Valley View Appaloosa Ranch
Gold Bar JB World Champion @ Halter, English & Western Pleasure 1975
Gold Bar JB Painting by Shirley Effinger-Smith 1979 Gold Bar JB World Champion 1975 to 1979--Photograph 1979
The ranch was started in the summer of 1972 on a 31 acre plot of land in Murrietta, California. Our four children, Valerie (11) Brian (16) Lynn (22) and his wife Kathy, Kirk (23) and his fiance Kaye spent six months helping build fences, the first Barn and the shelter for the 28 foot trailer that was to be our temporary home until we could construct other facicilties.
From 1972 and continuing to 1980, the ranch grew to become one of the largest Appaloosa breeding ranches in the U.S. with four world champion stallions standing at stud and 64 brood mares. During that time, Valerie became an accomplished rider. Along with her champion buckskin horse "Bucky" Valerie won many ribbons and trophies in shows from California to New York.
Gold Bar JB was our first prize stallion, followed by Silver and Gold's Equal, also a world champion at Halter, Western and English Pleasure as well as holding the record for five furlongs in racing. Silver and gold's equal was Gold Bar's brother. Another of our prize stallions was Ocala Might a world champion racer, holding many records.
Breeding, Raising, and showing horses was an experience that none of our family will ever forget. The image of new born foals romping in the pastures and the thrill of seeing our many prize horses win at county fairs and shows will remain vivid in our memories.
Legend has it that there really was "Gold in them Thar Hills"
But the real Gold was in the stallions, mares, trainers and handlers at Valley View Appaloosa ranch as the foals began to emerge from our breeding program.
A
new Appaloosa is born!
We cross-bred quarter horse and thorobred mares to our prize Appaloosa stallions, each spring waiting to see if our new-borns would have spots. No spots, no Appaloosa. By 1979, we had 64 brood mares in foal, and we were showing an average of eight horses at fairs and horse shows around the country.
Lunch
time!
Watching a new foal begin walking within minutes, running within hours, and having instincts of where to go for food is really a special treat.
Buddies
and Moms.
Foals and mares are kept in separate paddocks until they are weaned. Once weaned, they are turned out to larger enclosures to romp and run.
Stalls decorated and ready.
Valley View Appaloosa Ranch stalls at the Los Angeles County Fair Grounds, where our horses won several ribbons, trophies and silver buckles.
Silver N Gold's Equal
Gold Bar JB's half brother and World Champion at Halter and Western Pleasure, holder of the world racing record for five furlongs.
One of our Trainers, Diane Digino and Gold Bar JB on the cover of Horsewoman Magazine. Diane rode Gold Bar JB in Western Pleasure competition for our ranch and was Valerie's tutor for riding and competing.
Daughter Valerie and her prize gelding "Bucky" the only Apaloosa to ever win in Western Pleasure, Halter and English pleasure three years in a row at the Los Angeles County Fair.
Valerie and Bucky standing at Halter--1978 Los Angeles County Fair--they got their First Place Blue Ribbon here.
And the winner is.........Quinta's Merlyn Bert (AKA Bucky)
Main Barn, paddocks, #2 barn at the ranch and entrance sign. There were three barns, 45 paddocks and four large pastures for the horses to graze in. The entire family, along with a few "volunteer" friends built all of the barns, fences and roads, and installed all of the irrigation system throughout the ranch over a period of seven years.
The last structure we built was the ranch house. We lived in a manufactured home until the house was built, then we had a ranch manager live in the modular home, and brought another modular to the ranch to house the trainers. The home was started the day after Thanksgiving 1978, and we had Christmas dinner in the home twenty-nine days later. I designed and built the home all out off wood, inside and out including the foundation which was a post-and-beam construction. Carpeting and tile on the floors and counter tops were the only non-wood materials in the home. The roof was insulated with 2 inch thick aluminum and styrafoam, and covered with cement tile. The project was great fun and a real surprise for the family.