Horse Shows

The Friends of Old Agoura Park will hold a horse show Sept. 17 to benefit the newly constructed regional equestrian facility in Agoura Hills. The show will run from 8 a.m. to about 3 p.m. at the facility, bordered by Chesebro Road, Colodny Drive and Driver Avenue. Registration begins at 7 a.m. The equestrian facility is part of a new 10-acre park being completed in two phases in old Agoura. The facility links up with the Zuma Ridge Trail, an equestrian trail running through the county.

At a Simi Valley ranch where he is boarding 67 horses, Normand Latourelle admires how closely the skies resemble the 3-D projections for the new "Cavalia" show he's bringing to Burbank. "We have that!" he says pointing to the powder-blue swirls. As if on cue, a herd of scrubbed gray stallions in a nearby paddock shake their streaming manes and set off on a sweeping group canter. "Cavalia" creator Latourelle conceived "Odysseo," the follow-up to his touring equine performance show, as a man-and-horse fantasy.

The 45th Portuguese Bend National Horse Show at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates will be Friday through Sunday, with events beginning at 8 a.m. and running until approximately 5 p.m. each day. The event, a fund-raiser for the pediatric nursing program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, will feature equestrian competition in hunter and jumper classes, including the $10,000 Seahorse Classic at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

Lucrative purses, large fields, good crowds, new standouts — it made for a memorable 37-day race meeting that ended Wednesday at Del Mar. From the emergence of Acclamation as a horse-of-the-year candidate to the unveiling of promising 2-year-olds, Del Mar produced quality races and quality entertainment. It started with a record crowd of 46,588 on opening day, and the fans kept coming, averaging 17,844 in daily on-track attendance. The highest overnight purses of any meeting this summer, plus incentives for owners to ship in horses from out of state, created rare full fields in Southern California racing, something that Hollywood Park and Santa Anita have struggled to accomplish.

The Assistance League of Santa Clarita is looking for some help of its own with a four-day horse show that organizers hope will raise $10,000 to $20,000 for the charitable agency. Proceeds from the sale of food, programs and T-shirts at the fifth annual Camelot Classic Horse Show, which begins today, will go to the group.

Connie Smith and Sue Strahan were tired of their duties as "horse show mothers," constantly being sent to the tack shop to pick up supplies and equipment while their children were riding. So they turned their problem into an advantage--and a business. "We thought there had to be an easier way. You can't ride the horse to the tack shop every time you need something, so why not bring the tack shop to the horse?" Strahan asked. Outdoor Outfitters, their mobile tack shop, was born seven years ago.

For the last six weeks, this desolate desert hideaway known for its date trees and triple-digit summers has been awash with Hollywood celebrities, Olympic-caliber athletes and software executives in town for one of the country's premier equestrian events.

Bounding out of her Range Rover, Joan Irvine Smith stood in the dirt amid the ruts of caterpillar tractors and scanned the untarnished beauty of the green hills surrounding her. At her feet stretched 40 acres of brown earth that the 61-year-old heiress referred to as her "field of dreams." By August she intends to turn it into a grassy park capable of hosting international horse shows and a variety of other public events, ranging from soccer games to concerts.

Twelve hundred pounds of horseflesh is galloping across the manicured green field. Thundering hoofs tear into the turf, the thoroughbred's flank muscles rippling and veins bulging with each stride. The scent of leather is everywhere, from the white lather under the saddle pad to the tall black riding boots rubbing against the horse's sweaty sides. "Eeeeeeee-yahhhhh!" comes a low growl from the rider as the mount sits back on its haunches and hurdles itself over a 5-foot-high fence.

Family-oriented musical group The Jets will perform at 7:30 p.m. on the Grandstand Stage. Celebrity look-alikes will compete at 5 p.m. at the Picnic Stage. Every day: More than a dozen exhibits and shows, including flower and garden, livestock, industrial education, coins, agriculture, gems and minerals, photography, hobbies and woodworking. Fun Zone Carnival with more than 140 rides and games, including two roller coasters. Kiddie Carnival with rides and games for young children.

LAS VEGAS BikeFest When, where: Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, mostly at the Cashman Center Highlights: Some 30,000 bikers descend on Las Vegas for this 10th annual rally of revving engines, bikini-clad models and more than 250 vendors selling anything a Harley devotee would ever need. Events include a bike builders' competition, the crowning of Mr. and Miss Las Vegas, the World's Strongest Biker Contest and a custom-bike show. Cost: Party Pass, $40; Ultimate Pass, $65. Vendor Village admission, $15. Info: (702)

For the last six weeks, this desolate desert hideaway known for its date trees and triple-digit summers has been awash with Hollywood celebrities, Olympic-caliber athletes and software executives in town for one of the country's premier equestrian events.

In a lot across from the Glendale Galleria, performers from "Cavalia" have commandeered an abandoned building. Inside, it's like camp for adults -- with no-smoking signs in French, acrobats eating lunch at rickety tables and, in a nearby tent, a stable full of white stallions. "Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Horse and Man" was created by Normand Latourelle, one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil. It is a circus of sorts -- with horses.

The 45th Portuguese Bend National Horse Show at Ernie Howlett Park in Rolling Hills Estates will be Friday through Sunday, with events beginning at 8 a.m. and running until approximately 5 p.m. each day. The event, a fund-raiser for the pediatric nursing program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, will feature equestrian competition in hunter and jumper classes, including the $10,000 Seahorse Classic at 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

The Interscholastic Equestrian League will present its sixth horse show of the season beginning at 8 a.m. today at The Oaks-Blenheim Exhibitions in San Juan Capistrano. The league is made up of more than 150 students representing more than 50 schools in Orange County. Information: 949-481-7444 or www.ociel@ociel.org.

The Ventura County chapter of the California Dressage Society is holding a schooling horse show today at Castlerock Farms that is open to the public. A combination of grace and athleticism, dressage is a competitive equestrian sport in which a rider takes a horse through a series of figures and movements. The horse and rider are judged on how well they complete those movements and on the horse's natural gait.

Horses boarded at the Orange County Fairgrounds may be able to stay in their stalls after all. In October, the board of directors of the Orange County Fair and Exposition Center considered closing the money-losing Equestrian Center to boarders and keeping the arenas open only for traveling horse shows. They postponed a decision when boarders protested.

Patty Mayer may be the only lawyer in America whose employment contract contains a horse leave. She is 41 years old and hasn't gone on a date in eight years. She says it's because she's over-educated and unattractive. That's not it. She leads precisely the life she wants. Patty, as her father put it, is in love with her horse. At 5 feet 4, Patty is compact and trim. Oval tortoise-shell glasses frame her hazel green eyes.