Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "horses"

Horses bred for nobility to perform elegant show

2011-06-07T00:56:46Z

Horses originally bred to carry the nobility of Europe to war now have a more peaceful and entertaining vocation – they will be dancing and performing in Power Balance Pavilion June 18.

The “World Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions perform in their “Dancing White Stallions” show that recounts their history as well as the cultures of various European countries, including Austria, Slovenia and Spain, said show producer Gary Lashinsky.

“All of our horses were bought from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna,” Lashinsky said.

The one-hour and 45-minute show is a choreographed dance of 12-14 Lipizzaner Stallions, and it also includes demonstrations of maneuvers riders would have performed in battle – now an equestrian art form, Lashinsky said. Throughout the show, the 400-year history of the Lipizzans is told.

Riders dress in traditional equestrian clothing from Europe.

“We have a lot of musical changes and wardrobe changes,” Lashinsky said. “The routines are very different. We show horses at the highest level. It takes years and years of training.”

The horses are purchased at about age 4 or 5 from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, where visitors can see the horses perform in a similar show. Training begins at age 4, and it takes six to eight years before they are ready to perform, Lashinsky said.

Austrian travel writer Andreas Susana, of Graz, Austria, said in an email Monday that the horses are a source of national pride for Austrians. While their original home is in Slovenia, he said the specialized training has historically been a hallmark of Vienna and its Spanish Riding School.

The 43-year-old Susana said the combination of the horse performance, the music, the old-fashioned equestrian uniforms and the ambiance of the historic building in Vienna all come together to create the “special glamor” of the show.

The country has been able to maintain the breed over several hundred years – with a bit of help from the United States.

During World War II, the horses had been sent to places in and around then-Czechoslovakia to save them from expected bombings in Vienna. As the Soviet Union’s Red Army advanced, it was feared the Soviet soldiers would slaughter the prized stallions for food, Susana said. American Gen. George S. Patton sent tank units to save the horses.

Lashinsky said the story is the subject of a Disney film from the 1960s, “Miracle of the White Stallions.”

“Patton saved them from almost certain extinction,” Lashinsky said, adding that today there are only 3,000 of the horses worldwide. “Not many horses have the glamor and the history of the Lipizzans.”

U.C. Davis Veterinary Professor Sharon Spier – who also rides in the “dressage” style of the Lipizzans and has served as an emergency veterinarian at the Olympics – said the show is one that people of all ages can enjoy, even if they aren’t horse enthusiasts.

“ ‘Dressage’ is the French word for training,” she said. “It started as training for war, for the cavalry … so horses would be more agile for battle.”

She compared today’s dressage as being similar to figure skating, with horses riding in groups of four called quadrilles in both mandated and freestyle patterns.

“There’s probably very few opportunities for the public to see this high level of dressage,” she said, adding that the annual world cup is held in Las Vegas.

The Lipizzaner Stallions are different from racehorses or jumping horses, since they are usually older and stockier, Spier said, describing them as “compact and muscular” as well as “very coordinated.”

Their famous maneuvers are known as the “airs above the ground,” which involve the horse rearing on its hind legs and leaping, as in the photo above, she said. Training to that level takes years.

To the audience, the horses appear all-white, but Spier said they are actually born black and are known as grays, with their coats getting whiter as they mature.

“The ones that are younger will look more gray than a mature one, which will appear much more white,” she said.

The horses have a reputation for beauty, intelligence, grace and strength, local travel writer and travel blogger Jeremy Branham, 36, said in an email Monday.

“I think it’s great that these horses get a chance to be showcased in Sacramento,” he said. “Not everyone gets a chance to travel and see the horses perform in Europe and around the world, so it’s great that people have the opportunity to see them here.”

The horses were last in Sacramento about three years ago, Lashinsky said, adding that they performed in Bahrain for the king last November.

Branham said Slovenia is one of his favorite countries, and he pointed out that the horses were originally bred there.

“While enjoying the horses is one thing,” he said, “it’s great to understand the history (and) heritage of these horses in three different European countries – Austria, Spain and Slovenia.”

Lashinsky said the “World Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions that are seen on the show are based on Oviedo, Fla., which is not far from Orlando, where thy have been since 1989. When they aren’t traveling around the world, they are training.

The June 18 performances are part of the 41st annual tour and will be held at 2 and 7:30 p.m. in Power Balance Pavilion. Adult tickets start at $22.50 and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or at the Power Balance Pavilion box office.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.

Barnum's 200th birthday party comes to Arco

2010-09-02T00:46:54Z

Audiences will be puzzled and amazed by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s presentation of “Barnum’s FUNundrum!” coming to Arco Arena Sept. 9-12.

The event celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of legendary showman P.T. Barnum.

The 130 performers hail from 15 different countries. Acts include body benders, a two-level trapeze arrangement, stilt walkers, high-wire motorcycle balancing, trampoline acrobats and, of course, plenty of clowns.

A menagerie of exotic animals, including 100,000 pounds’ worth of elephants, will be incorporated into the various acts performed throughout the show. Ticket holders are allowed access to to an “Animal Open House” 90 minutes before show time, and can also step onto the arena floor to meet performers one hour before the show begins.

Exotic animal trainer Daniel Raffo is a crowd favorite when he and his 11 tigers share the spotlight.

“We have the opportunity to show people the beauty of these animals and the wonderful character that they have,” Raffo said.

Raffo is a fifth-generation circus performer who has also performed as an acrobat, juggler and high-wire artist in his own family’s circus. He and wife Andrea Ayala-Raffo, who is also a fifth-generation circus performer, are carrying on a performing legacy of their own. With their 5-year-old son on board, the Raffos’ lives seem anything but normal, yet for them this has always been the norm.

“It’s great to be married to someone that’s also in the same business,” Ayala-Raffo said. “When he performs, I watch his back, and when I perform, he does the same for me.”

“It’s great because it’s how my mom and dad grew up,” Ayala-Raffo said.

Ayala-Raffo, along with her two sisters, inherited their hair hanging act from their mother. In addition to being spun and rotated from her hair, Ayala-Raffo also juggles lit torches while being suspended more than 30 feet in the air.

The Raffo family commits 11 months out of the year to the Ringling Bros. circus. “FUNundrum!” will travel to 78 North American cities over the course of the next two years.

“I love what I do because I travel all the time. I learn different languages, different cultures,” Raffo said.

Raffo said the circus provides his son with experiences that most children will never have. “Many people live their whole life at home and just watch TV,” Raffo said.

Having both been raised in performing families, the Raffos said they cannot conceive of living any differently.

“When I’m home I get bored,” Ayala-Raffo said, “I want to travel.”

When all is said and done – the years of training and risking their lives for an act – the Raffo’s payoff comes when audiences awe over the end result: the performance.

“When I perform, it’s like my spirit comes out of my body,” Raffo said. Fear, excitement and disbelief spread across the audience faces. “It’s a joy for me to see people’s reaction to the show.”

Ayala-Raffo said the performers thoroughly enjoy what they do, and that’s what fuels them on.

“There’s always a risk, but that’s the joy of it,” she said, “that’s the ‘wow’ of it.”

Performance schedules for Sacramento can be viewed by clicking here.
Tickets start at $14 (Opening Night tickets available for 50 percent off) and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, the Arco Arena Box Office or by calling 800-745-3000.

Photos courtesy of Feld Media.

Horse and Dog Expo at Cal Expo This Weekend

2010-06-12T05:05:46Z

The quadrupeds have taken over Cal Expo this weekend.

The 12th annual Western States Horse Expo began Friday and will run through Sunday. This year features a new event, the Dog Expo.
The expos are made up of demonstrations and shopping areas for a wide range of equine and canine concerns.

Seven venues in Cal Expo are holding events throughout the weekend. Friday's demonstrations included equestrian training, nutrition discussions, cowboy poetry, music and first-aid training. Numerous guidance demonstrations included proper equine dentistry, choosing the right horse, train and ride like an athlete and desensitizing pack animals.

More than 500 vendors and sponsors have filled Cal Expo's buildings A, B, C and D. Barn, tractor and horse trailer manufacturers are scattered in the outdoor areas between arenas and exhibition buildings.

"Anything you can possibly hope to find about or for a horse is here, all in one place," Laura Strombom of Acampo said. "It's a great place to learn how to care for horses and compare products, no matter what your discipline is."

This is the fifth year Strombom has brought horses to the expo. Antar, her 15-year-old gelding (a fixed male) kisses visitors for treats.

Visitor Jennifer Fish came to Friday's expo to see demonstrations and hear trainers' advice.

"I really liked the demonstration on introducing your horse to rails and jumping," Fish said. "It's nice that they have so many arenas going at once with so many demonstrations."

The horse expo is also hosting their 10th annual Western States Expo Horse Sale.

The east entrance to the Dogs Pavilion holds a large above-ground pool with a dock for the Splash Dogs to feature the four-legged performers' dock-jumping skills.

Friday's Dog Expo demonstrations included obedience lessons, disc training, a canine chiropractic discussion and a frisbee demonstration by Rocket's K-9 Comets.

Vendors for the Dog Expo included obedience schools, dog food booths, a K-9 armor booth, dog clothing booths and hygiene booths.

Saturday's hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday's hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets are $18 for adult. Tickets for children 7 to 13 are $6. Children under 7 get in free. For more information on the expos' schedules, visit their website.

Young riders prepare for a performance.

Vendors and visitors at the Dog Expo.

A horse grazes outside its stall.

Horses for sale at the 10th annual Western States Expo Horse Sale.

An equestrian and horse perform during Sabine Rijssenbeek's demonstration, "Transitions and lateral work - long lasting results."

A horse for sale at the horse sale.

A horse peeking out from its stall.

A Splash Dogs performer and trainer.

A horse grazes behind the Dogs Pavilion.

A young equestrian waits for the cue.

A horse is bathed behind the Dogs Pavilion.

Jonathan Field leads the demonstration, "Learn how to develop a great riding horse from the ground."

Laura Strombon and Antar.

Young equestrians wait for their performance to begin.

Agnus-Dei Farrant is an intern for The Sacramento Press.

Hit-and-run totals horse carriage

2009-12-31T01:22:42Z

In the kind of news that hasn't made headlines in years, three people and a draft horse are mending this week after a car totaled a horse-drawn carriage near Sacramento's waterfront.

Police are still searching for the silver Toyota sedan that rammed into the carriage on Third Street as it circled Crocker Park Sunday night, Sacramento Police spokesperson Norm Leong said.

One of Old Sacramento's horse-and-carriage businesses may be out an $8,500 replica French carriage unless the driver steps forward.

The car struck without warning near O Street. The carriage rolled, sending driver Rick Newborn and two passengers flying to the ground. The impact broke the carriage into pieces. The roughly 1,600-pound horse ran off, dragging what was left of the carriage behind him, said Newborn, who owns the commercial horse-carriage business Top Hand Ranch with his wife, Dianna.

"Never heard it coming. Never seen it leave," said Newborn, who is bruised and sore from the accident.

Fox — a 9-year-old cross between a Percheron draft and a paint horse — is on antibiotics after suffering cuts and minor lacerations in the back legs. Four stitches were needed for one cut.

A couple was enjoying a special holiday ride when the accident took place. Their minor injuries were treated at a nearby hospital.

Newborn was only 12 when he and his father started the commercial horse-and-carriage operation part-time in 1970. Top Hand Ranch is one of three carriage companies working regularly in Old Sacramento. Licensed to travel on streets throughout Sacramento, they also offer trips that start in Old Sacramento and travel out along the Sacramento River, around Crocker Park and up to the Capitol.

A car hasn't hit a Top Hand Ranch carriage in more than a decade, said Newborn, who lives in Rescue.

"It's a very rare occurence," Newborn said. "Normally, the cars are pretty respectful of the carriages."

The car driver fled the scene. Other cars pulled over and people got out, but Newborn was too busy attending to the couple and then finding the runaway horse to know whether passersby offered assistance. Fox ran all the way to T Street and headed west. Newborn found the horse between Third and Fourth streets.

"He was shaken up a little bit," Newborn said.

Percherons are known for both their strength in pulling loads and a grace fit for pulling carriages, according to the Percheron Horse Association of America. Fox was taken home and stabilized Sunday night, then transported to the vet Monday. The horse stands 16 hands tall and is spotted bay, white and black. He was eating well Tuesday.

"Right now, we expect him to come back to work with not much complications," Newborn said. "He'll recover physically. We just want to see how the mental part is."

Newborn doesn't know if he'll be able to replace the carriage. The company has liability insurance, but no insurance coverage for carriages. On Tuesday, the couple was shoeing another horse which will return from a work break and take over for Fox.

Top Hand Ranch is based in Elverta. The company, which became a full-time business in 1982, also offers hay rides, a horse-drawn hearse for funerals, and carriage services for weddings and other special occasions. Rick and Dianna Newborn do most of the driving. However, they also have two part-time drivers and Dianna's mother and sister also work in the family business.

The company owns four French replica carriages that carry up to six people and American wagons that carry 12 to 20. Horse-drawn carriage rides in Old Sacramento are $10. A 20- to 30-minute ride from there to Crocker Park is $30. A 45-minute ride to the Capitol is $50.

Top Hand Ranch also can pick up passengers at houses citywide for $100 an hour.

The company does history re-enactments at Sutter Fort and elsewhere. They once were hired by a couple who had a mock royal court wedding. The bride and her knight in armor rode off in the carriage. The Newborns travel "all over," and have been hired for events as far as Nevada, the Sierra Mountains and San Francisco. There's no real limit to how far they'll travel, Newborn said.

"It depends on how much they're willing to pay to get me there," he said.

In photo, Thunder pulls a Top Hand Ranch carriage in Old Sacramento Tuesday.

Horse-friendly alleys discussed

2009-11-09T07:22:32Z

Sacramento soon may get something it hasn't seen in decades -- new water troughs and hitching posts.

And folks, that ain't nothin' to snort at. Especially if you're a police horse on your appointed rounds.

Seventy to 80 years after falling out of use, horse-friendly street hardware may make its way into alleys that are being developed as part of a new "alley activation" effort. A trough and a post, paid for through private funding, will be added first to one of two pilot alleys under development in the Handle District.

More are possible on other Midtown alleys as property owners get involved in the effort, said Julie Young, a developer who launched the organized alley-use movement here.

"I would suspect you would see those every four to five alleys," she said.

The idea arose when developers working on the alley projects asked the Sacramento Police Department what could be done with the alleys to reduce crime. Sgt. Chris Taylor, who heads the department's four-year-old Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program, recommended the troughs and posts along with certain kinds of lighting and a list of other suggestions.

That was welcome news to the force's tiny Mounted Police Unit. And to the furry ears of Bolo, Oak, Loot, Breyer and Ted.

The first trough and post will be installed in the pilot alleys, which stretch from 17th to 19th streets between L Street and Capitol Avenue. As a mostly public relations unit, the Mounted Police, led by Sgt. Sherry Bell, concentrate on Old Sacramento and K Street Mall up to the Sacramento Convention Center.

Places to water and tie up the five geldings will allow the unit to cover a larger stretch of its beat, which extends east to 19th Street. Officers currently venture that far once a week or when they get calls.

"If you have them, the mounted unit is more likely to travel down that way at lunch time, because they know that there will be water there and a place to hitch," said Sgt. Norm Leong, police department spokesman. "If there are services there for horses, the horses are more likely to use it."

Funding for the troughs and posts, which are recommendations only, would not come from the police budget, Leong said. Costs and funding haven't been worked out for areas other than the pilot alleys, Young said.

The unit wouldn't extend patrols throughout Midtown, but would have water and posts available if needed, he added.

Now, police horses get water at a large water feature at City Hall or from the decorative fountains at 13th and K streets. If an officer needs to dismount to take a restroom break, the horse must be tied to a tree or lamp post, which aren't always sturdy enough for the job.

The unit has been used during big events ranging from the 2003 protest against the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Trade Organization to the New Year's Eve ball drop on K Street Mall last year.

"They say a horse is worth 10 people (officers) on foot for crowd control," said Billy Lyons, a 42-year veteran of the force who retired as a Mounted Police officer. "It gets the officer up high and they can see more."

During big demonstrations, Sacramento Police and the California Highway Patrol's mounted unit, which patrols the state Capitol, must get horse reinforcements from Sacramento County, Folsom, and Placerville and San Joaquin counties, Bell said.

Sacramento has had police horses since the Gold Rush. Horses carried officers and pulled police wagons through the streets until the 1930s or '40s. By the end of their era, there was just one mounted officer patrolling downtown and another patrolling Land Park, which once had a bridle path, Lyons said.

The police horse stable had been near Alhambra Boulevard and K Street.

Today, Sacramento's horses spend each night tucked away in a barn on Front Street. The building was part of a Navy and Marine Corps base built in 1937, and was used later used as a detox facility. The unit shares the barn with CHP.

Last week, a vet made a housecall to check up on three horses. Mounted Police officer Dave Turner walked horses while the vet watched. Other horses stood in the sunshine in turnouts and ready pens. Cats and a peacock named "Sam" roamed the grounds.

The Mounted Police Unit was revived about nine years ago by officers Mike Lopez and Allan Grundel, who put themselves through a mounted police school in San Francisco and won a $120,000 grant to start the part-time unit. The city's SWAT team helped build stalls in the barn. The officers had to buy their own horses. That unit proved its worth while working the Thursday Night Market, Bell said.

Two full-time officers staff the unit: Turner and Skyler Baldock. Bell oversees the department's Marine Unit and foot patrol, in addition to the mounted unit. Lyons and another retired officer have not been replaced due to lack of funding, said Bell. She's trying to re-establish a reserve unit of officers with their own horses.

Horse experience is not a requirement for joining the unit, but it helps. Lyons and Bell had horses in the past, but Baldock had no experience with the animals when he joined the unit.

A 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift includes feeding, cleaning and grooming horses; cleaning dung from stalls and holding pens; and taking care of tack — plus going out on rounds.

"They're not like cars. You have to be here twice a day," Lyons said. He's been with the unit almost from the beginning.

Officers also clean up after their horses if they poop in Old Sacramento or anywhere pedestrians walk.

The officers have developed strong bonds with the horses. Lyons and Oak have worked together for so long that the 20-year-old bay will kiss him over and over again, given the chance. The horse follows Lyons everywhere and knows how to open metal gates with its teeth.

Since retiring in 2006, Lyons has spent many hours volunteering to keep the unit going. Bell nicknamed him "Eye Candy" because she calls him to go out in parades, but not enforcement.

"He gives me so much time, I'd be lost without him," she said.

All but one of the horses are quarter horses. Bolo is a cross between a quarter horse and a Belgian draft horse. Baldock, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall, usually rides him.

Bolo's name was "Coors" when he first joined the unit. But that name didn't quite fit the Police Department, so it was changed to Bolo, which stands for "Be On the Look Out,"Bell said.

Six-year-old Bolo is the unit's youngest horse, but also the most stalwart.

"When it hits the fan, he's the guy you want to be on," Lyons said.

The horses are chosen for calm temperaments and trained not to react to situations that might spook other horses, such as sudden movements or people shouting.

Loot is another horse known for not spooking easily. That's partly due to his personality and partly because Loot's done the job longer than the other four horses.

"He's like, 'I know what I have to do and I want to go do it,' " Bell said.

The unit normally patrols or trains 7 days a week. Horses and officers may respond to fights, crashes, aggressive panhandlers and shoplifters. But usually, working with the unit is very different than other police assignments, said Bell, who's been on the force for 20 years.

Horses and riders spend plenty of time greeting visitors in Old Sacramento. They also represent the department in parades.

"I've dealt with some of the worst stuff you could ever see in society. But on the Mounted Unit, we get to deal with people in a positive environment," Bell said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. For more photos of Sacramento's Mounted Police Unit, click here.