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Post by watermarkfarm on Sept 16, 2007 15:32:45 GMT -5
Is anyone going to the Ridgewood Ranch ride that would have an extra trailer spot for a shetland pony?
Barring that, is anyone going up early (for the ride) but is NOT riding.....and would be willing to let my 9 year old daughter (very pleasant kid) hang out with them? She is very sad that I don't have trailer space for her pony. I can't bring her along for the BBQ unless I can have someone watch her during the trail ride part..... does that make sense?
I *desperately* need to 3-horse trailer....
Katie
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Post by icehorse on Sept 16, 2007 22:25:34 GMT -5
I may be trailering in with Jennifer here in Glen Ellen which would leave a spot or 2 in Janis' trailer(she lives in Santa Rosa)...I'll find out soon if we can make something work.
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Post by watermarkfarm on Sept 17, 2007 22:32:34 GMT -5
Thanks, Cynthia. Let me know if that would work. I could pitch in for gas. Katie
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Post by icehorse on Oct 7, 2007 14:31:02 GMT -5
We did it! Happened to park right next to Katie and her daughter...they rode Reggie and the pony. My daughter rode Tank and I rode Brego! Everyone did great, beautiful weather, great food, and all the horses behaved. Started right off crossing a bridge and Brego didn't flinch. So so proud of him for doing so well. Our first trail ride, his first real trail ride-no bucks, spooks, nothing. He did look at a mule like "what the heck is that???"...other than that, just perfect. Nice to see you Katie; we had a really nice time:)
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Post by toeps on Oct 7, 2007 15:15:59 GMT -5
YAHOOOO for Brego ;D
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Post by watermarkfarm on Oct 7, 2007 21:57:10 GMT -5
We had such a nice time. I rode Rescue Horse Reggie (aka Ridge) and my 9-year-old daughter rode her Shetland pony (first "real" trail ride). Icehorse, thanks for turning us on to this. It will be an annual event!! Icehorse's youngster, Brego, was AMAZING. He looked like he had been going on trail rides all his life. Not bad for a baby with only 90 days under saddle! Cynthia, you have a really nice guy there! We stayed after the BBQ and went on the Ridgewood Ranch tour. I have to say I came away from it filled with sadness. The people who own the ranch (a kind of church/commune with membership down to only 19 people) are desperately trying to keep buildings from falling down. They are an amazing group doing as much as they can with extremely limited resources. The man who led our tour has lived there 30+ years and has uncovered all sorts of Seabiscuit memorobilia quite literally in trash heaps around the property. He is a one-man restoration team, and he was SO proud of small things like replacing a roof, or repairing a dry-rotten section of a barn. (After Charles Howard died, his widow and son sold it (against Howard's deathbed wish) to a lumber company, which clearcut all 16,000 acres of the ranch!!! They literally raped the land and farm. The church bought it in 1962 and has done their best to replant and save the land) Only since 2002 (when the book came out) have people had any interest in saving Ridgewood. The church is trying to get the remaining land (5,000 acres) in a conservation easement and in the National Register for Historic Places. It is a long process. The place is fascinating. A 1920s swimming pool built by Howard and used by many Hollywood celebs.....Bing Crosby, etc. The Howard ranch house is pretty rough, but seems solid. Seabiscuit's stud barn is the only restored building. The huge old mare barn has the Howard "H" logo painted on the top of every dutch door. All fading....but it's there. It's really eerie and sad and kind of puts a big lump in your throat. All this history, this amazing ranch.....and it's rotting away each year. I found it stunning that the book and movie were so successful, but this historic property is endangered. Where did all that Hollywood money go??? In fact, Ridgewood Ranch is among the Top 10 Most Endangered Places on the National Register. Please take a moment to visit this website and do what you can to help. You can donate to the nonprofit Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation. I wrote out a check before I left. On the tour, we looked at a wonderful old carriage house. The man giving the tour talked about how hard he worked to put a new roof on it, in order to keep it from getting so far gone that it would collapse. It was a beautiful structure, but in desperate need of help. www.seabiscuitheritage.orgI encourage anyone to take a tour and see for yourself. It is absolutely haunting if you have read the book or seen the movie. Please consider helping this worthy cause. The church folks literally do all the work themselves. They buy materials, and fix what they can. It's just astonishing. Throughout the entire tour, I swear I could feel the ghost of Charles Howard and his despair at the state of his beloved Ridgewood.
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Post by sundancer on Oct 8, 2007 7:30:56 GMT -5
Thank you for the update and the info about the Seabiscuit ranch. We drove by that area a couple of summers ago. Next time we are up there, we will definitely take the tour and make a donation!
I can just imagine how eerie it was.
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Post by mickeyfan3 on Oct 8, 2007 13:08:31 GMT -5
Darn!!! I've been running in so many directions lately I hadn't had a chance to check this thread out. I would have MADE the time to be there yesterday - even if I had no way to get Reno there.....
Glad y'all had fun.....NEXT YEAR!!!!!
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Post by mickeyfan3 on Oct 8, 2007 13:13:02 GMT -5
I've got my racing program from the Pleasanton Fair a couple of years back...it's got the Howard's Christmas card (can't remember which year the card was sent, will have to pull it out) but it's got a sepia photo of Seabiscuit and his "7 little Biscuits".....so cute.
Did they happen to mention if they'd also accept help in making repairs, etc in addition to donations?
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Post by icehorse on Oct 8, 2007 15:19:36 GMT -5
My friend Jacqueline keeps her 7 seabiscuit descendants there at the ranch. She would be the one to contact to find out more info. here is her website: www.legendhorse.com/and Phyllis runs the therapuetic riding program. Jacqueline is the sweetest lady, maybe I could talk her into letting us take another ride up there sometime before next year. Wish I could have stayed for the tour, but it was a 2 1/2+ hour drive home and we were tired!
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Post by jenm on Oct 8, 2007 16:07:28 GMT -5
So, where are all the pictures from the ride...?!
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Post by watermarkfarm on Oct 9, 2007 9:13:45 GMT -5
Stacie,
I think that they literally would LOVE it if someone came up and helped for a day. It is just one guy in his 50s who keeps it all together. Donations of building materials, etc.
Yesterday, our area's longtime vet, now retired, was at my barn. He is now 84. He told me this wonderful story of visiting Ridgewood in 1948, while he was in vet school, to see Seabiscuit's grave. He slept out under the oaks in his sleeping bag!
Neither Cynthia nor I brought a camera!! I was kicking myself all the way. I will be going back at some point as I'd like to do an article about the property --- just have to find a buyer!!
This ride/tour happens the first Saturday of October every year. You can also tour the property on regular tours throughout the year. It is well worth the trip.
Icehorse, we saw the Seabiscuit decendents! Fun!
Katie
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Post by icehorse on Jan 14, 2008 2:46:03 GMT -5
Finally got some pics from the ride. My friend Janis riding Tiger, Icehorse(cynthia) riding Brego(his first trail ride) My friend Lynette's daughter Ashlyn riding JD, Nadia(my daughter)riding Tank(her first real trail ride) Lynette riding Sara the foxtrotter, Ashlynn, Nadia, Cynthia, Janis Ashlynn & Nadia ~ best friends My daughter and I by the lake and in the background you can see Katie's(Watermarkfarm's) daughter Demi with her pony It was a great day!
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Post by cybercat on Jan 15, 2008 15:06:29 GMT -5
We need names to go with all the faces...this looks like a wonderful day to ride, and a wonderful time with friends!
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