Quarter 3, August 10, 2025

CHAIR'S CORNER

Dear SBC-CDS members,

There is something about the Fall season that lends to a big sigh of relief. Knowing we have achieved another successful year of shows and activities proves that through hard work and dedicated volunteers, the Santa Barbara County Chapter remains vibrant and strong.

On Sunday, November 16^th, we will once again honor our volunteers at our Annual Volunteer BBQ. If you have supported the chapter this year, and would like to attend, please RSVP by Thursday, November 13^th to Karen Christensen at kic@cox.net. Emails will be going out to this year’s list of volunteers with more details. Thank you, Sara Beth Cutter for organizing all of these hardworking individuals and skillfully placing them with jobs best suited for each. 

** Note, we will be scheduling a Scribe Clinic, led by Diane Welcenbach, early 2026. Watch for updates on this popular clinic.

Once again, we hosted the Central Regional Adult Amateur Competition at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. This proved to be a BIG show running with two arenas with two full days of rides. Congratulations to Christi Sulzbach, our show chair, who dug in hard with our show manager, Regina Antonioli. Together, these ladies ran a lovely, fun and energetic show. Thank you to Custom Saddles for sponsoring our first ever Friday afternoon Barn Crawl which was a huge hit with competitors and spectators alike. Also special thanks to our arena sponsors, Masha Felderhof owner of Twenty Four Carrots, Peter and Sue Cheney, and Samantha Flynn. One more note of thanks to Mission Equine Associates and Santa Barbara Equine Assistance and their Evacuation Team for years of support. Our shows continue to draw riders from far and wide. Our 2025 sponsorship team led by Karen Christensen, Lynne Sherman and new member, Alice Howland, would like to thank ALL of the sponsors who contributed to our show by sponsoring a class, prizes or any one of a dozen ways donors had reached out to fund the cause. We were delighted to have John Rees and Melissa Creswick, our Central Region representatives, hand out awards to the RAAC winners.

We are proud to announce that we had ten qualifying riders, three of those Jr/YR, qualify for CDS Championships this year. In alphabetical order, Susan Ashbrook with Deacon’s Quarter, Christine Dietrich with Chispa De Valor, Tim Forster with Madero, Bea Freels with Figgy Pudding, Chloe Adrian Giannetto with Duvall, Stephanie Gustafson with Corazana and Goldenrod, Jill Jamison with Amorita, Oliva Moore with Bleu, Susan Sullivan with Brhody and Lisa Teske with Imperial. Congratulations!! Our Santa Barbara silent auction basket, donated by The Santa Barbara Inn and Convivo Restaurant brought in $600 to the CDS scholarship fund. Who wouldn’t want to spend a night in Santa Barbara in an ocean front room with dinner for two? The “basket” was a fashionable equine themed tote, donated by one of our show vendors, Gee Gee Equine, which also held two bottles of local wine.

In October, Kelly Thoits led a rousing Horse Trivia competition at The Creekside on Hollister for some Fall fun. Three teams battled it out for prizes awarded to those with the greatest knowledge of all things equine. The “Dressage Studs” took high honors, narrowly beating “The DQs” and “The Pony Club + Chris Crow”. A tasty buffet was offered to fuel the minds and add to the festivities. 

Planning is in full motion for our year end awards banquet, Sunday, January 25th, 2026, at The Santa Barbara Inn, catered by Convivo Restaurant. Start gathering up your two best scores for the year. Here is the link from our website for guidelines to help explain qualifications for year-end award submissions: https://www.sbccds.org/_files/ugd/30438b_cd51acb41a174d819194f33321a8d8c2.pdf. Scores must be submitted by December 1st, 2025. Please send photos of your scores to Marianne Kruidenier at mkfamily101@gmail.com.

As you can see we’ve had a huge 3^rd quarter. Thanks to each and every one of you who helped make it all happen.

Happy Fall!

Mary Couch

Chapter Chair

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Keep the good times rolling by scrolling. Here's a quick look at the sections below. You may have to click on "show more" to see the full newsletter!

• Funta Barbara Fun Fact
• Previous events
• Transitions Blog and Features
• Member Updates
• Upcoming chapter events (chapter sponsored)
• Other events (not chapter sponsored)
• Sponsors' Corner

Funta Barbara Fun Fact



While exploring Santa Barbara’s dressage roots I learned that a local newspaper in 1876 reported on a Wild West Show held near the Arlington Hotel, showcasing a vaquero demonstrating his skill by breaking a wild, untrained horse in front of spectators.

By 1919 Santa Barbara sees the beginning of formal horse show traditions, Construction funds had been secured for a showground by the then formed Horse Show Association, but at 6:23 a.m. on June 29, 1925—the planned start date for construction—a major earthquake destroyed Santa Barbara and the project was never realized.

In 1938, with fresh energy from a new board, the District launched the first Santa Barbara National Fair and Horse Show at Leadbetter Arena — a unique event that blended a horse show with a flower exhibition.

One of the people that played a key role in the history of Santa Barbara Horse shows was Josiah C. (Si) Jenkins, whose wife Karen Jenkins rode in our SBC-CDS Century Club Ride with her quarter horse Cols Lil Homer aka “Homer” when she was 80 and Homer 20 in 2019.

In 1955, the 19th District was granted state authorization to build what would become the Earl Warren Showgrounds, a venue dedicated to celebrating California’s equestrian and agricultural heritage. Designed especially for horse and flower shows, it was the only fairgrounds of its kind in the state. Chief Justice Earl Warren personally approved the use of his name — the only California facility he ever allowed to carry his honor.

The Equestrian Facility opened in 1958, followed by the Exhibit Building in 1959 and the Administration Building in 1961.

Beyond its agricultural and equestrian roots, the venue gained cultural fame in the 1960s when the Samuel E. Kramer Arena hosted major concerts featuring Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and The Doors.

Around 1986, the Earl Warren Showgrounds saw a reduction in horse show events, reflecting changes in board leadership and a move away from its traditional agricultural roots.

The Earl Warren Showgrounds have long served as a crucial community resource during emergencies, offering no-cost shelter for large animals. During the 2017 Thomas Fire, nearly 200 horses were safely housed there in the first two days.

In July 2000, dressage was held at the Earl Warren Showgrounds for the first time in recent memory. The Showgrounds went through an Equestrian Renovation Project after many individuals and companies backed the project with their financial and other resources. Getting that support (and donations) involved the hard work and many dedicated hours from several SBC-CDS members. All throughout our incredible amount of volunteerism made it possible for the Dressage Shows to go strong to this day.

You can learn so much more about the local history of horse shows in Santa Barbara by scouring the internet, but one of the many resources used for this Funta Barbara Fun Fact was “Noticas” the Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society, which you can read HERE.

Inaugural Equestrian Trivia Night

On October 12th, SB chapter members and guests gathered at Creekside Restaurant for our first-ever Octoberfest Equestrian Trivia night. Under sunny skies on the private patio, teams enjoyed tasty appetizers, drinks, and six lively rounds of equine trivia led by our brisk and fair Master of Questions, Kelly Thoits. The Dressage Studs claimed victory, with the Dressage Queens and Pony Club Plus Chris close behind. From pony clubbers to Grand Prix trainers (and even one barn dad!), everyone joined the fun—tackling questions from “Is it a dun or a buckskin?” to “Which Thoroughbreds won the Triple Crown?” Thanks to prizes from Carolyn Adams and Kelly, every participant went home a winner!

WANT TO GET THE LATEST BLOG IN YOUR INBOX THE MOMENT IT GETS PUBLISHED INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR THE NEXT NEWSLETTER?

Click here and get your coffee or matcha ready. Look for the round-up of the upcoming Summer Dressage Show at Earl Warren, more member features and event recaps in the upcoming blogs!

TRANSITIONS BLOG

We want to feature YOU! We love to highlight and get to know the members. Our simple questionnaire will allow you to answer a few questions so we can turn this into a new Member Feature on our Transitions Blog. We promise, it's a very short questionnaire and we would be so honored to feature you. Click HERE to introduce yourself.

Meet Hannah and Valiente

Grit, grace, and a maroon jacket! Hannah Finder and her PRE partner Valiente have battled through injuries and ERU, but that hasn’t slowed them down. From national titles to training through Fourth Level, Hannah’s determination (and Type 1 diabetes) haven’t stopped her from chasing that USDF Gold Medal. A proud CDS member since 2009, she’s proof that passion and perseverance shine brighter than any ribbon. 

Hard work pays off

Getting to CDS Championships takes more than good riding—it takes heart, hustle, and a lot of hours in the arena! Our SBC-CDS riders rose to the challenge, earning their spots and making us proud at every level. From Training to Prix St. George (and our Juniors rocking it!), we’re cheering for every one of you.

We are excited that we have several lifetime members in our chapter. In addition, we had so many horse enthusiasts renew their membership in the last 3 months and we can also now officially welcome star volunteer Chris Crow as one of our members. Chris has been absolutely invaluable at our shows. He also helps with the Equine Evac team and enjoys our social activities. Chris has stood out in previous blog posts not only with his can-do attitude as volunteer, but also his very insightful and fun shirts (read the article about the August show if you missed it!) We are so glad Chris joined and hope we can learn a little bit more about him in a future member feature!!

Becoming a CDS member and choosing the Santa Barbara County Chapter is a great way to support the sport of dressage and make friends in the area! JOIN TODAY >> Click HERE <<

To our members>>

If you haven't already, please fill out our member survey to help us make the chapter better.

Be Featured in Our “Transitions” Blog & Newsletter!

We love celebrating the incredible people who make up the SBC-CDS community — and we want to feature you next!



If you’re ready to share your journey and be introduced to the wider SBC-CDS world, simply complete our quick Member Spotlight Questionnaire [HERE]. Tell us as much as you’d like — we’ll use your responses to create a personalized feature in our Transitions blog and newsletter.

Prefer a conversation instead? No problem! Reach out to Lisa White at lisaellen2@gmail.com or Nicole Walther at nicole.silverliningpr@gmail.com to schedule a brief, friendly chat.

We can’t wait to highlight your story and cheer you on at our upcoming events and shows!

SBC-CDS EVENTS:

Summer Dressage Volunteer BBQ: Sunday, November 16, 2025, Karen Christensen, Kic@cox.net

SAVE THE DATE: Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, Sunday, January 25. 2026

More info on our Events page soon!!

OTHER RELATED EVENTS

Dressage Clinics & Schooling Shows

Please note that private clinics and schooling shows are not sponsored or endorsed by SBC-CDS, but are shared as a courtesy and to benefit our members. If you are hosting a clinic or schooling show in or near Santa Barbara County and would like us to include them in our next newsletter, please provide detailed information including contact information to nicole.silverliningpr@gmail.com no later than January 31, 2026. This is for events happening after February 10, 2026, the publishing date of our next newsletter. Late or incomplete submissions can not be accepted.

Please contact organizers about the events.

NOVEMBER

November 23 > On the Bit Schooling Show. Santa Ynez Equestrian Center, 195 North Refugio Road, Santa Ynez. Contact: Kelly Greene, OnTheBitSYV@Gmail.com

November 8-9 > Paul Belasik Clinic, Ojai. Contact: Stephanie Gustafson: 805-798-1303 or Steph9291@sbcglobal.net

JANUARY

January 17 - 18, 2026 CDS Annual Meeting and Symposium, Los Angeles CA, Contact Regina Antonioli C eqconcepts@earthlink.net 805-306-1885

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

For current updates, photos and videos follow us on Instagram @santabarbaracds. Thanks to Alice Howland for bringing us the most fun content!!