The Draft Horse & Driving Club at UC Davis
Olive
2008 Percheron Mare
Out of Hames Valley Barbie
Olive lives for a challenge. The confines of walking circles in the arena never quench her desire to explore and run without limitations. She is not the type to pass up a chance at adventure and is always eager to escape her pen for a bit of driving out in the Arboretum.
In the past 5 years we have had the privilege of watching Olive grow into herself. We built her from the ground up. Countless individuals (club members and upper division interns alike) have contributed to establishing her foundation and encouraging her development.
We began with the basics of groundwork and equitation manners. Then we jumped into the heart of her future: driving. We taught her ground driving, trained her in our single cart, and challenged her to become a quintessential member of our team hitch after Alta's unexpected passing. Olive is an authentic testament to the methodology of training we proudly teach through our program.
Dee
from Hames Valley Vineyards
Dee is one of the club's newest draft horses. She is also one of the tallest! She is a very sweet mare who loves meeting new people and working hard. Dee is currently in training right now to become a fully functional driving horse for the club. We have worked on ground manners, harnessing, and ground driving with her so far and we are now taking the step towards training her to pull carts. Her favorite obstacle course task is weaving in and out of poles. Dee is also always up for an sweet treat like an apple!
Guest Horses
Ben & Bonnie
Ben and Bonnie were generously loaned to us January 2018-June 2018 by their owner Stuart Shroeder. Ben and Bonnie are a very sweet team with great personalities. They are also both so calm that they really give meaning to the phrase "gentle giants." They were loaned to the club to give club members a chance to learn all of the ins and outs of team driving. Bonnie (on the left) is a real gal pal. When we turn them out into the arena to run, she always socializes with the members instead. Ben (on the right) loves to run. Whenever he gets a chance to run in the arena, he takes it! The two of them are a very hard working team, who love to drive around campus and are always up for an adventure. We are very grateful that we got the chance to work with such incredible horses.
Meet the Donkey
Action's Protégé
2007 , Red Roan Mammoth Jack
Protégé is the current residential donkey at the UCD horse barn. He is primarily used for breeding purposes at the horse barn, but he has also won many titles over the years such as World Champion Donkey at Bishop Mule Days in 2015. In our club, we use him for driving. It gives members a new experience driving a different equine species and see the challenges that come with it. For the past couple of years, we have had the opportunity to drive him and competitively drive with him at Bishop Mule Days. This allows the club members to not only participate in pleasure driving, but also competitive driving. Protege is a lot of fun to work with, and offers a unique and valuable opportunity to our club members.
Our Past Driving Horses
Marty
Deceased
2008 Percheron Mare
Sired by Eaglesfield Final Command,
out of Hames Valley Emporess
Marty maybe small in size for a draft horse but she has the desire to be so much bigger than her physical restraints. We have been gradually incorporating her into our drive times and she has settled nicely into a team hitch position.
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Marty was the only Percheron mare being used in the breeding program at the Horse Barn in recent breeding seasons. With Leeza retired from the broodmare lifestyle and Olive fully devoted to driving with the club, Marty was used to produce draft mules. She has two progeny on the ground: Action's Martini (sired by Action Jackson) and Protege's Marty Gras (sired by UCD Action's Protege). We welcomed her third and fourth mule these past two breeding seasons. She is now retired from breeding as well at the discretion of our new barn manager.
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In April 2017, our beloved Marty passed away. She touched all of our hearts and will be missed.
Marty's Progeny
L.F. Torin's Leeza
Deceased
1994 Percheron Mare
Sired by Windward's Torin, out of Jo-le Lynn D.
Leeza is our oldest mare, but she never lets her age hold her back. At 22 years old her lively spirit has not once faded. She maintains the same resilient power she displayed in her youth and continues to live out her passion for driving just as she did in the show ring. She wholeheartedly refuses to be restricted by preconceived notions of aging and will never give up her animated show trot.
Leeza has called the Horse Barn home for almost a decade now and she continues to be the staple element of our team hitch. Her vibrant nature makes her a pleasure for our more advanced members to drive. Yet her faithful patience gives our beginning members the confidence to learn freely.
In September of 2016, Leeza passed away peacefully in her sleep. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her and her gentle disposition.
Paramount Beau's Alta
Deceased
1999 Percheron Mare
Sired Ironwood Beauregard,
out of Ceebar Princess Dianna
Alta possessed the most tremendous loyalty and wanted nothing less than to please whomever she was surrounded by. She had such a playful carefree mentality and spread joy with her lovability. Together with Leeza, they formed the perfect driving pair.
In June of 2013, Alta suffered from a severe colic and passed away. The void she left within our club was just as massive as she was.
We welcome donations of any driving horses to incorporate into our family here at the Horse Barn. These contributions help us continue our breeding, training and driving programs. In regards to these gracious donations please contact our Barn Manager, Kelli Davis.
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Kelli Davis
Horse Barn Manager
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616
Phone: +1 (530) 754-4156