Ahmanson Trail Ride - Winter Camp, November 2007

We are so fortunate to have 8,500 acres in our own backyard. The Santa Monica Conservancy recently purchsed the undeveloped land formely known as the Ahmanson Ranch (and still known as Ahmanson to us!). This gorgeous site has tremendous historical interests as several old classic films were shot on location. The original West Hills Hunt Club used to enjoy galloping through the fields. The land remains unspoiled and is a breahtaking site with endless views of mountains, oak trees, and rolling hills. The horses love to visit it as much as we do and you can see why it is one of our favorite places to ride. Who would guess it is only 2 miles from the 101 freeway?

Chronicles of the Plum Tree Ranch

With almost a dozen horses (do the mini's and/or ponies really count?) and countless children, there always seem to be an adventure at the Plum Tree Ranch in Hidden Hills, CA. These modern day young residents are re-living the values and spirit of the Old West on a daily basis; galloping on the trails, rounding up loose ponies and spening hours grooming and washing thier horses to perfection. There is some sort of incredible harmony and balance that has been acheived with these children who live in multi-million dollar homes and still enjoy cleaning stalls into the night.

Most of the equine residents of the Plum Tree are older Arabian mares and geldings, "retired" from showing and breeding and in need of new permanent loving homes. Our mares are the foundation of the program and are incredibly brave, kind, experienced and loving with each of the children. They are "baby-sitters" that thrive on the daily and constant love and attention. The relationship between each rider and their horse is so unique and is a wonderful display of the charecteristics Arabians are known for; loyalty, intelligence, bravery, kindness, and versatility.


The boys & girls are a very diverse and interesting group of young people. All with strong personalities, ambition, and a strong sense of fun and adventure, they are a handful themselves! Whether they are secretly breaking miniature horses, letting loose big horses, or dancing on the mulch piles, there is a constant energy level that keeps me and the horses feeling young! The most touching thing to witness is how the wild crazy girls become so patient and nurturing with our younger riders. That they so willing and lovingly share their time and knowledge is a beautiful thing and just one of the many examples of the magic we see on a daily basis.


We hope you enjoy our collection of stories as every day seems to be a chronicle!

Ponies, Ponies, & MORE Ponies?!

First there was Gala, then came New Pony (Ruby Tuesday) & shortly after that appeared Periwinkle (Kaleidoscope) and now there is talk of Spider Man & Love Nugget! Bella with a foal?! Anytime Heather leaves Hidden Hills, she returns with ponies for us! Here are some pictures of Heather on Gala and Hannah on New Pony, Ruby Tuesday. By the way, Heather is picking up Love Nugget & Spider Man on Wednesday!

Rats, rats, & more rats - eek

Ok, so we have a little rat problem - they are everywhere! Mostly we run into them after they have expired but we have so many "Rat Stories" it is hard to keep up (the rat that made me puke, the swimming rats, the giant rat, the rat Dakota ate, Sbag larry, the other rat...well you get the idea. Everyone has their favorite rat story and it is just a fact of of barn life, especially with us in our rural location. We love the Plum Tree and look forward to living rat-free one day!

2nd Annual Sapphire Memorial Horse Show - Oct.07

On October 28th the Hidden Hills Cowboys & girls and their families hosted the 2nd Annual Sapphire Memorial Horse Show. This special event was created to raise money and awareness for laminitis research with the AHF (http://www.ahf.org/) in honor of our buckskin filly, Sapphire, who lost her life to laminits in 2005. Laminits is also what took Barbaro's life in 2007.

The horse show is sponsored by the Hidden Hills Horsemen and organzied by the families of Hidden Hills. The Minogue Family sponsors the delicious food and each year everything on the grill is sold out!

The show includes English, Western, Fun Classes, and Jumping divisions and though all of the classes are placed, every riders wins a Blue Ribbon in honor of Sapphire. This year we added beautiful Championship garlands to the Grand & Reserve Champion in each division. The reults are posted below.

We would also like to thank everyone who made this year's show such a huge success and a marathon day of fun!

English/Jumping Division:

Walk/Trot - Champion - Cami Klein & Res. Champion Honour Fottrell

10 & Under English - Champion Kenna Klein & Res. Champion Bailey Lortscher

11 - 17 Years - Champion Sidney Isaacs & Res. Champion Sydney Sutton

18 & Over - Champion Super Jen & Res. Champion Adam Strom

Western/Fun Class Division:

Champion Jordan Parr & Res. Champion Tallulah Tepper

Ridin' in the Rain

Rain is so rare in California but the girls were not ready to miss their Friday jumping lessons on account of it so we continued the lesson and returned to the barn soaked through. The horses did not seem to mind and Tallulah says it was her favorite lesson of all time! We were all drenched but loved it!

Hidden Hills Fiesta Parade - Sept. 2007

With over 20 girls, 9 horses, and 7 miniature horses, the parade proved to be an exciting experience. Did I mention over 20 girls?! All of the horses were dressed up in the Mariachi theme with these great hats & sombreros that O'Hara found. Mini horse Boo wore a mariachi dog costume and the horses and kids were all in blue and painted from head-to-toe in glitter, paint and bling that Bliss donated.
Of course the two quietest Barbary horses were razzed from the High School Marching Band early on which proved for a great spectacle of gorgeous prancing 22 year old horses!
While Holly sat with the parking lot, I made three trailer trips, the last one of which was leaving the gate as the parade was starting and Heather galloped over the Bridle Trail hill to meet us on Round Meadow.
Residents ran along side, threw candy, took pictures and waved and cheered us on. The West Hills Hounds proved to be a gorgeous sight for all of us gallopping across the trails with the hounds and disapearing over a hill.
The real excitement happened when Kisses, a huge black & white Paint gelding got loose and darted through the parade on Long Valley.
We all had an incredible time and finished the day with well deserved Cola Lime Ice's for all at Island's.
P.S. I still see blue glitter on the trails!

Welcome to SDF Festivity

Heather has always dreamed of owning a Barbary daughter. Recently, Elaine Kelley of Sundance Farms, who also bred Candy, emailed me looking for a home for her 22 year old Barbary daughter. Heather and Holly hooked up the retro and drove to Paso Robles to pick her up. Tears were shared and new friendships were made.

We are so grateful for Festivity - she is the best trail horse and so beautiful. She is the queen of the pasture and is loved by all the girls but especially Alexandra, Carly, and Helena. Festivity had her show debut at the Sapphire Show were Alexandra presented her, also in her showing debut. Both girls did exceptionally well and Alexandra proved she has determination to get through anything. Tallulah finished the day showing her as a fairy horse and they both looking amazing. We love Festivity and look forward to many happy years with her in our barn!

Swimming Arabians?! Oh, Yes! Camp Staff Trip 8/07

Sami, Izzy, Ashley & I loaded up the horses and headed over the Malibu Creek State Park for the final swim of the summer. The water was getting low and now was our chance to cool off after the long week at Summer Camp.

We gathered energy from the Mocha Freezes at the gas station and headed over for a fun, wet day of bareback swimming in the park. The horses were reluctant at first but then dove in and Gracie even rolled in the water and mud, much to Ashley's dismay.

It was a perfect day of laughter in the Sun and I know I can't wait until the first rain and we can go back to visit! Next stop, the beach!!!!!