About
It’s said that in riding horses we find freedom. That’s exactly what we are after and what we love to help others find through teaching horsemanship and selling great horses.
A lifetime journey that has no destination, the daily search is what makes horsemanship so rewarding and rich. We believe the world would be a better place if more people took advantage of the benefits of working with nature in such an intimate way. We are less focused on shows and jackpots, and more focused on the daily gold mine that horses offer us. The ultimate self-expression of seeing your thought become the horse’s action. The meditative effect of finding peace and confidence in an activity with little real control. The art of letting go of conscious-heavy thought and stepping into feel. The effect on your life by learning from the horse as a metaphor for life.
Meet the Staff
We have worked for tiny ragtag, barely put together outfits that almost got us killed, to a four diamond luxury guest ranch whose clientele are some of the wealthiest people in the world. We’ve cleaned stalls, scrubbed nasty waterers, dug ditches, and worked for World Show and Congress judges. We’ve spent our days working horses, and other days working cattle all day. We’ve taken locals out for one hour rides, and ridden with World Champions. We’ve enjoyed days riding backyard bred horses, and made money in working cow horse, cutting, ranch riding and trail. One of us was even the Hawaii Island novice cutting horse champion in 2016. We’ve climbed ragged granite cliff faces nearly straight up, and descended the walls of the Grand Canyon. We’ve seen and stood on some of the highest peaks in the High Sierra from the back of a mule, and the very bottom of the Grand Canyon at the shores of the mighty Colorado River from the back of a mule. We’ve lived on Hawaii island, California (north and south), and Colorado. We’ve worked on film sets, tv shows, commercials, print ads, parades, live performances and even a horse drawn attraction at Disneyland. We’ve saddled 50 horses in a day, and worked other jobs cleaning toilets and brewing coffee just to keep it going at times.
Eric
A native of Chino, (and proud of it, if you ask be prepared for a history lesson), Eric first got paid to work with horses at 16. From there he’s worked more than a handful of outfits from horse ranch to cattle ranch to guest ranch and training horses all a long the way while dabbling in showing and roping competitively. His passion is horsemanship and understanding the animal more each day.
Bre
Handier than %99 of cowboys out there, Bre is all about freedom on the open trail. A mule lover as much as horses, she spends her summers in the Sierra mountains covering endless miles. She’s the one that’ll get you out there. She has a degree in Psychology and her passion is how horses solve so many of our modern life problems.
Stinger
The OG and still the best. He’s the horse that started it all. Eric has had him since he was 2 and they’ve been best friends ever since. Always everyone’s favorite, the impact he’s had on people learning is immeasurable. Insider secret: ask him to show you his teeth and he will.
Midas
Given to Bre from a friend as the most generous gift, Midas is incredibly talented in a small, 14 hand package. Super cowy while also the most solid anchor horse on a pack string, he does it all with a surfer dude demeanor.
Crucero
Speaking of surfer dudes, Crucero is all about the laid back life. His name is Cruiser in spanish, and he’s as California as it gets: slow, easy and chill. He’s a people horse with a kind heart. He loves being turned out and grazing on the front lawn of Prado.
Sarge
Eric first got Sarge back in ‘08 when he was five, he’s one of the best horses Eric’s ever ridden. He adapts to each rider while having his own unique personality that is indomitable. Eric gave Sarge as a gift to a close friend who continues to love and cherish him but he’s still part of our program.
Flynn
A true work horse, Flynn has had quite the career. Born on the Hart Ranch of Corona where the 71 and 91 meet, he was young when he started on the race track as a pony horse, anchoring high strung race horses. After that it was on to western dressage, a stint in Oregon and then back to California. The opposite of Crucero, Flynn is all business and very serious about it.
Blue
He is the old sage. Late 20’s he’s seen it all and done it all and doesn’t have time for no nonsense. Blue is an appendix, a thoroughbred quarter horse cross, and has a storied career in western dressage and other shows, but loves trail riding and just cruising around the property showing new riders the ropes.
In riding a horse, a person is confronted with themselves.
Sometimes life requires breaking away and free of everything around us. Breaking out of what’s artificial and manmade. Breaking out of our routine. Breaking out of our comfort zone and growing, letting go… being free. We love to guide people through the reflective nature of horses into having dominion over instinct, finding peace in not having total control, and learning to work with, not over nature.
"A farmer, a hunter, a soldier, a reporter, even a philosopher may be daunted; yet nothing can deter a poet, for he is actuated by pure love.” - Henry David Thoreau
Horsemanship is the ultimate art. Poetry in motion. Learning how to express yourself through the horse, another living being, is a freedom that can’t come from anywhere else. Working with horses to us is just as rewarding and creative as painting, drawing or any other conventional art. When we give a lesson or provide someone with one of our horses, its our handcrafting that we are giving to someone, we are connecting them with a source of their own. Finding self expression through working with horses is incredibly liberating and helping people find it is what we’re all about.
