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The Beautiful Horses Of
BELLA CAVALLI
By Elizabeth Nesmith

The Lockwoods (left to right) Jeff, Joanne, anc Chris in back; in front, Ashton with the family dogs.	Bella Cavalli is Italian for beautiful horses, which is why Jeff and Joanne Lockwood chose that name for their state-of-the-art equestrian facility located in the beautiful agricultural corridor along Highway 246 between Solvang and Buellton. They have designed Bella Cavalli to be one of the finest training facilities in the Santa Ynez Valley, and its innovations rival those found anywhere in the world. Just a few of the luxuries enjoyed by the lucky horses there are automatically climate controlled barns, therapeutic footing in both the barns and the arenas, and 24 hour surveillance with high tech video technology. At the same time, modernization merges with nostalgia, and at Bella Cavalli you can feel the history of the equine world through the centuries continuing on a daily basis through the dreams of the Lockwood family and the vision and techniques of trainer Vicki Tanner.
Jeff and Joanne Lockwood, both avid equestrians throughout their youth, established successful careers in real estate development and interior design respectively. Maintaining their shared passion for horses, they were delighted when their sons Chris and Ashton wanted to become riders. Due to the difficulty of integrating horses with everyday life in Santa Barbara, they decided to move to a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, where the whole family could experience all aspects of owning, showing, training, and raising horses. They were so impressed with Ashton’s riding instructor in Santa Barbara, Vicki Tanner, that they asked her to join in the partnership and bring Tanner Quarter Horses to Bella Cavalli Farms.
The training program implemented by Tanner includes the development of youth, amateur, and professional riders. Tanner loves the versatility innate in the quarter horse breed, and builds on the unique flexibility and talent of these horses. Tanner consistently produces champion students, champion horses, and most admirably, winning partnerships. Her pool of talent, including youth, amateur and professional riders, all excel in multiple disciplines.	Just a few of the luxuries enjoyed by the lucky horses at Bella Cavalli Farm are climate controlled barns, therapeutic footing in both the barns and the arenas, and 24 hour surveillance with high tech video technology.
English and western pleasure, reining, and reined cow horses represent the various focuses and capabilities of horses and riders at Bella Cavalli. Delightfully, Tanner’s focus on training and teaching doesn’t dim her enthusiasm for other ranch essential skills. Cheery stories of teaching “timing” in steer wrestling, or sharing her roping techniques flow easily from Tanner. Bella Cavalli and Tanner Quarter horses cultivate ranching skills with overlying emphasis on horsemanship. Tanner radiates a passion for horses that integrates with her skills as a trainer. The success of her students and horses in Halter classes is of paramount importance to her philosophy on showmanship. Halter classes are judged on the conformation (build) of the horse, as well as its presentation by a handler. Tanner feels that “presence” is instilled by taking part in the show experience from the ground as well as by showing on horseback. Presence in both horses and their human partners is an intangible quality, easy to recognize, but difficult to describe in its absence. Buck Brannaman, acclaimed cowboy and clinician, explains presence as “the feeling that flows from any person or horse that humbly but truly believes in himself and his abilities; one at peace with himself and his environment.” Quarter horses as a breed exude this quality readily, and the training programs at Bella Cavalli highlight this desirable attribute. Perhaps no equine discipline requires presence combined with athleticism more than reining. In this discipline, horses enter the arena individually and must execute a given pattern of movements, including pivots, circles and run downs into dramatic sliding stops. Having evolved into a sport of worldwide interest, reining will be included for the first time at the 2008 summer Olympic games. Joanne Lockwood radiates a contagious enthusiasm for reining, and must have instilled some of this in her elder son. Fourteen-year-old Chris Lockwood, a dedicated motorcyclist, found that his riding skills also applied to horses. A natural equestrian, he has made an impressive segue into the show world in 2004, winning the Pacific Coast Futurity Championship in Youth Reining. Showing “reined cow horses” is similar to reining, but with the addition of a cow in the arena. A horse enters the arena, then a steer also enters. The horse immediately moves into a display of powerful athletic maneuvers, containing the steer in a corner near where he enters. Next, two flags on a fence line determine the distance that the horse has to “chase” the cow, often displaying the impressive sliding stop so central to most reining patterns, and then turn the cow back to go in the other direction. The cow is usually turned two or three times depending on the pattern designated, and then moved to the center of the arena. The horse then guides the steer in a circle by pushing his shoulders into the steer, changing the steer’s direction, and finishing by circling it the opposite way. Essential to the reined cow horse sport is the availability of healthy cattle and Bella Cavalli is not lacking in this regard. Standing outside the newly finished barn, Jeff Lockwood nods with pride at twenty head of cattle grazing contentedly in a front pasture. Cattle play an important role in highlighting the remarkable abilities of the quarter horse breed celebrated at Bella Cavalli. Quarter horses possess a breed-specific instinct to “rate” or to monitor and watch a cow, look it in the eye, judge accordingly and ultimately dictate the movement of the bovine. This results in an entirely self-motivated equine athletic display, in which the horse moves and competes, almost magically, with barely visible guidance from the rider. Showing in both English and Western Pleasure Classes comes naturally with the conformation and movement of most quarter horses. This type of competition also provides an opportunity for the rider to focus on the fundamental importance of a solid seat and position, and to develop supple and responsive movement in the horse. Many Bella Cavalli horses and their riders hold national ranking in pleasure competitions. Another major future focus of Bella Cavalli Farms is an emphasis on excellence in the development of their breeding and foaling program. Plans include shipping and receiving cooled semen, embryo transplant, as well as providing a superior environment for the support of mares and foals. When hearing the Lockwood family and their staff discuss these plans, you sense they will be executed with nothing less than superior quality and innovation, worthy of distinction and up to the most rigorous industry standards. After all, this paradise called Bella Cavalli was designed for the happiness of all the beautiful horses.