Economic forecasts may call for slow, slight improvement this year, but show organizations in California aren’t waiting around. As they have the past three years, groups that create horse events in our state are innovating more than ever — not just to keep activity levels steady, but to grow them.

As Melissa Braunstein, Marketing Director for Blenheim EquiSports, puts it, the tougher times are the times that make you better.

“It’s definitely been a couple of years of having to get extremely creative to stay strong through a tough economy,” she says. “When you have to train for the really hard marathon — that’s when you get serious. And at the end of it, you are better than when you started. It’s in the lean times that you say ‘OK, we don’t want to cut back and lower our quality’, and then you find a way to do that.”

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Five horses at an undisclosed facility in Orange County were reported by the California Department of Food and Agriculture last week as confirmed cases of the neuropathic strain of the Equine Herpes Virus-1, the same virus that eight months earlier was responsible for horse deaths and a widespread quarantine after a Utah cutting horse event.

No euthanizations of horses have been announced in last week’s cases by the CDFA, which reported the first case on Wednesday, Jan. 11, of a gelding that had been isolated, quarantined and placed under veterinary care. The location was not specified, other than describing it as a “large multi-discipline facility” that had been quarantined with no movement of horses on or off the property.

RIVERSIDE — For almost two decades, the California Reining Horse Association has been the premier organization promoting reining in the Southern California region. Traditionally, they have closed out one season and ushered in the new one with the annual General Membership meeting and Awards Banquet. This year was no different. The Riverside Rancheros hosted the event Jan. 8 that not only presented the beautiful, coveted year end buckles, but heard plans for an amazing new season filled with dynamic programs and fun-filled events.

Tom Foran, the current president, guided the meeting which had close to 80 members in attendance. The goals he laid out for this year included expanding programs that promote new membership recruitment and reining at the grass roots with events like the March 17 Green As Grass clinic in Temecula at Green Oaks Ranch.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — To cap off a record-setting year, dressage superstar Steffen Peters added one more record to his résumé on Jan. 14 at the United States Equestrian Federation’s Pegasus Awards dinner. He became the first person to score the United States Equestrian Federation’s Equestrian of the Year title three times.

Peters, of San Diego, won the top honor in 2008 and 2009 based largely on his accomplishments with Akiko Yamazaki’s phenom Ravel – but in 2011, Ravel had some help. Peters capitalized on his first trip to the Pan American Games and scored Team and Individual Gold in a tremendous effort with Jen and Bruce Hlavacek’s Weltino’s Magic. From California to Aachen, Germany Peters was undefeated in 2011 with the now 9-year-old Westphalian gelding.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — For the first time, the United States Equestrian Federation crowned two horses with its highest honor, one from an International Discipline and one from a National Discipline. Neville Bardos and Sjoerd were named 2011 Horses of the Year at the Jan. 13 USEF annual Horse of the Year celebration. Honored for their accomplishments in 2011 their roads through the last 12 months, while both exceptional, have been very different.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Blair Willette of Prescott, Ariz., was recognized for her accomplishments ourside the reining arena by the National Reining Horse Youth Association.

The NRHyA offers members an online program that rewards youth for leadership and community service. In its sixth year, the Varsity Reining Club (VRC) provides scholarships totaling $5,000 to the most active participants in two age groups.

Thirteenth in a series
After refining cuing zones with our legs last issue, Les helps us toward a lighter touch.

Here’s a good exercise to remind you of how little rein pressure it takes to send a signal to your horse.

To try it, just hang your bridle on a doorknob, like it would hang from a horse’s head. Now stand about five feet away, take one rein in your hand and just lift it until you make contact with the bit and it starts to move. You’ll see that it doesn’t really take a lot of pressure or movement on your part to get movement out of the bit. Our goal is not to force the horse’s movement through the bridle, but to teach him to respond in a certain way when he feels contact, not necessarily pressure, from the bit. The faster you can train yourself to cue him with a lighter touch, the faster you will get the light response we all want to achieve.

Of course your horse is not going to know that he’s supposed to respond to the light cues right away, but it’s important that you always start there, to give him a chance to be a hero and do it right, before you get stronger and more insistent with your cues. One of these times he’s going to surprise the heck out of you!

Throughout this program I’ll be laying out exercises for you to do with your horse. It’s really important that you stay with each one until your horse has reached the point where he’s conditioned to perform the movement perfectly, with just a light cue. If you can do that, over the long run, I know you’ll really be satisfied with your results!

EDITOR’S NOTE: More with Les is a regular California Horsetrader column. Les Vogt has won more than 15 World Championships, including two wins at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity. Although Les still rides and occasionally shows, his focus is giving clinics around the world and developing products for the performance horseman. To learn more about Les and to see his clinic schedule, visit: www.lesvogt.com

Big Horse Feed in Temecula will be having its big January Clearance Sale on Saturday, Jan. 28. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., you’ll find unbeatable bargains on merchandise than is downright irresistible. Come early and save big! Big Horse is more than just a feed store –- it offers women’s and men’s apparel, home furnishings and decor, saddles and tack, boots and…well, you get the picture. Now get on over to Big Horse in Temecula and get the savings on things for horse, hound and more. For more info, see the ad on page 14, or call (951) 676-2544.

Jim Vangelos
Non Pro competitor
NRCHA Board Member

There will be more stability in the horse industry in 2012. Horse prices appear to be improving, especially if the larger auctions in the performance horse industry are indicators. This should allow breeders to be more energetic when it comes to breeding more aggressively, thus making more stock available for the future — especially with upper-end horses. In turn, trainers will see more horses in their programs and more riders in training. I think the participation level at most shows will be up in most disciplines, especially working cow horse, cutting, reining, ranch sorting, barrel racing, etc. Since this is an election year, the government will do everything in its power to get people out and spend money – with tax cuts, etc. – and since the horse industry is fueled by discretionary income, this should all help add up to a better more stable year. The key for all of us is to keep on doing what we love…and get out and ride and compete! The end result will be a positive year for the equine industry.

NOVATO – Four years ago, Joey Pacini traveled to the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds with a friend to observe the NRHA Futurity. He was impressed.

“It was the real deal – it was huge,” said Pacini. “It left an impression.”

He made his first return visit to the Futurity last month, this time with Cash Me If You Can as a qualifier in the Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship (NAAC) Show, and the Fresno State senior left his own impression.