PUBLICATION OF

VALENCIA COUNTY NEWS-BULLETIN

MOUNTAIN VIEW TELEGRAPH
EL DEFENSOR CHIEFTAIN

Country

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S o C o r r o , t o r r A n C E A n d VA L E n C I A C o u n t I E S , n M

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Va l e n c i a C o u n t y
News-Bulletin

Editor
Clara Garcia
St a f f W r i t e r s

T ABLE

of CON T EN T S

True cowboy: mirabal

Prize-winning angus bulls

Single action shooting

10

C o w b o y s a n d c a tt l e

12

Baditude bucking bulls

14

Va l e n c i a C o u n t y v e t s

16

Wa l k i n i n c i r c l e s

18

c o w b o y ta i l s

20

ranch life

22

horsin around therapeutic

24

Julia M. Dendinger
Deborah Fox
Kenn Rodriguez
Director of Sales
Joe Mickelson
A d v e r t i s i n g C o n s u lta n t s
Sandra Nadeau
B o b b i e Ch a n d l e r

M o u n ta i n V i e w
Telegraph

Editor
Rory McClannahan
St a f f W r i t e r s
Iain Woessner
Nicole Maxwell

El Defensor
C h i e f ta i n

Editor
Scott Turner
St a f f W r i t e r s
John Larson
J o n at h a n M i l l e r
A d v e r t i s i n g C o n s u lta n t
Olivia Gomez

C o v e r a n d T e m p l at e D e s i g n
B y r o n H u gh e y

COWBOY

Country

Visit with
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Fun for the whole family!

Submitted photo

Magdalena Middle School student Jaxson Mirabal earned a spot on New

Mexicos Junior High School Rodeo national team.

true cowboy

Middle-schooler Mirabal
embodies the Old West
By Jonathan Miller

El Defensor Chieftain Staff Writer

Magdalena
True cowboys are tough. They
have a reputation for being salt of the
earth, sons-of-guns who represent
the good ol days, the rough and
tumble days. They ventured West,
tamed the wild and conquered an
unforgiving and unknown landscape.
If youre looking for a true cowboy
in Socorro County, look no farther
SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

than soon-to-be eighth-grader Jaxson

Mirabal.
Recently the Magdalena Middle
School student earned a spot on New
Mexicos Junior High School Rodeo
national team by cleaning house at
the NMJHS finals in Lovington in
May, but that accomplishment was
more than a year in the making.
In early 2014, Mirabal was preparing to qualify for the national junior
high rodeo as a sixth-grader, but an
injury took him out of the game for
See Mirabal Page 5

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Mirabal: Brand of determination

from page 4

a bit. That injury would have taken

any normal rider several months to
recover from, but Jaxson would have
none of it.
I think thats all hes ever thought
about, is either working on our
ranch or competing in rodeos, said
Jaxsons dad, Jory. He competes in
sports and enjoys that at school, but
he really enjoys working at the ranch
and going to rodeos.
That injury put a gash in Jaxsons
leg so deep it found bone on his
right leg and required more than 80
stitches, but he was so determined to
recover he was literally back in the
saddle the next day against doctors orders.
Clearly no one in the Mirabal family would ever put Jaxson in harms
way, but he carries a brand of determination that got him to the national
finals in Des Moines, Iowa, on June
27 nonetheless.
Im really excited, Jaxson said.
Thats all Ive been thinking about
since I qualified.
In Lovington last month, Jaxson

won the average in goat tying, saddle

bronc and bareback riding to earn
his way to nationals, but anyone
who knows the Mirabals shouldnt
be surprised by his success. After
all, rodeo is a true legacy in Jaxsons
family.
He has several uncles that compete; his mom competed, Jory said.
My granddad rode broncs too, so
its kind of a family thing and he was
drawn to it.
Rodeo is truly a family legacy
and Jaxsons been competing in the
rodeo area since he was 5 years old.
However that doesnt make the job of
a dad any easier.
I worry about him ... As a dad and
as a coach, Im sitting there going
Why in the world am I letting my
kids climb on one of these suckers?
But when you have a kid who
breaks his own horses and all but
blows off an injury that might sideline a professional hockey player,
theres still an inherent level of trust
within the family even for a
See Mirabal, Page 6

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Mirabal: Happy

from page 5

seventh-grader.
I just want him to go compete
and enjoy the experience, and do his
best and let the cards fall where they
might, Jory said. I just hope he
enjoys it and takes it all in.
Not only will Jaxson feel the pressure of competing against the best in
the country in Des Moines in rodeo
events, but hell also feel the pressure
of running for office. Hes running
for vice president of the NJHSRA.
It doesnt seem like all that pressure will affect him too negatively
though.
I just think doing my best and
knowing what I did If I know
I tried my hardest Ill be happy,
Jaxson said.
And of course like a true cowboy,
hell keep it all in the family.
Im just happy for my dad
because he always takes me to all of
these rodeos and supports me.

Submitted photo

Magdalena Middle School student Jaxson Mirabal practices for upcoming rodeo competitions.

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cow-man

Sanchez breeds
prize-winning
Angus bulls
By Kenn Rodriguez

News-Bulletin Staff Writer

Los Chavez
When Patrick Sanchez talks about his Angus bulls, he
can hardly contain his enthusiasm. In fact, talking to him
over ice tea in his home in Los Chavez is a lot like talking
to someone whos discovered exactly what they should be
doing in life which is pretty much the situation he is in.
Sanchez and his wife Theresas company, Sanchez Angus
Cattle and Farm, recently had one of its Angus bulls, named
PS Emblazon 1478, was the top-selling Angus bull out of 80
at New Mexico State Universitys Tucumcari Bull Test.
The average score is 100 and our bull had a 120 to win
it, so our bull is better than the average by 20 percent probably, Sanchez says. There were only 10 bulls over 110, so
it was like running the Kentucky Derby and winning by a
nose. We were really fortunate.
This was the second time Sanchez Angus has produced
See Sanchez Page 9

SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

Kenn Rodriguez-News-Bulletin photo

Patrick Sanchez of Sanchez Angus Cattle and Farm in Los Chavez, recently had one his Angus
bulls, PS Emblazon 1478, honored as the top-selling Angus bull at New Mexico State Universitys
Tucumcari Bull Test.

Sanchez: Two bulls, two prizes

from page 8

the top-selling Angus bull, having

managed the feat first in 2011.
At the time, someone pulled me
aside and told me to really enjoy it
because we had a top-selling bull so
early on, he said. So being able to do
it again this year was a very humbling
experience. We got a hit the first time
and won when we were new in the
registered business but this one seems
to mean a little more because we saw
how hard it is to do it and come back
and repeat.
What makes Sanchezs accomplishment with the Angus bull even more
impressive is that Emblazon 1478 was
a natural born bull, as opposed to
coming from artificial insemination as
many bulls and cows come from when
it comes to gatherings like the NMSU
Bull Test, which was established by
the university in 1961 and is the second oldest bull test in the country.
Bulls are tested for six months to
determine their quality based largely
on how much weight they are able to
gain and how fast, among other criteria.
The sire and the cow he came from
were our best and he ended up being
just a tremendous bull, Sanchez said,
pointing out his bull beat out bulls
from Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado
as well as bulls from New Mexico, for
the honor.
Sanchez, who said his family was
among the four founding families of
Los Chavez, grew up in Albuquerque
and began raising cattle on his land in
the South Valley 20 years ago.
When we first started, it just was
something to put meat in the freezer,
he said. We started with steers, then
bought some mama cows to start
breeding them. We were then running commercial cattle for a while
from there. We got our butts kicked at
first but weve come a long way since
then.
Sanchez said he came into raising
registered Angus cattle in 2008, which
was a big step up from just raising
commercial cattle. The process is
fairly involved, he explained.
You have to go through the
American Angus Association, and
they trace everything back to grandsire, to get genetic traits for not just the
cow, but this goes back to see the sire
of the calf, he explained. They go
back generations, and the cow and bull
has to be registered.

The association goes through a

process called Expected Prodigy
Difference to rate calves once they're
born from the sire, or male parent and
the dam, or female parent.
With EPDs, you know the dams
genetics and the bulls genetics, he
said. Each has their own number and
has its own identity as far as genetic
makeup. You can show it all on paper.
Its the difference between just kicking a cars tires and being able to see
under the hood, if youre buying a
bull.
Though hes found success with a
prize-winning bull twice now, Sanchez
said he wants to continue improving
his livestock, using the technology
available as well as his own effervescent enthusiasm.
Whats kept me going is the passion
to try to raise the best cattle here that
are adaptable to Southwestern conditions, he said. Since I got together
with a fellow with a degree in animal
husbandry, weve been able to develop
efficient cattle that eat less grain and
gain more weight. Its really paid off.
Sanchez has lived off Jose I. Garcia
Road in Los Chavez for the past 10
years, building a house around 2005
and taking over the land, which
includes several nearby lots where he
grows alfalfa and other crops. Behind
his house, his now prized bull rules
the roost with a dozen or so cows and
about as many calves in the field. The
rest of his herd is on range land near
Moriarty.
I kind of grew up around farms and
ranching and I used to help grandpa,
he said. He had small dairy, about
300 acres, and I used to help in the
summer. I always liked the style of living. Once I was able to buy land and
lease some other property, I was able
to acquire cattle and one thing lead to
another.
Now 57, Sanchez, who graduated from Valley High School in
Albuquerque, eventually got into
construction and is now a code
enforcement officer for the city of
Albuquerque, a job he said he will
likely retire from in the next year or
so. Then hell devote his time exclusively to raising cattle.
Itll actually be nice, Sanchez said.
Ill be able to work the farm, about
80-90 acres, and run cattle on weekends. Itll be nice to not have to go to
Albuquerque every day.

COWBOY

Country

10

Shoot em up

SASS in
Edgewood has
100,000 members
By Rory McClannahan

Mountain View Telegraph Editor

Edgewood
Sometimes the best ideas come about when you
are among friends doing the things you enjoy.
Without a group of friends and a common interest in cowboy-era firearms, there might never have
been a Single Action Shooting Society or the sport of
cowboy action shooting.
Now SASS has about 100,000 members worldwide
and thousands of shooters come to Founders Ranch
in Edgewood every year for the annual End of Trail
event that crowns the best shooters in the world.
Both the sport and the organization has grown
beyond the imaginations of that group of friends who
would get together on weekends in the California
desert in the early 1980s and fire a few rounds.
They all grew up watching westerns and had an
affinity for the lifestyle, said Barbara Cat Ballou
Ormond, who along with her husband, Don Tex
Ormond, were there at the beginning.
Word got around that these friends were going out
and shooting and having a good time. More people
started showing up at these excursions and folks
started coming dressed up like theyd just stepped
out of a time machine.
A little organization was needed for these gatherings, so these friends which included Harper
Creigh, Gordon Davis and Bill Hahn came up
with a few competitions with some loose rules.
The first End of Trail was held in 1982 with 65
participants.
By 1987, the original group of friends realized that
the sport was growing and they needed to organize
even further. So in 1987, SASS was created to help
in the development of local clubs and serve as a governing organization for Cowboy Action Shooting.

Telegraph file photo

Shooting and costumes do go together. The Single Action Shooting Societys mission is to promote the
sport of Cowboy Action Shooting and preserve the lifestyle of the Old West. The organization has more
than 100,000 members world wide.
The sport continued to grow, but Ormond said that
by the early 2000s, it was getting more difficult to
hold events in California.
The political climate had changed and we lost our
leased range to a housing development, Ormond
said. We started looking for a new place and fortunately found the property near Edgewood.
By 2004, SASS had moved to New Mexico and
moved onto the 480-acre Founders Ranch. The ranch
has several ranges and horse arenas, but the centerpiece is the Old West main street that was built
on the property. During End of Trail, most of the
Western buildings are used in conjunction with the
event, and any visitor who arrives wearing 21st century duds will look out of place.
A big part of SASS and End of Trail is the celebration of the Old West, which means most folks are
dressed accordingly, Ormond said.

Its just so much fun to pretend for a while. The

world is serious enough, so why not have some fun?
Ormond said.
That attitude carries over to member names. You
could go to a SASS event looking for a friend who
goes by the name Barbara Ormond, for instance,
but to find her you better ask if anyone knows Cat
Ballou.
If there is one thing that is taken seriously by
SASS and its members it is safety. Ranges are
monitored by certified professionals. Firearm safety
courses are required among participants and even the
lowliest of members will chastise anyone who is not
following safety procedures.
In all these years weve never had a serious accident, Ormond said. We want this to be fun for the
See SASS Page 11

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11

Telegraph file photos

Every member of the Single Action Shooting Society gets a badge. The organization was formed in 1987 in California but moved to Edgewood in 2004.

Each year in June, the Single Action Shooting Society hosts its annual Cowboy
Action Shooting event, End of Trail, at Founders Ranch in Edgewood. The
ranch sports ranges, arenas for mounted shooting and an Old West town.

SASS: Fun for the whole family

from page 10

whole family and safety will always be

a priority.
End of Trail is held annually at
Founders Ranch each June. However,
the ranch also hosts several regional

shooting events year-round.

For more information on these
events and about SASS, go online to
www.sassnet.com.

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12

The Trail

Cowboys,
cattle and
a gunslinger
By John Larson

El Defensor Chieftain Staff Writer

Cowboy country in New Mexico can
find its beginnings in the vast plains
and mountains of Socorro and Catron
counties.
Ranching was a way of life for
many, and a good hired hand could
always find work, from the sprawling
ranches like the WS Ranch in Alma to
dozens of smaller cattlegrowers across
Socorro and Catron counties.

Magdalena: The Trails End

From the 1880s through the mid20th century, the cattle business was
thriving between Springerville, Ariz.,
and Magdalena, the trails end.
A wild town, with bars, hotels and
gambling for the monetarily solvent
cowboys, Magdalena earned its name
peaceably enough around 1540 when
a Spanish soldier saw the face of Mary
Magdalene on the north side of the
mountain that overlooks the present
town.
The face is shaped by a natural
formation of rocks and shrubs, but
the religious resemblance caused the
mountain to become a place of refuge
from hostile Indian attacks.
One of the largest shipping centers
west of Chicago, Magdalena was
known as the trails end of the livestock driveway from Springerville.
The stockyards, on North Ash
Street, are the only reminder of the
villages cattle heyday when thousands
of cows and sheep were herded into
Magdalena using the historic stock
driveway, also known as the hoof
highway.
Cowboys drove their cattle on the
average 10 miles a day, and herders
drove sheep about five miles a day,
allowing them to graze along the way.
Chuck wagons and relays of horses followed behind.
The driveway, 125 miles long and
SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

Courtesy of BLM and Farr family

Farr cattle drive getting close to

Magdalena.
five to 10 miles wide, was used annually up until 1916, when it was officially designated by law with the signing
of the Grazing Homestead Act. After
that, it was used continually until
trucking became the preferred way of
getting cows to market.
The peak year was 1919 when
150,000 sheep, and 21,000 head of
cattle passed the point around Ten
Mile Hill. In 1930, the driveway
was fenced, and wells were drilled
about every 10 miles by the Civilian
Conservation Corps.
The last cattle drive was in 1971,
when the Santa Fe Railroad spur to
Magdalena closed.
Rancher Dave Farr remembers the
days before trucks replaced the cattle
drives in an interview in 2008 with
Brenda Wilkinson, Bureau of Land
Managements archeologist in Socorro.
Well, we always worked shorthanded, like in the spring with straight
yearlins thered be two of us and a
horse wrangler and a cook, Farr said.
See Cowboys Page 13

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13

Cowboys: Baca elected sheriff

from page 12

And the horse wrangler would bring

the horses in to the wagon and hook a
rope on the wagon wheel and build a
rope corral and catch our horses and
saddle em.
Well, we were always on horseback so wed change horses. Wed
start out with the cattle, and the cook
would start out with his wagon, horse
wrangler go with his horses, he said.
Wed have a pow-wow with the cook,
where wed camp for noon maybe. We
just grazed the cattle along, and the
horse wrangler grazed the horses.
Cook would hook up with the
mules and get ahead so he could have
dinner or supper ready. Wed change
horses, morning noon and night we
had night horses, Farr said. On earlier trips we made wed have to stand
guard every night, after everybody got
in and ate, and the cattle bed down.
Why, theyd look at a watch and
divide the time up and each fella had
so many hours, two or three hours, to
ride around the cattle and hold em.
And theyd come wake the next guard
up and then in the mornin, usually the
last guard hed pull out with the cattle
while the other cowboys were eatin
breakfast and wed whip up and relieve
him and hed come back and eat.
This is all before the sun comes up,
just daylight you know, Farr added.

The legend of Elfego Baca

One hundred miles southwest of
Magdalena is the village of Reserve,
which was once known as Frisco
Plaza, the site made famous for a twoday shoot out between Socorro County
Deputy Sheriff Elfego Baca and
upwards of 70 some-odd cowboys in
1884, or so most of the accounts go.
It seems there was a highly inebriated cowboy shooting his pistol off
in a rowdy fashion, which caught the
attention of 19-year-old Elfego Baca,
who happened to be in town. Charlie
McCarty, the cowboy, was summarily arrested and locked up in the back
room of Mr. Milligans Store.
Several of Charlies friends
demanded the deputy release him, and
in the scuffle, Elfego pulled out his
six-shooter and unintentionally shot a
horse, which fell on the rider, killing
him. Tempers got out of control and
the uneven odds told Elfego he was in
trouble so he sprinted down the street
to the shelter of a small shack, an
adobe jacal.

More cowboys arrived, many from

the large WS Ranch at Alma, and
before it was all over it is said more
than 400 bullet holes were counted in
the walls of the jacal. Elfego emerged
unscathed after the sheriff arrived the
next day and calmed the crowd. At one
point during the seige, Elfego shot and
killed one cowboy who tried to storm
the house, and Elfego was tried for
murder in Socorro but quickly acquitted.
Charlie McCarty, of Reserve, once
spoke of what he knew about that
event.
Charlie McCarty, the one that made
Elfego Baca famous, was my granddad, McCarty said. He settled here
in the 1800s.
My family refused to talk about it,
he said. A news reporter once came to
my dad but he brushed her off and said
go find something else to write about.
Elfego and my granddad met up
on the streets of Magdalena about the
turn of the century, he said. The two
old-timers got to talking, slapped each
other on the back, went to the bar and
bought each others drinks.
In 2008, a statue memorializing
Elfegos standoff was dedicated in the
center of tiny Reserve, not far from the
now-disappeared jacal.
Elfego went on to be elected Socorro
County sheriff, and his exploits were
romanticized in a 1958 Walt Disney
television series, The Nine Lives of
Elfego Baca, starring Robert Loggia
as the crafty sheriff.
According to legend, when Elfego
first took office, he got the names and
addresses of all those who had outstanding warrants and he sent each of
the accused a note, which said, I have
a warrant here for your arrest. Please
come in by March 15 and give yourself
up. If you dont, Ill know you intend
to resist arrest, and I will feel justified
in shooting you on sight when I come
after you.
That non-violent method worked on
most of the recipients.
Besides his two year stint as sheriff,
Elfego was also, at one time or another, Socorros mayor, school superintendent, county clerk and, after he
became a lawyer, district attorney.

Courtesy of BLM and H.B. Birmingham family

Taking a break at the chuckwagon.

COWBOY

Country

14

graze and roam

Baditude Bucking Bulls
breeding rodeo champs
By Iain Woessner

Mountain View Telegraph Writer

Chilili
Under New Mexicos big sky a verdant landscape spreads out across the
foothills of Chilili, where the Baditude
Bucking Bulls graze and roam, bred to
buck riders from far and wide off their
broad backsides.
Just to (wake up) and see how
healthy they are, make sure the calves
are born (makes it worthwhile),
Antonio Ortiz, a local ranch owner
and an employee for the Torrance
County Department of Roads, said
as he oversaw his prized bucking
bulls approach the fence. Watching
them buck is a lot of fun, too. The
bulls make their own names for themselves.
Bull riding isnt as popular as it used
to be, ranch owner Ortiz admits as he
guides his massive pick-up truck up
along the dusty road leading towards
his grazing grounds. Here a handful
of bulls come slowly trundling along
as he calls to them, expectant for
hay. Chief amongst them, and first to
arrive, is the imperious patriarch and
leader of the herd, a monstrous black
plummer cow, who walked with the
regal grace of a king, who had earned
the name Ironhide.
We havent named them (when
theyre young) Ortiz said. We see
what they can do and then we name
em.
Ironhide was named by Antonios
wife, Annette, after her favorite

Transformers robot.
Ortizs ranch is home to a number
of cows, bulls and goats. He shares the
land with pig farmer Harold Dow, who
raises Red Wattle Heritage Hogs, an
endangered species of porcine. Ortizs
son and daughter, Abelino and Anita,
have grown up on the ranch.
Abelino rides bulls himself, with
aspirations to be a world champion,
while Anita is interested in the business side of bull raising. Abelino will
be going to Abilene, Texas, in August
to compete in the Professional Bull
Riders World Championship.
Travelers are welcome to come by
and see the bulls, take pictures and
learn about the art of cattle herding,
bull bucking, rodeo clowning and any
number of skills that Ortiz is versed
in.
(The bulls are) smarter than heck,
Ortiz said. When the cows are being
born, the bull will walk the fence line
and bawl all night long to make sure
the predators dont take their calves.
For prospective riders, Ortiz knows
exactly what you need to succeed at
staying on a bucking bull.
You need to work out, be strong,
agile and have no fear, he said. It
takes a lot of focus, too.
Young Abelino patrols the edges
of the ranch on a crimson all-terrain
vehicle. The cows know the sound of
the engine, and come up the dusty path
to watch him make his rounds, trying
to locate a missing calf.
The calfs mother remained atop a
See Bulls Page 15

Iain Woessner-Telegraph photo

Old Ironhide charges at the fences to demonstrate his position as the alpha
bull of his herd at the Baditude Bucking Bulls Ranch in the East Mountains.

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SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

15

Bulls: Timeless ranch

from page 14

ridge, watching the tree line, waiting for its child

to return, even though Abelino came back emptyhanded. Theres no cause for concern, Ortiz said.
They dont lose calves very often, and it seems
common enough for a baby cow to wander away
from its mother as it grows older.
Once they get on top of their game you gotta
exercise them, he said. Get a big corral and
run em around. Here they get plenty of exercise.
Theyll go eat good grass back there, then by the
time they walk over here to get water theyve gotten a good workout. Out in Texas you get more
rain. Out here its dry, but you got good grass.
The ranch seems timeless, tucked away from the
bustle of Albuquerque and nestled in the bountiful bosom of the blossoming East Mountains. The
constant sound of braying bovines is carried on
the cool summers breeze. For Ortiz, he says, this
isnt simply a hobby. Its a way of life.
I cant wait to retire, he said with a laugh, saying he looks forward to being able to spend all of
his days on his ranch, tending to his livestock.
He hopes to be able to leave a full-fledged
breeding business to his children. Of course, the
key to raising good bulls is keeping them happy,
and Ortiz knows exactly what makes a bull happy.
Food, he said. A lot of food, a lot of grain.
His wife added, And the occasional cow of
course.

Iain Woessner-Telegraph photo

A boys life: The Ortiz family gathers to watch the bulls approach the fence. Cow rearing is in their blood.
Antonio Ortiz, in the cowboy hat, recalls his father raising cows, and his son and daughter have both taken
to the art with gusto.

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COWBOY

Country

16

medicine
Valencia
County vets
By Julia M. Dendinger

News-Bulletin Assistant Editor

The image is iconic: The rugged
cowboy atop his trusty horse moving
the herd across the sweeping plains.
Maybe he is taking them to summer
pasture, maybe they are headed to
market. Either way, it is a sweeping
and romantic picture of life in the
West.
The part of the picture most people
dont imagine is what happens when
his horse comes up lame or a cow has
a difficult birth along the trail. Well,
back in the day, as they say, the
cowboy did for himself, treated the
animals as best he could and possibly
went on with life short one cow pony
or bovine.
With the advent of modern inventions such as the automobile and the
railroad, the image of the lone cowboy
on the trail remains iconic but not necessarily all that realistic. Now when
a horse goes headlong into a barbedwire fence or a cow just cant birth a
calf, ranchers and farmers can call on
local veterinarians to lend a hand.
Valencia County is home to many
vets who treat a wide range of animals
from our companion animals up
to formidable breeding stallions. We
sat down with two of them to get their
take on modern veterinary medicine
for large animals, primarily horses and
cattle.
Dr. Mike McCallister, DVM, owner
of Village Veterinary Hospital in
Bosque Farms, has been practicing
animal medicine almost as long as

Julia M. Dendinger-News-Bulletin photo

Dr. Fabian Sanchez, DVM, owner of Yucca Veterinary Medical Center in Belen, examines a pregnant mare at
Double LL Ranch in Bosque. The veterinarian uses a portable, digital ultrasound to measure the progress of the pregnancy. Much of the work Sanchez does is related to equine reproductive health.
his fellow practitioner, Dr. Florian
Sanchez, DVM, owner of Yucca
Veterinary Medical Center in Belen,
has been alive.
McCallister graduated with a
doctorate of veterinary medicine in
1984 from Kansas State University,
after earning his bachelors in animal science from New Mexico State
University.
In August 1987, his dream of owning his own practice came true when
he established the local veterinary hospital on The Farm.
On the other hand, Sanchez is a
2004 Belen High School graduate and
graduated from Texas A&M before
he completed veterinary school at
Colorado State University, where he

focused on large animals. Sanchez

opened Yucca Veterinary Medical
Center in October of 2014.
Regardless of the age gap, both
have put in nearly a decade of work to
become veterinarians, and now offer
their services to animal owners across
the county.
Looking back at his years in the
business, McCallister said there really
isnt much new in the way of treating
illnesses but there are new illnesses
finding their way to New Mexico.
West Nile Virus made an appearance
in the late 1990s with a vengeance,
as he put it, and is here to stay. Tickborne diseases are making their way
across the country recently and heart
worms are a problem everywhere.
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My job is to educate people and

help them keep up with vaccinations,
McCallister said. Were a better
source than feed stores. We only use
brand name vaccines and we make
sure they are handled right if it gets
too hot its bad, if it freezes its worse.
Growing up and working on the
family ranch, Sanchez is aware that
many cattle growers have to take a
common sense approach to maintaining the health of their animals, and its
sometimes for economic reasons.
A big thing we do is keep clients up
to date on the latest vaccines. One of
the most cost-effective ways to keep
a heard healthy is with the right vaccines, Sanchez said.
See Vets Page 17
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17

Vets: Large and small animals

from page 16

Preventative medicine is worth the

money and effort, both vets say, but
there are still other tests to perform to
ensure herds stay at their peak performance.
McCallister said he does a lot of
testing for Trichomoniasis, a venereal
disease in cattle that can cause early
embryo loss, which can put a cow into
a late heat cycle and spread out a calving season.
It can reduce a calf crop by 40 percent, he said. The cattle market is
high right now so you have to ensure
you have a healthy herd.
To help his clients keep their herds
healthy, Sanchez will make what
amounts to house calls going out to
the herds, looking at what their nutritional needs are, even giving advice on
pasture management.
With the copious, early rains this
year, pasture might be one area that is
good to go, but it does pose some dangers for animals, McCallister said.
With the early rains this year, people will need to watch for toxic plants,
he said.
Another possible hazard is the rains
exposing trash and toxic items, such
as old batteries and paint, that animals
can come into direct contact with or in
some cases, contact with the runoff.
You can see things like lead and
nitrate poisoning, McCallister said.
Then theres blue-green algae.
Blue-green algae generally grow in
lakes, ponds and slow-moving streams
when the water is warm and enriched
with nutrients like phosphorus or
nitrogen. It can be extremely toxic to
animals.
For the most part, McCallister said
injuries to horses tend to be in the
form of lacerations, lameness and colics.
They tend to be more susceptible to
injury since they are a fight or flight

animal, he said.
One area of focus for Sanchez is in
equine podiatry. He will spend time
analyzing a horse to make sure everything is addressed by adjusting different pressures and forces as needed,
corrective shoes and sometimes lowerlimb surgery.
Think about a person; we ask a lot
of our feet, Sanchez said. A horse
is 1,100 pounds on four pretty small
feet.
While the injuries and medical
issues are as old as time, the equipment McCallister and Sanchez have
available to treat their patients is
advancing rapidly.
There is a lot of new digital radiology, McCallister said. The equipment
we have now is 10 times better than it
was seven years ago.
Sanchez regularly uses a portable,
digital ultrasound when he visits
breeding farms to check the progression of equine pregnancies.
McCallister, who does equal
amounts of large and small animal
treatments, said working with the
small animals has actually made him a
better surgeon.
We do more of them, he said. I
love a good C-section. I can be in and
out in 45 minutes and have 10 live
puppies.
Speed is the key to a good cesarean,
McCallister said. Speed means everybody lives.
To help his clients, Sanchez tries
to focus on what is considered small
producers, ranchers with herds of 30 to
100 head of cattle.
Through proper management, we
can help them improve and maintain
the animals they have, he said. What
we hope to do is educate people. If
we can help them improve the quality of their animals, we can help them
improve their economics.

Julia M. Dendinger-News-Bulletin photo

Checking up on a patient with a laceration on her back, Dr. Mike McCallister,

DVM, owner of Village Veterinary Hospital in Bosque Farms, is able to offer inoffice care and monitoring for both large and small animals.

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18

equine angels

Walkin N Circles helps

hundreds of horses
By Nicole Maxwell

Mountain View Telegraph Writer

Cedar Grove
On a sprawling ranch in Cedar
Grove, north of Edgewood, 69 rescued
abused, abandoned and unwanted
horses are maintained, trained and
most of them adopted out.
Walkin N Circles is one of 30 horse
ranches in the United States and
Canada that are a part of the Doris
Day Equine Clinic that teaches workers how to deal with traumatized
horses and recently began a fodder
program where the ranch makes its
own food for the horses.
As long as you dont have a halter, everyone is friendly, Walkin
N Circles Executive Director Ruth
Andrews said.
The Doris Day Equine Clinic

teaches participants how to handles

traumatized horses. People who adopt
horses get a DVD that shows the training methods.
Were thrilled that 90 out of 100
ranch hands are involved in the program, Andrews said.
The horses are fed twice a day by
the 50-person feed team. There are
over 100 total volunteers at Walkin N
Circles, which is fantastic, Andrews
said.
The volunteers, or ranch hands as
they are usually called, are broken into
10 teams with duties ranging from
feeding the horses, administrative
duties and maintenance.
Living on the property is new ranch
manager Steve Forester, who has been
employed at the ranch since 2011, first
See Horses Page 19

Nicole Maxwell-Telegraph photo

Walkin N Circles Ranch Executive Director Ruth Andrews lets Max smell her
hand. Walking N Circles Ranch is a horse rescue that takes in abandoned,
abused and unwanted horses with the hope of eventually adopting them out.

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19

Horses: Help

from page 18

as caretaker/handyman, then as ranch

foreman.
During the past six months of
the ranchs reorganization, Steve has
taken on more responsibilities and has
demonstrated leadership abilities that
make him the ideal ranch manager,
Andrews said.
The ranch is currently taking applications for ranch hands. Orientation
is held the last Saturday of the month
starting at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., unless
orientation day lands on a national
holiday or other ranch activity.
We are very attractive for families,
Andrews said.
Although a family-oriented experience, the ranch does not allow ranch
hands to be under 8 years old.
The horses at Walkin N Circles
range from retired racehorses that
cannot be ridden or adopted out to formerly starved, abandoned horses.
Re-feeding a starving horse is a
science unto itself. Its like treating an
anorexic; their bodies are so used to
getting minimal food that its hard to
get them to eat more, Andrews said.

Its like treating an anorexic;

their bodies are so used to
getting minimal food that its
hard to get them to eat more.

Ruth Andrews
Executive director

One of these horses is Precious, who

was found on the mesa and was 400
pounds underweight when she came
to the ranch. She has been at the ranch
for less than a year and is in the process of re-feeding.
Most of the horses are fed alfalfa
and a supplement of senior feed at the
evening feeding. The older horses that
cannot chew very well anymore get
alfalfa soup, which is a combination
of alfalfa pellets and senior feed pellets
made into a soft consistency.
Of the 69 horses at the ranch, 12 of
them are fed from the fodder program.
Walkin N Circles has a goal of getting
at least 35 horses on the program by
the end of the year.
This program saves about $1,000 per
month on feed bills, Andrews said.
Its just growth with barley seed,
water and light. There are no minerals

added, Andrews said.

The fodder is made from barley
seeds and is watered on a timed basis,
Andrews said.
Walkin N Circles received a $4,250
grant from the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
to help with the fodder program.
Andrews has hopes of one day freezing and re-selling the fodder since it is
cheaper than hay.
All of the horses at Walkin N Circles
that are aged 15 years or younger are
in training. Some ranch hands pay for
training with their own money, which

can cost between $30 and $50 depending on the type of training, Andrews
said.
Currently, the ranch owns all 69 of
the horses and would like to get that
down to 50 since they cost an average of $3,000 per animal per year to
maintain, which includes feed and veterinary bills.
Horses stay at the ranch an average
of three years, longer for ones that are
ill and forever for ones that cannot be
adopted out, Andrews said.
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COWBOY

Country

20

cowboys gals

Stories from the

women who love
their cowboys
By Clara Garcia

News-Bulletin Editor
For our honeymoon, we went to the bull riding
championships in Scottsdale, and when it ended, we
kind of looked at each other like, whats next? It was
wintertime and there wasnt much to do until rodeo
season, we went trapping in the mountains for three
months. It was the only logical thing to do, right?
Actually, it was amazing and I learned a lot, mostly
about who I had just married. ~ Cowboy Tails

Rio Communities
Terri Powers has always had a fascination with
cowboys, but at an early age, she made a decision
about the breed of man who would much rather
spend time with his horse rather than with his
wife.
At 8 years old, I decided I would never marry
a cowboy and I never did, Powers said laughing.
The work is so hard it looks like those women
have it hard. Being a cowboys woman no
thank you.
Growing up in Tijeras, Powers was knee deep in
the cowboy lifestyle. Her father was an equipment
contractor for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys
Association, and her brother enjoyed roping as a
youngster. While she tried to keep away from getting involved with a cowboy, her son, Sal Gomez,
ironically, is a roper in Texas.
Even though she kept to her promise to never
marry a cowboy, she has always been fascinated
with the lifestyle and the women who put up with
those rough and rugged men, who work hard,
play even harder and have little to no time for the
women folk.
Her fascination with these particular types of
women led her on a journey to write a book of the
tales shes heard throughout the years. Cowboy
Tails: Good ol Gals Tell All, her second book,
was published in early December, just in time to
debut it at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas,
Nev. Every day, all day, Powers signed books for
anyone and everyone who bought a copy.
Those cowboys are some hard dogs to keep
under the porch, she said. They just do whatever
they want. Just the lifestyle of carrying stuff, pulling stuff, driving stuff and all that stuff just looks
See Women Page 21
SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

Rio Communities author Terri Powers will be holding a book signing for Cowboy Tails: Good ol Gals
Tell All from 1-4:30 p.m., Saturday, July 11, at Hastings in Los Lunas. You can also get a copy of the
book at Cowboytails.com or from Amazon.

21

Women: Love

from page 20

hard.
While Powers doesnt have anything personally against cowboys,
she just didnt want one of her own.
Her first book, Gold Buckles
Dont Lie, a biography of Fred
Whitfield, the only AfricanAmerican rodeo world champion, got
her somewhat back into the lifestyle
from a distance. She began talking
to women about their cowboys, their
lifestyles and some of their best and
worst memories of living the life of a
cowboys cowgirl.
I saw there were some smart girls,
good women and theyre married to
cowboys and its not killing them,
Powers said. This book is kind of
an exploration of my decision not to
marry a cowboy. Weve got everything in there. The bull riders did
not fare very well theyre pretty
wild.
Every chapter in Cowboy Tails:
Good ol Gals Tell All tells one
womans story, while there are a couple of women whose stories are told
throughout the entire book. There is
only one story of a happily-ever relationship involving a bull rider.
Powers didnt seek out women who
had a bad relationship with cowboys,
simply if someone had an interesting story. Shes quick to point out
that she writes about a lot of great
relationships women have had with
cowboys some really good men.
My mothers married to a cowboy
and hes one of the best men Ive
ever known, she said. Theres some
really good men and then theres
some really ornery men. I really tried
to decipher with each story if, Is this
just a man in general or are these
traits specific to a cowboy? I think I

Submitted photo

Terri Powers, author of Cowboy Tails:

Good ol Gals Tell All, knew from an
early age she would never marry a
cowboy. While shes held to her promise, her fascination with the women
who have made that lifestyle choice
are the inspiration for the book.

pretty much got stories that are specific to cowboys.

Cowboy Tails: Good ol Gals Tell
All isnt a book intended to bash
cowboys, Powers says. While some
women featured in the book do have
bad experiences, its a book simply
from the womens perspective. Along
with talking to her friends, she was
also able to connect with women
across the country through social
media who were more than willing
to share their stories for this book.
I was stunned at what they told
me, Powers said. I told them I
didnt have any use for anything less
than everything. I have one story

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from a women in Boston who had a

one-night stand with a cowboy, and
from her accounts, it sounds like she
was a neer-do-well.
At the end, she says she married,
she has a great life and two beautiful children, Powers said, but,
she said, If that cowboy showed up
tomorrow, Id sell it all and leave
with him.
Even though Powers talked with
dozens of women who are in the
thick of it and wouldnt change it for
the world, the allure of being with a
cowboy and living the cowboy lifestyle continues to elude Powers
and shes more than fine with it.
There are a lot of women who
wouldnt have anything but, she
said. I dont know what it is but in
their eyes, thats just what a man is.
Compared to metro-sexuals, men
from today, these guys have something that a lot of women want.
Not all of the cowboys featured in
the book are ropers and bull riders.
Some are your every-day ranchers,
and there are some stories about
wannabe cowboys. Powers admits
that she might have given a cowboy
a test run once, but he was everything she thought theyd be, she says.

I think its the lifestyle that I

didnt like, Powers says, because
cowboys are very attractive. Theres
just something about those guys that
make women swoon. It was just too
hard of work and I didnt want that
life. Yeah, I was attracted, but just
not interested.
After writing the book, she analyzed her decision and came up with
this conclusion: In my whole idea
for not marrying a cowboy was that I
was a feminist and I wasnt going to
live with the old-time, old-fashioned,
old-school men.
What she did learn after talking
to these women featured in the book
is that a lot of women were pushed
by their cowboys farther than they
would have ever gone without them.
These cowboys had more faith in
what they could do than they did
themselves.
Powers will be holding a book
signing for Cowboy Tails: Good
ol Gals Tell All from 1-4:30 p.m.,
Saturday, July 11, at Hastings in Los
Lunas. You can also get a copy of
the book at Cowboytails.com or from
Amazon.

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Country

22

Ranch life

The old way

of life on
the ranch
By Susann Mikkelson

For El Defensor Chieftain

Though just a short distance outside of Socorro, a drive out to the

Pound Ranch is a little like a trip
back in time. This is partially due to
the long and rich history of the land
and the people who run the ranch,
partially due to the serenity of the
place, and partially because it is not
an easy ride and access to modern
resources is limited.
Among the family who runs the
ranch, you will find Tom and Sissy
(Pound) Olney, who are always busy,
but always seem to have time to be
cordial and friendly, to lend a helping
hand to a friend or neighbor or even
to a stranger.
Sissy Pound was born in Socorro
County, to parents Smokey and
Isabella (Bourguet) Pound. Her family history in the county dates back
to the late 1800s, when her greatgrandfather Juan Bautiste Gianera
came to this country from Northern
Italy with three of his five sons.
Seeking a place to live, run sheep
and cattle, raise his family and
leave a legacy, Gianera found the
Rio Grande Valley, and here he
settled. Two years later, and by some
miracle, he sent for his wife and their
youngest children, and they joined
the family.
What kind of faith does it take,
said Sissy, with mist in her eyes, to
wait all that time, and then get on
that boat with two babies, and travel
to a new world, not knowing what
you will find?
Tom Olneys family did not move
to the area until 1960, when his parents, Hugh and Martha Sue (known
as Sue) Olney, came to Luis Lopez,
where they lived in a tent for a year
while Hugh worked for the New
Mexico Fish and Wildlife Service.
SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

Submitted photo

Sissy and Tom Olney demonstrate that part of success is in being a good team, and a loving couple whether it be
working cattle, fixing fence, managing the sales, raising kids or just out having a good time.

What kind of faith does it take to wait all that time, and then
get on that boat with two babies, and travel to a new world,
not knowing what you will find?
Sissy Pound Olney
Socorro County rancher

Tom was a teenager.

Hugh Olney was, among other
things, a lion and bear hunter. He
would go to the Pound Ranch to
hunt, and sometimes took Tom with
him. Little did he know that some

years later, he would marry Sissy

and become part of the family.
From here, Toms family left and
moved to Ponderosa, N.M., where
his dad went to work for the New
Mexico Game and Fish Department

from 1961-62, but then moved back

to Magdalena and became a game
warden and a trapper on a special turkey relocation project that
trapped turkey from the San Mateo
Mountains and brought them to
Magdalena.
Toms dad, Hugh, had invented a
trap to catch the turkey. He remained
with Game and Fish for 15 years in
Magdalena, where both Tom and
his brothers, Sam and Ted, went to
school. When the family left to follow Hughs job to Ruidoso, Tom
See Ranch Page 23

23

Ranch: Built on a foundation

from page 22

stayed in Magdalena and finished

high school. Afterward, he spent
two years in college at Western New
Mexico University, but came home
and worked on various ranches in the
area for the next almost 10 years.
After moving to Texas to farm and
ranch, Tom was in a horse accident
that left him in a coma for 48 days.
He moved back home and went to
work, off and on, for the Very Large
Array in western Socorro County,
just outside of Datil. He also worked
for Buddy Major.
Tom and Sissy finally married
on July 6, 1984, after which they
immediately loaded up and moved to
the Pie Ranch north of Magdalena.
There, they were responsible for
3,500 yearlings, 350 cows and their
calves and 30 head of buffalo, along
with six race horses just the two
of them.
We learned to work together,
quick, Sissy remembers, looking at
Tom. Its a wonder I didnt kill you.
Even though the ranch was originally in her mothers family, Sissy
credits her dad, Smokey Pound, for
seeing the ranch through so that it
still supports the family today.
His strength and determination through depression, recession,
drought and war are what has kept
this place going, she said.
The same values are held on the
ranch today, where the entire family, including Sissys brothers, Primo
Pound and Billy Jack Pound, as well
as her and Toms son, Brian Olney,
along with his wife, Eslinda, and
their daughter, Jeana Rose, live and
work. Their daughter, Gianetta, also
works on the ranch and is the ag
teacher at Magdalena High School.
Tom and Sissy have always

His strength and determination through depression,

recession, drought and war
are what has kept this place
going.
Sissy Pound Olney
Rancher's wife

roughed it. From their individual

lives before Toms time living
with his family in a tent in Luis
Lopez, and working from ranch to
ranch, and Sissys time on the ranch
as well as in her work as a livestock
inspector and deputy livestock
inspector to their lives together,
starting out all alone on the Pie
Ranch, and making their way back
home to the Pound Ranch, where
they lived without electricity until
very recently.
My friends always ask me, What
did you do to have such good kids?
Sissy said with pride. I told them,
we raised them doing things the
old way; sitting around the dinner
table talking about our day, working
together, having inter-generational
family around and working hard.
Her children grew up without electricity, but Tom and Sissy feel they
had the best of what they needed to
be successful adults.
Today, Gianetta Jo Lark, Sissy and
Toms daughter, has a house that is
built on the very foundation of her
great-great-grandfathers home from
1889.

utcher Block
B
s

m
a
S
All sausages
Some ranchers have moved more into using motorized modes of transport on
the ranch, but Tom and Sissy Olney still prefer horseback to any other mode.

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24

therapeutic

Horses help
those with
special needs
By Deborah Fox

News-Bulletin Staff Writer

Jarales
The smell of horses, hay and sunshine is good for anyones soul, but in
particular, horseback riding is good
therapy for people with disabilities.
Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding
Center, located in Jarales, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with disabilities to reach their potential through
equine facilitated therapy.
Starting in the cool hours of morning, the instructor and owner of the
riding center Donna Hofheins-Tolbert
and a small group of volunteers help
individuals with disabilities groom and
saddle horses for therapeutic riding
sessions.
One young man from Bosque Farms,
Kevin Spulak, who has epilepsy,
shovels manure from the stall of a
sorrel mare he has ridden for the past
four years. The pre-ride activity helps
him coordinate his physical movements before getting on horseback, the
instructor said.
The mare stands patiently while
Donna instructs Kevin on how to
brush the horse.
With the fur, not against it, she
demonstrates to him.
Its been a process for Kevin to
learn how to concentrate and focus on
Donnas commands.
Following verbal commands is really hard for him, says his mother, Pat.
For him to be sitting on a horse and
Donna to be out in the arena and hes
listening to her and following directions is a huge thing for him. He does
that very little in other settings.
Sessions at Horsin Around have
helped Kevin increase his attention
span and control his muscle movement, which is really hard for him
because of his epilepsy. He also has
aphasia, so he has little language
skills. Aphasia is partial or total loss of
SU M M E R 2 0 1 5

Deborah Fox-News-Bulletin photos

During the Outlaw Ambush portion of a creative riding course at Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding Center in Jarales,
Donna Hofheins-Tolbert, left, an advanced therapeutic riding instructor and CNA, asks rider Kevin Spulak, right, if he
wants to shoot the squirt gun.
the ability to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language,
usually the result of damage to the
brain from injury or disease.
The sun illuminates the horses sleek
coat and the half ton creature carefully
carries her precious cargo with the
grace of a ballerina. Its as if horses
know as if they can sense the
emotional, physical and psychological
needs of humans with disabilities.
A lot of the therapeutic part comes
from the horse. Im just helping to
facilitate it, says Hofheins-Tolbert,
who is a certified nursing assistant and
an advanced certified therapeutic riding instructor.
Each week, the corral is set up in a
new course configuration. This week
its the Pony Express, and starts out
at a barrel labeled, California. From
California, the horse and rider travel
between two rails set up to simulate
the Platte River, and Kevin is encour-

aged to mimic swimming strokes with

his arms.
Another barrel is the Outlaw
Ambush, where the riders task is to
pick up a squirt gun and squirt at a
target. The activity erupts in laughter
because he has chosen Donna for a
target.
Next is a set of cones. They are the
Rocky Mountains and the rider must
navigate through them. The final portion of the course is a stretch between
two barrels called the Great Plains.
Pooh, the horse, is Donnas barrel
racing horse and is surprisingly patient
and tolerant for a rodeo horse. Most
barrel horses are feisty and ready to
run once the rider is seated.
I get her home and around those
kids and she is a totally different animal, Donna said. Horses are very
sensitive to the energy of the person
riding them.
The instructors warm, outgoing

manner puts both animals and people

at ease as well.
The success of the program is
due in large part to Donna herself,
because she works so well with that
population, Pat said. Kevin does not
have that smile most of the time, but
it just naturally comes out at Donnas
because he is so happy.
It has meant everything to Kevin,
she continues. He looks forward to
this he will hop out of bed first
thing in the morning if he is going
horseback riding.
One of Hofheins-Tolberts clients,
Dalton Meyer, who has Baird syndrome, also volunteers at the riding
center. He lives down the road and
they have known one another since
Dalton was 7 years old.
The horses calm the kids down and
it helps with their speech and motor
See Needs Page 25

25

Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals with developmental disabilities, is supported by sponsorships and a volunteer staff. Pictured from left, are Pat Spulak, Sylvia Meketi a volunteer staff member; Pooh the horse, Donna Hofheins-Tolbert, therapeutic
riding instructor and Horsin Around owner; Kevin Spulak, a regular rider at the center; Dalton Meyer, a client and volunteer staff member; and Toni Wright, a
volunteer staff member.

Needs: Helping children ride

from page 24

skills, Dalton said. It feels good

to me when I help the kids ride it
makes me happy to see them happy. I
have all the patience in the world for
them and they relate to me.
Donna and her husband, Lance
Tolbert, both rodeo. Lance is a steer
wrestler and the president of the New
Mexico Rodeo Association. He also
teaches steer wrestling, and he is the
president of the riding center.
Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding
Center is a vendor for the state Mi
Villa waiver, funding for developmental disability therapies. For qualifying
clients, it helps pay for riding sessions.
The riding center is also supported
by sponsorships and hosts three annual
fundraisers to help those who dont
qualify for the waivers.
These include an award ceremony
for the riders that takes place in
September. It is $20 per person and
after the awards there is live music
and a dance. A silent auction also
helps raise money, and a team roping
event on the last weekend of March
at the Valencia County Fairgrounds
Horsemens Arena. Last year there

were 235 roping teams that raised

$5,000 for the riding center.
She currently has 18 riders who
come for therapeutic riding. Most
of them have autism and some have
Downs Syndrome.
Applications for therapeutic riding
are being accepted and must include
a physicians release for each rider.
Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding
Center, at 53 Mill Road in Jarales, is
just south of Belen off N.M. 116. There
is a Facebook page of the same name.
Individuals and businesses interested in sponsoring therapeutic riding
sessions can email Donna HofheinsTolbert at horsingaroundcenter@
yahoo.com or call 907-4780. People
interested in therapeutic riding can
download the riding application
from the website at www.horsinaroundthreapeuticriding.com.
Horsin Around Therapeutic Riding
Center will host a yoga clinic from
8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, July
11. The cost is $120 for two hours of
yoga on the ground plus two hours of
horseback yoga with a pool party and
barbecue afterward.

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26

horsin'
around
Deborah Fox-News-Bulletin photo

Kevin Spulak, a rider at Horsin

Around Therapeutic Riding Center,
enjoys visiting with the horses after
his riding session. Kevin is feeding an
Arabian mare named Lilly. The riding
course and all the activities at the
riding center have therapeutic value
and help people with developmental
disabilities learn and practice skills
many people take for granted.

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