horses. Growing up in Imperial County, she started riding at a young age and entered horse shows throughout Southern California. Today, 32 years after she established the Dana Smith Show Team, Smith is instilling the lessons she learned as a girl in riders of all ages.
Whether in a riding camp for adults or a Girl Scout troop out- ing, each guest receives a hands on equestrian learning experi- ence where proper care and riding techniques, horsemanship, ranch rules and equine etiquette are taught. “There is a lot of respect for the animal,” Smith said. These are lessons carried
throughout the local equestrian community. At the family owned and operated Bridges Equestrian, riding lessons and Pony Club go further than the stable or riding arena—the staff here is dedi- cated to developing each riders’ character, leadership and poise through equestrian sports. “If you can learn to teach a
horse to do something, you can work with any person,” Bridges said. “We make that connection all the time. It isn’t just about entertainment—it’s about leader- ship, stewardship and sports- manship.” The horse-human relationship can have a profound impact on both animal and man. There is no greater example of the positive influences equestrian-based ac- tivities can have than at The Shea Center for Therapeutic Riding. The Shea Center is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to im- proving lives through therapeutic riding programs. For more than 30 years, clients have left The Shea Center stronger and more able, said Dana Butler-Moberg, executive director of The Shea Center. “Everyone is able,” she said, “Even though we are servic- ing people who are disabled.” The Center has grown as San Juan’s equestrian community has—exponentially. When start- ed in 1978 The Shea Center was operated on 2 acres of leased land. Today, the center is housed in a $13 million facility built on its own property, allowing The Shea Center to grow their clientele and programming. Each week more than 200 volunteers help around 200 clients. Coupled with
20 full-time staff members and 20 part-time staffers, The Shea Center is able to provide physi- cal, occupational and speech therapies in an equestrian setting for more than 800 clients each year. The Center has also devel- oped partnerships with local high schools and internship programs with universities, which have assisted in more than 20,000 vol- unteers from across the country to be trained in equine assisted therapy programs. “Our ratio of volunteers to staff is about 8 to 1—they multiply our ability to serve. That’s what I love about this grassroots level of ser- vice, this community level,” Butler Moberg said of volunteers that make The Shea Center capable of serving clients from Orange, San Diego, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.
QUANTIFYING THE EQUINE IMPACT San Juan isn’t just a one-horse
town. According to the San Juan Capistrano Equestrian Coalition, the city is actually home to about 1,500 horses—California’s high- est per capita ratio of horses to people, approximately 1 to 23. The not-for-profit coalition was established in 2003 to promote San Juan’s equestrian lifestyle through community outreach and education. Every August, the organization brings residents together for Two Stepping Under the Stars—a night of fun, food, entertainment and education at Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park. The 42-acre park and open space preserve is the county’s
hub for equestrian and other competitive sports. Home to sports fields and Blenheim Equisports—a San Juan Cap- istrano based equestrian event management company—the riding park plays host to local and international competitions the whole year through.
Each summer the riding park sees the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s top 30 contestants in saddle bronc and bareback riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, bull riding and team roping compete in the country’s richest two-day ro- deo—the Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo with a purse totaling more than $250,000. The rodeo celebrates the American West and the cowboy way of life. This August, more than 9,000 people gathered in San Juan Capistrano for the 15th annual event, which carries on the cowboy tradition of “passing
the hat.” All proceeds of the event benefit local charities, such as The Shea Center and Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Nearly every week of the year, San Juan hosts an equestrian event. Horse show, hunter derby, show jumping and grand prix events showcase regional and national, amateur and profession- al equestrian sports competition. For three consecutive Olympic games San Juan Capistrano welcomed the Olympic Eques- trian Team trials, a competition determining the United States equestrian sports representatives for the Summer Games in Syd- ney, Athens, Beijing—2000, 2004 and 2008, respectively. These contests routinely draw competitors from across the nation, who can call San Juan Capistrano home for weeks on end. Like horse boarders, both those who live locally and those from out of town making trips to one of 13 local stables, these out-of-town visitors make a sig- nificant contribution to the local community and its economy. “They center everything on their trips to the barn,” said Julie Ryan-Johnson, a veterinarian and SJCEC president. “They are eat- ing here, staying here, shopping, caring for their horses, visiting veterinarians and more here.” The coalition has now em-
Dana Smith Show Team
barked on a mission to quantify what the equestrian community means to local merchants. The private, Orange-based Chapman University has been commis- sioned to conduct a survey on the impact horse shows and other equestrian events have on the community at large. Results are expected later this year.
PROVIDING UNPARALLELED CARE In 2007, as the Witch Creek
Fire burned more than 1,000 homes in San Diego, more than 700 horses were evacuated from northern San Diego County to the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park. The equestrian commu- nity rallied together to provide care. The city’s Large Animal Response Team was formed soon thereafter to help people evacuate and shelter their horses and other large animals during emergencies.
The Shea Center Horse and rider take top prior- (Cont on page 14)
VISITSJC.COM SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS DIRECTORY & VISITOR GUIDE 13
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