about Mark, and also for his friends…
McStahill - of course, jogged my memory as well. You’re right though, it definitely doesn’t roll off the tongue like Christimar!
Why do the stories about the Bushkins NOT surprise me?? 
Julie Smith’s father was my best friend’s dentist!!
She was like a Goddess to us and always looked so nice and friendly.
I think I saw that she trains in the LA area in a Show Circuit magazine.
Which reminds me!!!
Who is picking up some issues of SC for Dublin and I at Indio? 
Merry & Beezer
I sent Sandi Nisson the E-Mail. I though she would get a kick out if it. In case you don’t know who this is, you sold your beloved “Echo” to me.
As you know, I have my share of Dennis Henderson stories, but we wont go there.
Who ever was asking about Tommy Lowe, I saw him at Indio the other day, so I guess he is still training.
But alas I cannot afford a pair of brown field boots!!
Anyone with a pair they don’t want?
I am old enough to not care.
Although, don’t worry Duffy, I have had my chokers monogramed.
Read this in equijournal.com re a judge and had to share. I could just picture it:
Monsignor Melton was one of the most capable and sought after of horse show judges. He also had so much charisma and such a great sense of humor that he was also one of the best loved. When a show fell on a Sunday he would arrive early and hold a brief sevice for riders and spectators who had missed church service because of the early hour. At one such service he was startled to see a solid row of riders in the front row. He was so unnerved at the sight that he stumbled over a word and they promptly signalled a fault on him. That made him stumble two more times and they counted him out.
Right you are.
That was the biggest scandal at the time! 
And Mo’s jumper sounds wonderful, too. Too bad that right now my wallet does not open far enough for a second horse. Then again, I have no time…
On the memory front, who remembers Robert Ridland’s Boy Colonial? A jumper in the mid to late 70s (not exactly sure about the year).
A guy at our barn announced yesterday that he was looking for a very tall (because he is 6’3"), very broke jumper that he could do the AAs with and doesn’t want to pay more than $12,500. I pass this on without comment and because you just never know.
The caterers just brought in an ice sculpture of a sad-sack rent string horse. Oh, look at the little card that came with it. “To Coreene and Beezer. My condolences. - Wanda Johnson and all the staff at Circle J”
Wow, Dublin, is that a June Fallaw photo?
I believe Cynthia has passed away, although Gretchen Tank was alive and kicking just a few years ago. Amazing how Cynthia would shop around people’s horses. One year our flat horse came up sore right before the Santa Rosa show, which was our favorite show. Bob McDonald made a call and suddenly there were 2 horses from Cynthia on our doorstep. My sister and I had 3 days to try them. We didn’t know the name of the horse we chose, so we called him “Secret Harbor” after a rowdy bar down near the beach! 
So the two of us, without a trainer, hauled him about 400 miles to Santa Rosa. We won a lot on that horse. My sister (Beezer) even won the junior eq. championship. So, good for us, and good for Cynthia, as the horse didn’t come home with us: a customer of Larry Larson’s bought it at the show!
Those were the days when people I guess were more trusting and less sue-happy.
1 Like
Beezer, he’s one of our advertisers. Another rep handles the real estate side of his biz and I do the air charter stuff. I’m at the OCBJ.
I’m in! Taryn, wanna drive out together? For this I would even wash my car.
Oh, Portia … I remember the name Jim McAvoy. But for some reason I want to say he eventually wound up doing western horses?? And wasn’t there a Michelle McAvoy who also did quite well?
A question to jog the memory banks of the Northern California crew: Merry and I are trying to remember the name of another trainer we saw when we came your way. He had dark hair and (often) a mustache. Was very competitive in the greens and opens but don’t think he had many juniors/amateurs. Think his first name was Patrick?? Merry clearly recalls him too but she can’t remember his name either (which is an incredible event in and of itself! ) This would have been the mid-'70s through the '80s; he was always trading championships with Larry Larson in the open divisions. Someone please come to the aid of two brain-fading SoCalers!
RE: the brown field boot debate. My trainer actually said, with her own mouth, “The brown boots will come back if people keep wearing those brown coats. It’s inevitable.”
I’m putting the champagne on ice…
He’s my old horse, and he lived at Southland Farm in November and possibly December…maybe later. He lived in the very first stall you’d come to if you were walking toward the arena from the driveway area. A woman named Tawne bought him, but she was only keeping him there on a temporary basis until her barn was built at her home. I went to see him once in Nov., and he looked very healthy, happy and well cared for. I was wondering if maybe he was still there.
On another note, is anyone going to Indio week 6? I’ll be there and I’d love to meet up w/anyone who might be there. I’m pretty hard to miss when I’m riding…Cypress is a big seal brown w/big ears, and her name is on her jumper pad. Oh, and she likes to stick her tongue out. I’m usually wearing a polo shirt or hat or jacket (or all of the above) with Victorian Farms on it. I’m supposed to do the AA classic on Friday night, but then again I’ve said that for the past 2 years and I always end up scratching! The first time was because I fell on a jump cup and cut my leg so bad I had to get 10 stitches!!! This year I am really going to try to do it though!!!
PamM, when did you train with him? A grade school friend of mine, Alexandra Zell (Zi Zi way back when…) rides with him and has the very nice hunter Lucky You. He was 14th in the national AHSA standings for open working hunter last year, and has won numerous championships in the green and open divisions at Indio over the last three years. He was in the ribbons at Indoors last fall as well. And Zi Zi has won a lot with him in the older A/A’s. I just saw from HITS show results page that he was reserve champion Open Conformation hunter at Indio last week.
Did you know her? She started out riding at Portland Riding Academy as I did, then moved over to Lake Oswego Hunt Club, and then I lost touch with her. Ironically, she never showed as a junior, but it has been fun reconecting with her to an extent by following her current show career!
Dublin, I’m looking at the Fall/Holiday issue, which I’ll send to you today. I’ll let you and SuaveReno fight it out re who gets ‘Rivals’ and ‘Polo’ first (the first two sequels to ‘Riders’). Bumpkin, do you want the newest Typo Circuit? Then I’ll send you the one I got for Dublin.
I, too, am so glad that my journalism degree is used for such greedy pursuits as ad sales and such delightful pursuits as internet blab.
Coreene runs after AAJumper to get some of that dip for herself, sloshing Champagne everywhere, wondering if mixing her drinks internally is gonna make her sick…
And it takes 35 pages of topic for her to see that there is an instant UBB code for italics, but she doesn’t know how it works, and helps herself to more of AA’s artichoke dip.
Some of the Back Bay places are still there. All those gorgeous ones on Mesa Drive still thrive, and a few of the houses in that neighborhood were upgraded and have small arenas, dressage courts etc. Most of the backyard stalls are still there, but the only place now to ride is along the Irvine Avenue side of the Back Bay.
A lot of people still have horses on the other side of Irvine Avenue and cross them over to go to the Back Bay as well. The stable that used to be off Irvine Avenue and Mesa (behind the old red barn next to the golf course) is gone, but part of one of the barns is still up.
The one on the beach side of PCH just south of CDM is gone, but none of the building has started yet. Any day now. Timeshares, dontcha know, which is no fun.
In Nellie Gail Ranch, Henry Samueli from Broadcom has caused all sorts of uproar by closing the trails around his place, posting security guards and having the landscapers cover the trail.
San Juan Capistrano is trying like mad to build more stables, which is nice. And Huntington Beach manages to hold on to the “undeveloped” trails behind the equestrian center, so we make do with what we’ve got…
Coreene: Didn’t you ever hear/remember about Betsy’s awful accident? Where the horse flipped over with her and jellified her brain? There were charity shows, etc. From what I recall, her mom totally took care of her and helped nurse her back to health. I have not seen her personally, but I understand she did begin riding again to some extent. Remember she rode all those jumpers like Grandstander for Joe Lifto?
I see that Tom Selleck’s daughter, Hannah, does quite well in the pony hunters down in LA. Definitely wouldn’t mind seeing HIM at a show!! sigh
Hey Tom, why don’t you accompany her up north this summer at the Portola Valley or Menlo Circus Club shows!!!
