Newsletter of the
Golden State Versatility Ranch Horse Association
APRIL 2023
Letter from the Editor
Dear Golden State Members and Friends,
As riders and competitors, we know that bumps, bruises, strains, pains, and sometimes breaks, are all part of the game. But do we know for how long it’s been part of the game? A National Geographic study informs us of riders from long ago.
Most everyone suffered during the January floods-no news there. The Carmel Valley Trail & Saddle Club lost all its footing, and a fundraiser is planned to help pay for the replacement. You can help!
The first versatility event of the season, the Running T Spring Ranch Roundup just concluded. The May newsletter will have results and pictures. Our next show is the Way-Out West Spring Classic April 28-30.
The “weather guessers” are predicting a “drier than normal April.” Oh, how we pray!
Editor
Send comments, concerns, & ideas to [email protected]
Inside this editor’s mind…
Sun Circuit
Neither Rain Nor Sleet Nor Snow…
. . . shall keep Golden State competitors from getting to Scottsdale. It snowed on rigs driving through Palm Springs, the Tehachapi Pass closed causing drivers to have to turn back (adding a day to the trip!), one traveler’s horse colicked on the trip (successfully treated and went on to great success), and upon arrival stalls were wet and the grounds a sea of mud! Doesn’t it sound like fun? Riders are a determined bunch.
Yet, our members rode well, the horses were great, and amazing successes were achieved. Kudos to the Westworld Grounds team who worked tirelessly to get everything back into shape.
QUESTION?? How many surprise birthday revelers can fit in Bev Sparrowk’s LQ when it’s too late and too cold to hold said planned party outside? ANSWER—15! As long as no one moves around. It was so much fun no one thought to take a picture. But the pictures here tell the rest of the story.
Fundraiser: “A River Ran Through It”
Please Help Us Restore It
As you may be aware, the Carmel Valley Trail & Saddle Club’s popular show venue was devastated by the January 9 storms. The Carmel River literally ran through it, taking all the footing in the large and small arenas with it. Took about half of the dressage arena as well, and much of the driveway and parking lot. Through the efforts of many volunteers, much of the clean-up and repairs have been done. Purchase and installation of the footing remains. On April 15 the Carmel Valley Community Foundation is hosting a barbeque, live entertainment & silent auction to benefit the Club. You can help by volunteering for the event, purchasing tickets (even if you can’t attend, give them to someone who can), donating an item or service to the Silent Auction, and/or making a monetary donation. Please help this amazing show venue get back into business. The plan is to have everything ready for the May 20-21 Central Coast Ranch Horse Classic (AQHA)/Golden State VRH show.
The Aches Aren’t New
World’s Earliest Known Horse Riders Had ‘Em Too
Horseback riding has been a part of human life for millennia, but scientists have long been unclear on how many millennia. Now, a new study has uncovered the earliest-known evidence of humans riding horses, dating back about 4,500-5,000 years. Scientists analyzed skeletons of Yamnayans, an ancient people who migrated to modern-day Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Serbia.
The researchers looked for signs of riding, including evidence of injuries that often come from falls, kicks, or bites from horses, and changes in the pelvis, femur, and hip bone. Out of the 156 individuals they analyzed, 24 Yamnaya were determined to have been “possible riders” and five “highly probable riders.”
“The rather high prevalence of these traits in the skeleton record, especially with respect to the overall limited completeness, show that these people were horse riding regularly,” lead author Martin Trautmann said in a press release.
Twenty-four ancient skeletons from graves in Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria show signs of physical stress caused by horseback riding. Most of the skeletons are of people from the nomadic Yamnaya culture, which spread westward from the grasslands of eastern Europe about 5,500 years ago.
Five Yamnaya individuals in particular, from graves dated to between 4,500 and 5,000 years old, show multiple signs that they frequently rode horses—damage to their lower vertebrae, for example, as well as thickening of their pelvic bones and ridges on their femurs. Similar signs are also seen in four individuals thought to have been from cultures influenced by the Yamnaya.
Read in the National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2023/03/who-were-the-first-people-to-ride-horses-ancient-skeletons-reveal-new-clues
Editor’s note: Nothing new about the aches and pains of riders!
New Show, New Venue
Way Out West Spring Classic at Diamond Bar Arena
We hope to see you at the Diamond Bar Arena in Ceres for the Way-Out-West Classic April 28-30. On the 28th there will be three clinics-Cutting with Matt Silva, Reining with Amy Walden, and Trail with Sarah Kennedy. That evening there will be a show-sponsored social for all the competitors and their families. Get your entry in soon at gsvrha.org.
For more information contact Harlee Burtschi at [email protected] or Kelly Engel at [email protected]
Central Coast Ranch Horse Classic
First Big Show in Restored Carmel Valley Arenas
The AQHA VRH show is also a Ranching Heritage and a Western States approved event. One can do all three, just two, or just one of the shows. The Western States show will be an opportunity to gain points at a much reduced cost. As a result, there will be no first place awards for WS, just division championships.
Please join us May 20-21, and if you are able, there’s a link below for donations to our restoration cause. Every little bit helps.
Quote of the Month
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr (1858-1919)
American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26th president of the United States.
It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.
2023 Calendar
Show Dates
For more information, click here to view the complete calendar in a new window
| Date | Name | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 31- Apr 2 | WS & AQHA: Running T Ranch Spring Round Up | Corning, CA |
| Apr 28 – 30 | WS/AQHA: The Way-Out West Spring Classic (New!) | Ceres, CA |
| May 20 – 21 | AQHA: Central Coast Ranch Horse Classic | Carmel Valley, CA |
| Jun 20 – 24 | AQHA VRH World Show | Guthrie, OK |
| Jul 8 – 9 | Ranch Versatility Challenge | San Martin, CA |
| Jul 27 – 30 | Silver State Circuit WS & AQHA | Winnemucca, NV |
| Aug 11 – 13 | Clifford Horse Training VRH Show | Carmel Valley, CA |
| Sep 1 – 3 | Central Coast Fall Classic | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| Oct 20-22 | WSVRHA Finals | Las Vegas, NV |