Remember
When?
The
Santa Ynez Valley
Horse Show Association
By Pat Murphy
Team penning first came to the SYV Horse Show from Ventura in 1955. Above is a team penning event that took place at the 1961 Horse Show in the Alisal Ranch arena.
If
you live in a bucolic place, with rolling hills, beautiful trees and
cattle grazing the peaks and valleys what do you do for recreation
and transportation? Well, from the early days of settlement here, riding
horses was a big part of every day life. And Americans being very social
beings, liked to ride with friends. Sooner or later friends start comparing
their horses and riding skills and lo and behold horse competitions
are born.
It was after the close of W.W.II., in the early 1950s, and people wanted to enjoy life and have healthy activities for their children. Alisal Ranch generously stepped forward with an offer to allow what were probably our earliest organized horse shows to be held in their fine arena. In addition to the Santa Ynez Valley Horse Show Association, which put on a horse show every spring, there was also a Junior Horse show Association which produced a horse show and gymkhana every summer. The adults helped the kids and often lent them horses so that they could compete.
Red’s nephew, Chip Hanley, was another enthusiastic kid who borrowed a roan mare from Jack Weister for the competitions. Today Chip is a very accomplished rider who competes nationally at Cutting Horse events.
The SYVEA's fundraising efforts are always special, like the equine ballet show above, which pair classical dancers with Andalusian horses, as entertainment for an auction with colt statues hand painted by local artists. Another event was a theater party for the movie Seabiscuit, which filled two theaters to capacity.
“The Santa Ynez Valley Horse Show Association held Western shows on Saturday and English shows on Sunday,” recalled Vi, “and Si Jenkins was the announcer both days. Each year we raised enough money to donate a custom made Art Hugenberger saddle to the winner of the Stock Horse Class. The runnerup would get a silver buckle, as would the winners of the Hackamore and Snaffle Bit classes.
“Not to be outdone, the English show would also give a new English saddle to the High Point rider. A lot of effort went into the English show as well. The jumps were all freshly painted and solidly built, and the judge was always one that was recognized by the American Horse Shows Association.
“The Stock Horses, Hackamore horses, and Snaffle Bit horses were all required to work cattle, which were usually donated by Louise Hansen. Later, when team penning became popular, Louise would donate cattle for that event also. Each year, the winning team in that event would go home with the Glenda Cornelius Memorial Trophy.
At first, participants were mainly local riders, then the popularity grew and riders began coming from Santa Maria and Santa Barbara and the shows had participants county-wide. When Bill Deputy, Turner Schley and Mike Chrisman brought team penning to the Valley from Ventura, in 1955, western riders were filled with new enthusiasm–this was really fun as well as good training for the horses. In 1978 they held the very first World championship Team Penning with a purse of $12,000. It is still a very popular sport here and elsewhere. Valley penners now number around 200 riders.
“Finally,” says, Chuck Irwin, “the shows got so popular that people were coming from all over and it went Tri-County. We would have many of our Board meetings at the Red Barn and people would have a few drinks and sometimes an argument would start. There would be disagreements because all the work was being done by volunteers with different ideas and it really required a lot of work, time and dedication. Finally everyone agreed that maybe it would be more fun to just have it for Santa Barbara County, so that’s just what we did. When work is done solely by volunteers with other jobs sometimes things just get out of hand.”
Chuck remembers when he and Walt Mason volunteered to water down the arena before a show but got engaged in other work and forgot the pipes. The next day the horses needed water-wings to navigate.
The shows continued until about 1983 with different valley people joining and taking leadership roles. Then, as with other organizations that are labor intensive and without their own land, the shows dwindled away.
By 1992 the Valley horse population had grown to some fourteen different breeds and had several riding clubs. People began saying, “We need an equestrian center with its own location!” But land values were high and it was not until 1995 that Ms. Jody Carsello, a life-long horsewoman, donated her 23.93 acre ranch for an Equestrian Center.
The founding members of the Santa Ynez Valley Equestrian Association were Joe Olla as president and Frances Reigel, Pat Bennett, Alexis LaFavor, David Hunsicker, Steve Bollinger, Dr. Chris Pankau, Pat Murphy, Kristi Keyes, Ronda Quaid and once again Bill Deputy who worked endlessly on improving the grounds.
Electricity, waterlines, a sound system, additional fencing, a wash rack, bleachers and proper footing for each ring were some of the hurdles we had to clear. A round ring was added to get the kinks out of a frisky horse and shade trees with pretty landscaping. We even had a facility to serve the special needs of handicapped riders.
Suddenly, it became an exceptionally nice place for friends to meet and ride and socialize together. Riders came from near and far to take part in the Western and English/Hunter-Jumper horse shows and clinics. Imaginative events were held.
A fundraiser with dancers and horses and an auction with colt statues hand painted by local fine artists brought in funds. A theater party for the movie Seabiscuit filled two theaters to capacity.
We became a permanent part of the village of Santa Ynez with our Horse Shoe Crosswalks which had horseshoes from local horses embedded in the concrete at the intersection of Edison and Sagunto Streets.
Now the Equestrian Center is a big success but with success comes financial responsibility. Members are once again asked to come up with innovative
solutions to meeting the Center’s expenses so we may all continue to enjoy the fun and healthy experiences of our friendships with horses. One way to get involved is to become a sponsor. SYVEA is a 501-C(3) non-profit organization, so all donations are 100% tax deductible. To find out more about sponsorship opportunities call 805-245-0819.
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