PrintArt Perry
Just 35 miles northwest of Santa Barbara over the San Marcos Pass lies the idyllic Santa Ynez Valley. This is California wine and horse country, as picturesque a place as you’re going to find. “As you come over the pass, there’s this beautiful vista that spreads out before your eyes. In May it’s very green,” says Art Perry, whose Intrepid Farms in the Santa Ynez Valley hosts the Light Hands Horsemanship clinic. “There’s still lots of open land — very rural — privately owned by ranchers who raise cattle.”
Once the Mecca of Arabians in the United States, the Santa Ynez Valley is now the home of some of the best Thoroughbred farms in the country. “It rivals Kentucky in some ways,” Perry says. “Many of the horses raised here go to Kentucky sales and end up becoming racehorses. We have some of the best breeders here in the country. We have Icelandics, Arabians, Morgans, as well as quarter horses.”
C&I caught up with Perry as he was making preparations for the May 2010 Light Hands Horsemanship clinic to talk horses and history, wine and wonderful weather, and the valley that brings them all together in one fabulous California location.
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Great California Weather
It’s very temperate here. The valley’s weather is about six and six: six days of extreme cold, say 27 degrees, and six days of hot, where it will get up to 100. Other than that, the average is between 75 and 85 degrees during the summer.
Great Riding
Imagine the combination of that climate, this gorgeous countryside, and horseback riding. The riding here is excellent — oh, my God, yeah. We have areas where you can go and ride unobstructed and uninhibited. Behind Lake Cachuma, for instance, there’s the Cachuma Lake Recreation Area, where you can saddle up and ride through the entire thing without coming across a fence. It’s loaded with wildlife — deer, turkey, bobcats — and you occasionally see animals while riding. You can still ride in the valley; it’s still rural enough with green on both sides of the roads. People in the valley are pretty savvy about riding, so they slow down. www.countyofsb.org/parks/parks05.aspx?id=13440&terms=cachuma+lake.
Rancheros Visitadores Ride
One of the great rides in the country, the Rancheros Visitadores, or “Visiting Ranchers,” happens right here. It comprises horsemen from around California, around the country — even the world. This year, they’re expected to have about 700 riders and up to 30 covered wagons, buggies, and coaches. It’s by invitation only and it’s high-priced. It goes throughout the valley for eight days, crossing many of the prominent ranches in the valley; they all open their gates and right of way so people can ride. [Canceled in 2009 when a new property owner refused to give permission, the ride is back in 2010 after the issue was resolved.] It starts at the Old Mission Santa Inés with a blessing and goes for eight days with overnight camping. It is magical. It’s one of the highlights of the year in the valley, happening around the first of May, shortly before the Light Hands Horsemanship clinic.
EnlargeWonderful Wine Region
The Santa Ynez Valley has become one of the premium wine-producing areas in the country, almost rivaling Napa Valley. It’s home to many outstanding vineyards. Right next door to us is a winery called Bridlewood (www.bridlewoodwinery.com); it’s a wonderful place to visit. The wineries are all open for visits for anybody to come.
They’re all within a 10-mile radius, and there are maps showing the wine trail. All of the wineries are beautifully presented. They’re new but built in the old-fashioned way, and they have lovely tasting rooms. One of my favorites is Firestone (www.firestonewine.com). The Firestone family really got wine-growing started in the valley. Of course [the late] Fess Parker — he was Davy Crockett — has his winery here (www.fessparker.com). www.santabarbara.winecountry.com.
Seeing Santa Ynez Sideways
The Santa Ynez Valley is the area portrayed in the movie Sideways. A lot of the movie was shot in Los Olivos (www.losolivosca.com), which is just a short drive from my farm. Since that movie was shot, the little town of Los Olivos has become the Mecca for people who love wine. They even have Sideways tours. Fess Parker Wine Country Inn is on the main street in Los Olivos, and the town is filled with many small art galleries. It’s also the home of Mattei’s Tavern (www.matteistavern.com), a historical landmark since the late 1800s — it’s still going strong and houses one of the best restaurants in the valley called The Brothers. You have to reserve that place a week in advance.
EnlargeThe Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and Parks-Janeway Carriage House
One of the best small museums anywhere is right here. The Parks-Janeway Carriage House is one of the valley’s best-kept secrets (www.santaynezmuseum.org). The Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society houses one of the best carriage collections anywhere; it’s just loaded with fantastic carriages. At the Light Hands Horsemanship Clinic, we arrange a tour of it. The museum really tells the story of early life here in the valley and the vaquero tradition. Also, the Carriage and Western Art Museum in Santa Barbara is filled with Western memorabilia and has a wonderful saddle collection, including some that belonged to Will Rogers, Clark Gable, and Jimmy Stewart (www.carriagemuseum.org).
The Cowboy Museum
One of the finest collections I’ve ever seen is Mr. and Mrs. Jim Grimm’s private Cowboy Museum: thousands of bits, bridles, saddles — anything to do with Western memorabilia. It’s so much that I’ve been to it at least 15 times and I’ve not seen everything yet.
Old Mission Santa Inés
One of the valley’s big attractions is the old Spanish mission, which was founded in 1804 as the 19th of 21 Spanish Franciscan missions in California. It’s near the center of Santa Barbara County about 45 miles north of Santa Barbara, between Old Mission Santa Barbara to the southeast and La Purisima Mission to the northwest. It still has religious services, but visitors can tour it [by audio tour]. It’s a beautiful setting, and you can see the lovely historic mission buildings and grounds and its collections of paintings, artifacts, and religious statues and vestments and the like. www.missionsantaines.org.
Get Your Danish in Solvang
Not far from the mission in the valley is the Danish village of Solvang (www.solvangusa.com), which itself is a great destination — a very quaint village with a Danish look and Danish food. Windmills, smorgasbords — lots of Danish culture, including a museum [Elverhøj] devoted to the town’s Danish heritage and art (www.elverhoj.org). There’s also the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and a vintage motorcycle museum (www.motosolvang.com).
Hiking and Driving
There are wonderful scenic drives all around the valley and terrific places that you can drive out to for hiking. There are also beautiful drives up through the wine country. The valley borders Los Padres National Forest (www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres), which is open for hiking and camping. There’s a beautiful drive up Figueroa Mountain; up that road is the Michael Jackson ranch, Neverland — people like to drive by the gate.
Intrepid Farms
This is the farm where I raise Morgan horses. It’s really the second chapter for me. We were in Carpinteria [a small community near Santa Barbara] for 35 years. We’ve been raising Morgan horses for some 50 years now. We have placed horses as far away as China, Sweden, Canada, and England. The Intrepid name is known worldwide; we still raise world champions here. When people come for the Light Hands Horsemanship clinic, I will have my world champion stallion, Intrepid Behold, here. He’s out of an eight-time world champion mare I bred called Intrepid Immortal Beloved. I think we’ll have a small baby on the ground by the time people arrive [for the May 2010 clinic]. www.intrepidfarms.com.
Intrepid Collection
My own collection consists of many, many equine artifacts, including bronzes, paintings, prints, carousel horses, weather vanes, cast-iron toys, and mechanical toys. My collecting started with my interest in the Morgan horse; the collection will eventually go to the National Museum of the Morgan Horse in Shelburne, Vermont. During the Light Hands clinic, we give tours of the collection.
EnlargeLight Hands Horsemanship
When people come to Intrepid Farms for this clinic, they won’t just come to listen to how to handle a horse. Although every trainer who participates is a star because they’ve done so much in their own right, Eitan Beth-Halachmy is our star, the person of our group who really draws people, along with Dr. Robert M. Miller. We have people coming from Hungary and Argentina to our 2010 clinic. In the past, we’ve attracted folks from Brazil, Australia, England, Canada, and across the United States. While they’re here for the clinic, visitors take part in not just the Light Hands experience, but also dinners and entertainment. The farm gets turned into a country-fair atmosphere — we have flags and tents where vendors sell boots, saddlery, clothing, etc. All these vendors are one of the attractions because it’s great access to the fine products produced for horses.
People coming to the clinic are always happy when they build in extra time for a great vacation because of all the interesting things in the valley and the proximity to Santa Barbara. www.lighthandshorsemanship.com.
So Close to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, which is right on the coast, is close to the Santa Ynez Valley. The shortest way is over San Marcos Pass, which is such a picturesque drive. You’re at about 2,200 feet at the top of the pass, so you get a great vista of the valley and you see Lake Cachuma in the distance. There are no large housing developments bothering the view. The valley’s a wonderful place to be, and I’m so pleased that I can spend my time here to the end. Though I’ve traveled to many places in the world, it’s always great to come back home to the valley.
Read the Light Hands Horsemanship feature from the June 2010 issue of C&I.
