled with the modern conveniences of hot showers, porcelain toilets, and a magnificent 3-sided hacienda |
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built by the Varians where meals were served. Horses munched hay happily in their pipe corrals when not being ridden, while guests settled into their tents, trailers, trucks, campers, motor homes, bunk house or lodge rooms.
Stresses of city life disappeared as horses were tacked up and “Varian time” began. An optional trail ride was offered on Friday afternoon to stretch legs and breathe in clean, ranch air.
After a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning, 100 head of cattle were gathered and moved to ranch headquarters for an afternoon of cutting, sorting, and roping. Those not interested in “cowboy games” headed off on a trail ride along the San Andreas Fault, actually passing by the epicenter of the fault and geological measurement equipment.
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| Sunday morning presented two riding options— a couple of hours riding on the beautiful Manzanita trail or a half day's work pushing the cattle from the day before to a pasture on the back side of the ranch. |
Guests riding ranch horses were highly complementary of their short-term partners— kind and competent and fun! Guests on their own horses had a blast learning new skills with their full-time partners. Either way, the weekend was a successful adventure— an adventure that won't be easily forgotten. In fact, a few have signed up for a longer V6 Ranch vacation, the AHA Cowboy Academy being held April 10-14, 2013. Consider joining in! For more information visit the AHA Region 2 website.
If you would like to attend the next AHASFV V6 Cattle Ranch Experience, complete details are available in our
V6 Ranch Ride section.
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