Valley is warmhearted over sport horses

It’s no surprise that horses have held on to valley heartstrings ever since the first ones arrived with Spanish soldiers. The Paso Fino Association claims that it was their breed to carry the first soldiers into Alta California, so they may have been the first ones here. Later, groups of horses arrived at the Mission Santa Inés to serve transportation needs and help with farming. As the land grants were parceled out, the ranchos ran cattle herds and the careers of horses and vaqueros secured their places in the pages of our history.

Somehow, valley people never got over their appreciation and devotion to the animals that helped build the Santa Ynez Valley. And, luckily, good people protected the rich valley life style. They didn’t want to become a second San Fernando Valley and stood up against over-development. It’s thanks to these brave souls, who continue to stand firm, that we have the rare country pleasures that we so enjoy. Let’s join them.

 

 The exact breeds or crossbreeds used in the earliest days here is up for conjecture. But as time went on, we came to have many Quarter Horses, Arabians, Thoroughbreds and even Standardbreds. Beautiful horse ranches dotted the countryside like jewels.

The 1980s were a high point for the Arabian breed. The Thoroughbred ranches bred and trained national winners and Quarter Horses leapt in popularity for pleasure riding.

As in the rest of life, there are cycles, but the good news is that valley horses have been able not only to survive the economic cycles, but to thrive to the point that over 50 breeds have been counted here in recent times.

 

 Fifty Valley Breeds

“Fifty breeds?” You may say, “I didn’t even know there were 20 breeds in the whole country!” One reason is that a multitude of breeds have been imported from Europe, a custom that continues to this day. It has also become easier to form a new registration after breeds have been crossed to serve specific purposes in various locations. Is it a case of the more the merrier? Maybe, but they do carefully adhere to their own standards and bloodlines. And they have panels of examiners to supervise the registrations and inferior stock is rejected. 

When a cross between two long established breeds is found to have excellent characteristics, they may or may not have a breed association. They may just be given an identifiable name of their own. An example of this naming process is the horse that is called the Warlander in Australia, but perhaps has a different name elsewhere. It is a cross between the Andalusian and Friesian — two simply spectacular breeds. Cheryl Golbuff has a beautiful Warlander here in the valley that she describes as a Spanish baroque horse.

 

One big source of excitement in the Valley is the explosion of Warmbloods. They have become wildly popular for show jumping, dressage and driving here, and are a perfect example of our imported horses. They combine the athletic ability of a Thoroughbred with the calmer temperament and stronger bone of other horses. We find a wide selection of different types of Warmbloods happily living here.

Alix Kendall is truly in love with these big beautiful horses and credits them for creating miracles in her life. At Angel’s Landing she has an Austrian Warmblood, an American Remount, a Hanoverian, a Dutch Warmblood and a Rhinelander.

When it comes right down to it, it is actually a miracle that some of these fine breeds ever survived the adversities of life in their native lands, and especially during times of war. They carried soldiers into battle, they were killed or stolen by invading soldiers, and they were slaughtered for food.

 

The Trakehner

Valley resident Sue Davidge has long been an advocate of the Trakehner, and here is its hair-raising history. The breed was established in 1732 by Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, and it was greatly prized for its combined attributes of toughness and elegance. Meticulous breeding had brought about a horse that could serve man in multiple capacities, and for two centuries these fine horses flourished. Then came the fall and winter of 1944 during World War II.

 

The Russian troops were advancing and it was doubtful that the horses would be able to survive. Desperate to save them, Trakehner breeders undertook a daring plan to try to evacuate the horses before the advancing Russian troops could arrive. Thousands of Trakehners, many of them mares with foals at their sides, started on a nine hundred mile trek across Europe to the west. But it was a grueling journey and, day by day, horses fell along the wayside. Sadly, few survived the bitter cold and harsh conditions. Of the 25,000 registered in the stud book, only 1200 made it to West Germany. Afterward, many died from the difficult post war conditions. People were desperate for meat.

But the determined Trakehner advocates traced down survivors, protected and re-registered them in West Germany, and miraculously brought the breed back from near extinction. Today, they are in great demand as sport horses and are even used to improve other Warmblood stock.

 

The Hanoverian

Rick and Buffy Oas, among several other valley horse enthusiasts, are fans of Hanoverians — another valuable breed that suffered because of war. Their history began when George II, king of England and elector of Hanover, established this German breed in 1735. Based on Andalusian and Neopolitan breeds of fine horses, they flourished for many years. Before the Napoleonic wars started, there were 100 fine registered stallions in the stud books.

But tragically, a year after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815, only 30 remained alive. Once again, the good people who loved this breed rushed to the rescue. Breeding progressed with Thoroughbred bloodlines being introduced. Then after World War II, in order to survive the new demands for a pleasure horse, Thoroughbred blood was re-introduced as well as that of the Trakhner. This brought about an added refinement to the Hanoverian.

 

The Oldenburg

Another German Warmblood that Rick and Buffy Oas, Jo Grove and several other valley breeders prize, are the Oldenburgs.  They started out as carriage horses with long backs and upright shoulders. They have evolved through different infusions of other fine breeds into an excellent sport horse. The Thoroughbred and the Selle Francais have contributed their quality.

Other breeds of Warmbloods are treasured here, as well. Mike and Sigi McCormack drive Bavarian Warmbloods. The famous Olympic dressage star, Charlotte Bredahl Baker, has Danish and Swedish Warmbloods. This report is certainly not complete, and we would be pleased to hear from other valley Warmblood enthusiasts.