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California Riding Magazine • August, 2010 Student-Run Horse Sale by Dani Sfeir |
It’s only 7 a.m., yet the sound of the water truck starting up can already be heard at the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Horse Unit. Soon, a group of 15 hardworking girls and their 22 horses will be working in the arena, getting their horses trained and broke for their sale this month. This is the Cal Poly Quarter Horse Enterprise. Each spring and summer quarter, a group of students start and train 2 to 4-year-old horses. This year Cal Poly has 12 Quarter Horses and 10 Appaloosas ranging from 2 to 4 years of age. The 2-year-old Quarter Horses were bred at Cal Poly and raised in the hills on the outskirts of campus. These horses are out of mares from Cal Poly’s breeding herd and sired either by Cal Poly’s own stallion, As Smart As The Fox, or by notable outside stallions such as Cat’s Merada, SR Instant Choice and Hickory’s Indian Pep.
Photo © Eileen Meier By the time of the sale these horses will have done everything from arena work and trail riding, to cutting cows and typical ranch work. On Sat., Aug. 28, the students will get to show the public all the hard work they have put in for the past five months and all of the horses will be offered for sale as either cutting and working cow horse or ranch horse prospects. The Quarter Horse Enterprise embodies Cal Poly’s “learn by doing” philosophy. This enterprise is entirely student run with the help of their advisor Pete Agalos. Each student trainer is assigned one or two horses to start. The students ride their horses five days a week and are there a minimum of five hours every day working together to make this sale a possibility. Not only do the students learn how to successfully start and train a horse, they also learn the business side of running a training facility. They are in charge of organizing the whole sale as well as putting together advertisements and promoting the sale. The Cal Poly Performance Horse Sale will be held at the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Horse Unit. A BBQ lunch at noon kicks off the sale, which starts at 2:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Cal Poly Equine Center, which allows programs like the Quarter Horse Enterprise to exist.
For more information please visit www.animalscience.calpoly.edu or contact Pete Agalos at 805-756-7414 or pagalos@calpoly.edu.
Photo © Longview Photography
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