The girls first Dressage Show, Top Flight Farms

Ashley, Brooke, Hannah, & Tallulah all enjoyed thier first dressage competition. The show was open to all breeds and the girls did an exceptional job representing the versatility of Arabians, competing successfully with the other breeds. Not only was this the first show for the girls, but this was also the dressage debut for the horses who included Fantastiko (age 15), Gracie (age 23), and Poetka (age 24). All of the girls received ribbons and Fantastiko & Talluluah won their training level class! Specail thanks to Heather (The Whip) who tirelessly read all of the tests for the girls. We can't wait for the next show!

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!