A group is led on a Family Fun Ride at River View Park in Buellton. Santa Ynez Valley Horseback Rides opened at the park in December.

Horseplay Comes to Buellton with New Riding Stable
Santa Barbara business opens location at River View Park
By Pamela Dozois
Contributing Writer

The Santa Ynez Valley is well-known for its love of horses, from racing to Hunter/Jumpers, Western reigning, and of course, Arabians. But finding a location where one could jump on a horse and venture off the beaten path for the afternoon and ride a horse in unspoiled nature was difficult — until now.

Bob and Evie Sweeney recognized the void and opened Santa Ynez Valley Horseback Rides on Dec. 15, 2021.

“We opened our new facility adjacent to River View Park in Buellton just in time for the Christmas holidays and were thrilled with the response, both from local residents and visiting guests,” said Sweeney.The Sweeneys’ new venture is an expansion of their primary business, Santa Barbara Beach Horseback Rides, located in Summerland. “When COVID struck, our business took off like a rocket with people wanting to safely enjoy the outdoors,
so we decided to open a new location in the Valley,” said Sweeney. “When we were approached by the City of Buellton to lease part of its Willemsen property, the staff expressed immediate intrigue and
excitement as they recognized that this would be a destination for both local and visiting families. When word reached the local hotels of what we were offering, they got on board and were thrilled to have something like this for their guests.”

The Sweeneys met with Buellton City Manager Scott Wolfe last June and the project was put on the agenda and unanimously approved during the next City Council meeting. “Ever since then, the City of Buellton has been nothing short of fantastic and very supportive at every
turn,” said Sweeney. “Last year was a long journey for us, to find a new location in the Valley that was still close to the river,”
Sweeney continued. “With the help of Pam Gnekow, director of the Buellton Senior Center, we eventually found the perfect spot in River View Park in Buellton.”

Sweeney is very happy about how the new venture has turned out.
“It couldn’t get better than this,” he said. We have
a 55,000 sq. ft. (1 ¼ acres) facility close to the Santa Ynez River. We have a permit for 18 horses and we currently have 13. We are on track to include a super-fun petting zoo in March, featuring miniature
cows, sheep and goats.”

Sweeney has owned horses for the past 42 years, has an extensive background in the Arabian horse world and was also a bloodstock agent at a high level for 25 years. So when he envisioned this business, he said he wanted it to represent the deep equestrian history of the Valley. “When I moved here in 1984 there were about 5,000 people in the Valley and 20,000 horses,” Sweeney said. “Every major breed had a strong presence here. So, it is only fitting for us to reflect this heritage with our horses. We currently have eight different breeds of horses and most of them are retired show horses, rodeo stars, or working ranch horses. They all have a past life and a story. “For example, we have three half-Arabian horses, two of which have won National Honors in the Show Horse world and a pure-bred Arabian mare bred by Day Dream Arabians, who produced a National Champion filly. We also have a World Champion National Finals Rodeo Star, purchased from the Branquinho family. Even our two ponies are trained working ranch horses.”
Sweeney explained that when a ride departs, the guides are full of stories of each horse the guests are riding. “As the rides leave the stable, guests are taken back 100 years to old California with wildlife all around,
such as deer, coyote, foxes, a bobcats’ den, a beaver dam, and even a golden eagle,” he added. “There are also multiple water crossings which, during rainy season, a rider can encounter water levels as high
as mid-thigh. “By design, our horses are older, very well-conditioned and trained, beginning in their past lives through to today,” Sweeney continued. “We’ve simply reintroduced them to a new life and they love it. Our rides are really beautiful and our horses walk, there is no trotting or running ever — it’s low stress on the horses and the riders.”

Sweeney said the Santa Ynez Valley is tailor-made for his business. “Because of where we are located and our history with horses, we wanted to make this a destination that would make the community proud and provide the opportunity to take in the stunning beauty of the landscape,” he said.

Santa Ynez Valley Horseback Rides has pony rides for the kids, 2 years and up, which includes unicorn rides featuring Marshmallow and Mabel, the mischievous mini mule. The owners also welcome birthday parties, which include crafts and games. Guests are encouraged to bring their own beverages, party favors, and a birthday cake. The Family Fun Ride has become the big new item as kids as young as age 5 can go on an actual trail ride
with their families. It starts with a pony encounter with a brief lesson, then on to the trail ride. There are three different river trail ride options, 60, 75 or 90 minutes in length.

In the spring, there will be riding lessons for kids and adults and a new feature called “Evening Horse Hangout,” where people can spend an hour with the horse of their choosing and learn the basics of horsemanship and care.

The staff at Santa Ynez Valley Horseback Rides are (from left): trail guide Jennifer Coltrin, assistant manager Michelle Alexander, barn manager Vanessa Soria, owner and general manager Bob Sweeney, trail guide Alyson Helling and trail guide Randi McCoughney.

“Our amazing staff includes lifelong horsewomen who grew up in the Valley and have been riding and competing from childhood,” said Sweeney. “Our lead guide is Vanessa Soria, whose grandfather was the first draft horse provider in Solvang and across the Valley. All of the guides are local horsewomen and moms, which makes it a comfortable experience for the guests and children.” “I have a personal passion for introducing and connecting people to horses,” Sweeney said. “It’s my love language.”
Santa Ynez Valley Horseback Rides is located inside River View Park at 151 Sycamore Drive, Buellton.

Rides are offered daily, year-round, by appointment only. No riding experience is necessary and discounts
are available for local residents and guests staying at certain hotels.
For more information, call (805) 693-4600, text (805) 705-5458, visit SYVHorsebackRides.com or email Bob@SYVHorsebackRides.com to secure your date or answer any questions.

Trail guide Randi McCoughney gives one of the horses a kiss after a recent ride at River View Park in Buellton.

The post Horseplay Comes to Buellton with New Riding Stable appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Contributed photos
Sojourner Kincaid Rolle (left) and Chryss Yost, both former Santa Barbara poet laureates, will judge the entries in the Wilding Museum’s Earth Day poetry competition.


STAFF REPORT

The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to announce its second annual Earth Day
poetry competition with this year’s theme, “Climate Change: Our Impact.”
Santa Barbara County writers of all ages are invited to use poetry to interpret the effects of climate change and our role in a variety of ways, with separate judging categories for youth (ages 17 and younger) and adult writing submissions.
The competition is intended to honor Earth Day while highlighting the importance of standing up to protect the planet’s dwindling natural resources and working against the threats of climate change. The deadline to submit work for consideration is Monday, March 21, at 5 p.m.
Poetry entries will be judged by poets Sojourner Kincaid Rolle and Chryss Yost, both former Santa Barbara Poet Laureates.
Adult poetry entrants will have the opportunity to win First Prize ($200), Second Prize ($100), and Third Prize
(Family Membership to Wildling Museum). Youth poetry entrants will have the opportunity to win First Prize ($100), Second Prize ($50), and Third Prize (Family Membership to the Wildling Museum).
The competition will culminate at the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day celebration hosted by the Community
Environmental Council (CEC), taking place on Saturday, April 23, at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. The top three winning poems in both the Adult and Youth categories will be selected ahead of Earth Day with the chance for winners to read at the Santa Barbara Earth Day celebration. Top winners will also be featured on the Wildling Museum website in the Spring of 2022.
Competition entrants must reside in Santa Barbara County. No more than three works may be submitted per person. Complete poetry competition guidelines, prize details, and entry forms are available on the Wildling Museum’s website at www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/2022-earth-day-poetry-competition.
Please email info@wildlingmuseum.org or call (805) 686-8315 with any questions.

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Photo Contributed Barry Resetco pushes his grandniece Tabitha, sitting on bags of rice and lentils, on Jan. 22 during the STOMP out Hunger event in Solvang.

Pamela Dozois
Contributing Writer

No one needs to go hungry in this world. That is the sentiment held by local resident Teri Harmon, who teamed up with 200 generous Valley volunteers in late January to assemble more than 130,000 meals to be sent to children living in impoverished villages in Uganda.

The program is called “OneMeal” and is one of three sponsored by “Kids Around the World” a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit that empowers groups to be a part of the solution of child malnutrition. Another of the group’s projects is the “Playground Project.”

“I initially partnered with Kids Around the World and one of their projects is to refurbish old playground equipment, which is then sent to third world countries for less than 10 percent of the cost of a new playground,” said Harmon. “I took short-term mission trips to Uganda, Ghana, and Swaziland to install playgrounds in each of these different countries and bring awareness to my team of just how lucky we are to live in the United States. Children need to play as part of their overall development.
“This is where they learn to share, interact with each other, and get exercise.”
And it was that project that led Harmon to her efforts to combat hunger.

“Kids Around the World also has a food program in these same impoverished communities called ‘OneMeal’ where they may qualify to receive the vitamin-fortified meals that we assembled on January 22 at the Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church at the ‘STOMP out Hunger’ project,” she said. “Kids Around the World have different contacts at different care points, such as orphanages, schools, homes, churches, and community feeding centers within each country and they know which communities are in the most need of food.”

Harmon personally sponsored the STOMP out Hunger event and Kids Around the World brought in all the ingredients such as rice, lentils, freeze-dried vegetables, and vitamin packets to be assembled by her team of volunteers. She explained that all of these ingredients go into one bag and one bag contains six meals. Thirty-six of these bags go into one box which is then sealed, placed on pallets, and packed into two vans which were then returned to Kids Around the World in San Clemente.
The boxes will then be loaded on cargo ships destined for different countries around the world. One box can feed one child for an entire school year.

“I personally have served thousands of these meals and I’ve noticed it is very nourishing for their bodies,” said Harmon. “The kids on the OneMeal program look good. They live from day to day and these meals provide a consistent nutritional balance.”

Harmon said she hopes to make this an annual project.
“I did one of these events before and I wanted to make it an annual event, but COVID hit and we had to take a break,” she said. “But people are still in need, maybe more so now, so I threw caution to the wind and with a lot of faith and good instincts about our very giving community, I’ve committed to doing one of these projects every year, God willing.”

Harmon didn’t hesitate to credit the people who helped her get the project off the ground.
“I couldn’t have done this without the help of Joanne Clark’s connections in getting the word out. It was all done by word of mouth,” she said. “Linda Johansen helped get the word out to the Rotarians and I started making a lot of phone calls, emails, and social media posts, and it worked.”
When Harmon was initially planning the event, she said she was a little nervous that she wasn’t getting enough RSVPs to put it on.

“The RSVPs were coming in slowly, but our amazing Santa Ynez Valley community came in and surprised me. Two hundred people showed up to help out,” said Harmon. “It was a Valley-wide effort. Everyone arrived at 11 a.m. and we were finished by 3 p.m.

The volunteers who helped put on the event came from many different sources.
“Students from Santa Ynez Valley High School, Midland, and Dunn schools helped me to set up all the tables, which were rented, and did all the heavy lifting,” Harmon said. “There were tables inside the family center, on the patios, outside the church, and up and down the sidewalks. Thirty-five Solvang Rotarians arrived along with six Los Olivos Rotarians, more than 65 members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, from many different wards, also came to help.

“There were family units as well as one man in particular, my Drivers Ed instructor from 1973 (he had also taught my daughter 10 years ago) who showed up to help and mentioned he was glad I had mentioned in my email that volunteers between the ages of 10 and 99 were needed, since he was 94. There were some pretty fast assemblers between Dunn and Midland schools but mostly from very dedicated people who wanted to be there, both inside and outside in the fresh air.”

Despite here earlier worries, Harmon was thrilled at the outcome of the event.
“It was poetry in motion, everyone working together in the spirit of giving and it was a beautiful day,” she said. “I met so many people for the first time. It was an amazing event. The final count was 130,200 meals beating our previous record of 100,000!”
For more information, email terisue.harmon@gmail.com.

Photo Contributed More than 65 waving members of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints came to help assemble meals in Solvang for the STOMP out Hunger event in January.

Photo Contributed
Students from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, and Midland and Dunn schools helped to assemble meals at the STOMP out Hunger event.



Photo Contributed
Several tables were set up outside of Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church, where volunteers assembled meals for the STOMP out Hunger event.

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Cora Idelia Vandecar – (Feb. 1, 1924 – May 25, 2017) Solvang – Page 4

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