Horseback Riding

A bullet damaged the brain of Gilberto Hernandez, 18, of Mission Hills. Car accidents caused brain injuries to Dawn Rader, 22, of Canoga Park, and Lloyd Anderson, 24, of North Hills, both of whom must now use walkers to get around. But through a Chatsworth-based horsemanship program for the disabled, all three--and many other riders--receive steady physical exercise and the kind of effective, fun therapy that usually doesn't come cheap.

Yosemite Valley would have more camp sites and parking spaces - and the number of daily visitors would not be reduced - under a National Park Service plan intended to ease congestion in one of the country's most scenic spots. The proposal is the agency's third attempt to produce a legally acceptable management plan for the Merced River and the ever popular valley that it flows through. Environmental groups have twice sued the agency, winning court orders that compelled the park service to draw up new blueprints.

City officials have decided to keep in the books an ordinance prohibiting horseback riding on city streets, though there's a very slim chance of someone actually doing that. The last known horse stable in the city closed more than 20 years ago, and there are no horses here anymore, except at the Los Alamitos Race Track, which is in Cypress. Although City Atty. Thomas W.

A battle over use of a pair of popular Santa Clarita Valley nature trails has pitted hikers and equestrians against mountain bikers and fueled debate over whether Los Angeles County cyclists are getting sidelined. Cyclists were barred from the Canyon Trail in the Placerita Canyon Natural Area until 2007. That's when the county mistakenly posted a "multi-use" sign at the trail head. The nearly two-mile route quickly became a biker favorite - until hikers complained and the county corrected the signs last year.

State Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) will discuss a proposed law that seeks to protect horse stable operators from lawsuits by injured riders, at a public meeting Thursday at Pierce College. "We are asking that horseback riding be considered a dangerous sport like bungee jumping," said Mary Kaufman, an equine legislation spokeswoman.

Few visitors to Kiev's natural history museum notice the skull of a stallion in a quiet corner of the prehistoric animal hall. The woolly mammoth skeleton, standing 12 feet at the shoulder, is much more impressive. But 6,000 years ago, that stallion may have been part of a development nearly as significant as the invention of the wheel. Some intrepid forebear of today's Ukrainians probably stuck an animal bone in its mouth, attached reins, climbed aboard the beast and invented horseback riding.

The Therapeutic Riding Center of Huntington Beach, which advocates horseback riding as an exercise to help restore the health of disabled persons, will begin classes later this month at Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center. The inaugural class will take place Oct. 16 as part of a fund-raising event at the equestrian center. The therapeutic center will be the first in the northwest part of the county, said David J. Allen, its founder and executive administrator.

A group that uses horseback riding for the rehabilitation of disabled people won a reprieve Tuesday when a Los Angeles City Council panel dismissed a proposal to revoke the facility's permit. City Councilman Hal Bernson, whose district includes the stable, said Special Equestrian Riding Therapy Inc. had revamped the operation, installing landscaping and systems to control dust, flies and odor, so it is less of a nuisance to neighbors.

Every day at Ahead With Horses, children make small strides over their disabilities. "But the kids always do their absolute best in front of a crowd," said Denise Tomey, program coordinator of the agency. This Sunday is "Fun Day" at the agency, which uses the therapeutic nature of horseback riding to build motor control and break through emotional barriers of disabled children.

The family of a 9-year-old Orange County boy killed in a horseback riding accident in Palm Springs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the stable owners, a lawyer said Wednesday. Anthony "Tony" Martinez of Laguna Niguel was riding with his parents, brother and other relatives at the Smoke Tree Stables in the Colorado Desert on Christmas Day when a barking dog spooked the horses. Tony's horse bolted, throwing the boy and dragging him.

THAILAND Natural and man-made landmarks On Friendly Planet Travel's "A Taste of Thailand," travelers journey along Bangkok's waterways and visit many of the country's highlights, including the Bridge at the River Kwai, ornate palaces, massive Buddhas and UNESCO World Heritage sites. The itinerary provides ample leisure time for independent exploration and to partake in optional add-on experiences that include bathing elephants or sunbathing in Phuket. Itinerary: Bangkok to Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, the River Kwai and back to Bangkok Dates: Multiple nine-day departures offered between Nov. 22 and April 25 Price: Starting at $1,499, double occupancy (single supplement $199)

Hindered by a speech impediment, Esai Mora struggles to be understood. But there's one word that he takes extra care to pronounce: "independent." Independence may be the most important aspect of his experience at Camp Bloomfield, a program run by Junior Blind of America for vision-impaired or multi-disabled youth and their families. When asked to tell the date camp starts, Esai responds without hesitation: "June 22nd." The 13-year-old is eager to return to Camp Bloomfield, located in Malibu's Santa Monica Mountains 50 miles from his Compton home.

WASHINGTON STATE Magical trail ride We just returned from Orcas Island, Wash., and discovered a magical private trail horseback ride. Trails wind through lush forest and down to the beach. Rides are tailored to groups. Turtlehead Farm, 231 Lime Quarry Road, Eastsound 98245; (360) 376-3649, www.turtleheadfarm.com. Rides from $55/hour. Debbie Fawcett Seal Beach

ANGELES National Forest officials inaugurated the Indian Canyon Trail head last week in Soledad Canyon, near Agua Dulce, to accommodate off-road vehicle users and horse riders. The trail head serves as a jumping-off point for the Indian Canyon off-highway vehicle route and for the 2,655-mile Pacific Crest Trail. Off-highway vehicle users are not allowed on the PCT.

HAWKE'S BAY, once the domain of gentleman farmers, has bloomed into a haven for oenophiles, fishermen and nature lovers. On the southeastern end of New Zealand's North Island, the arc of coast and inland plains encompasses swaths of empty beach; gentle, rolling landscape; abundant orchards; and superb trout fishing in broad, meandering rivers. The region also boasts one killer aquarium. I am standing in it now, in an acrylic tunnel staring at the underbelly of several 8-foot sharks.

I GLANCE AT FLOYD Gomez, then down at the scrubby arroyos below. Inexplicably, I feel a thousand years old. Floyd, in profile with his black hair braided, sitting motionless on a red-blond mare, could be a thousand years old. The bark of dogs and a horse's call rise on the breeze above Taos Pueblo, echoing in gently sloped juniper canyons, floating across imagined centuries. Everything around us feels ancient, even the air.

For Alison Barth, the fun starts the night before. "Just talking about riding the next day brings on a big smile," said her grandmother, Rosemarie Barth of Irvine. "She just lives for it." Alison, 11, is one of 75 riders who train at the Fran Joswick Therapeutic Riding Center in a rural area along Trabuco Creek. Riders of all ages and with all sorts of disabilities, mental and physical, use horseback riding at the center as a form of therapy.

Chatsworth resident Gloria Hamblin has started a new therapeutic horseback-riding charity in the wake of her departure from another Chatsworth riding group, the Institute of Equestrian Therapy, which is under investigation by the state attorney general. Hamblin, who was one of two founders of the Institute of Equestrian Therapy, was fired after raising questions about alleged mismanagement of the institute. Her queries prompted the attorney general's investigation.

EVERY year in mid-September, I go to a rodeo in my neighborhood of Carmel Valley. It is so close that I can see the arenas from the deck of my house and hear the announcer's voice wafting through my front windows. The presiding spirits of this rodeo, known as the Carmel Valley Ranchers' Days, are the brothers Bill and Tom Dorrance, inventors of what is often called natural horsemanship. The Dorrances are legendary in this part of the world.