Whitethorne Facilities

Facilities

Facilities...

WHITETHORNE is located at 5501 Balcom Canyon Road, Somis California between Moorpark and Camarillo on the beautiful 22 acre Whitethorne Estate. Set in quiet surroundings, away from traffic noise and urban stress, amongst citrus and avocado groves the ranch benefits from the ocean breeze from Camarillo resulting in temperatures in summer which are 10ºF - 15ºF below those in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley.

The boarding facilities include at total of 76 stalls, made up BARNMASTER™ In & Out stalls, BARNMASTER™ Box Stalls, BARNMASTER™ Foaling Stalls and Mare Motel Stalls, each measuring 16ft x 24ft. There are three, year round, large green pastures including a hand grazing pasture, five standard pastures and five large turn outs.

Other facilities include two Grand Prix sized jumping arenas with permanent water jumps and Liverpools and extremely well maintained NEWCOURSE JUMPS™; an FEI Standard Sized Dressage Court with mirrors, a Riding Court, Longeing Arena and floodlighting. There is a walking trail and a full quarter mile riding track edged with Orange, Grapefruit and Pepper trees, and currently under construction is a 3 acre grass field which will have Derby obstacles in addition to Grand Prix jumps, banks and a Grob.

All of the Arenas are watered twice daily in the dry season using a 2,500 gallon water truck. They all use a special FIBAR™ footing mixture, which in addition to the outstanding cushioning it provides to the horse’s hooves, retains moisture in summer reducing dust, and also absorbs water in the rainy season to ensure that the arenas may be used long before comparable sand based arenas.

Other facilities include BARNMASTER™ Groom Stalls and Farrier Stations, a specially designed 70 ft. diameter European Exerciser, and a floodlit 60 ft. Round Pen with a 7ft. wooden enclosure and double, full height entry doors.

GRAND PRIX FIELD AND RIDING TRACK

The BARNMASTER™ Barns

There are two separate main BARNMASTER™ Barns at Whitethorne.

The Main Barn, includes 35 Box Stalls, 3 extra large Foaling Stalls, 3 tack rooms, the Trainer’s Office, a Laundry for saddle pads and wraps, bathrooms and a shower.

The Small Barn, includes 10 BARNMASTER 12ft x 36ft In & Out stalls, 4 Box stalls, two tack rooms with full height lockers and two covered Farrier Stations.

Both of these barn structures are fully lighted, and enclose a floodlit courtyard area which includes a supplement feed store with automatic lighting. Both barns also have rubber matted cross-ties and barn aisles, and an environmentally friendly fly control system.

The MARE MOTEL

The Whitethorne Mare Motel is a unique structure constructed of steel well casing and Stallion Mesh, with a complete 64ft x 192ft roof structure. The Mare Motel is lined on both sides by mature pepper trees, and provides twenty four 16ft x 24 ft stalls.

While it provides 24 large stall areas, the Mare Motel has a relatively open structure which is very conducive to preserving the natural herd type mentality of the horses, with a large space for each of them to move around. The use of well casing and stallion mesh provides a much safer environment than the traditional pipe corral fencing, helping to avoid injuries to and from horses which kick at their neighbors. The Mare Motel is the most popular boarding option and there is a waiting list for stalls in this facility.

PASTURES and TURNOUTS

Whitethorne has four green pastures which are watered daily and kept grass covered all year round. One of these is a hand grazing pasture where clients may take their horses to graze provided they are attended by the owner, the rider or a groom.

There are five other pastures, and six large turnouts varying in size up to one acre. All of these pastures are provided with sprinklers for dust suppression, double shelters, automatic waterers and feed bins, and all of them are cleaned twice daily, seven days per week. Horses in the pastures are also fed three times daily.

THE EUROPEAN EXERCISER

Whitethorne’s purpose built European Exerciser is based on a combination of several distinct German designs and is over 70ft in diameter with variable speed and direction control. The large diameter was chosen in order to minimize the stress on the animal when the when the unit is operated at higher speeds.

AMENITIES

All of the stalls in the Barns and the Mare Motel are fully bedded with Pine Shavings which are cleaned twice daily, and are replaced on a regular schedule. All of the stalls have automatic waterers, and many of the stalls have rubber matted bases under the shavings. Some even have walls lined with rubber matting to avoid injury to horses which have a kicking problem. Where rubber mats are not fitted in the stalls, these can be installed at the owner’s option.

Full height tack lockers are provided, which are fully equipped with bridle and saddle racks, and contain shelves and hanging space for jackets and coats.

Whitethorne has a full time grooming staff, which are in attendance six days per week. In addition, Whitethorne has a training staff of five hunter/jumper trainers all of whom are staff members and all of whom are available to clients at any time. At least four trainers are on duty from Tuesday through Saturdays, and one trainer is available on Sundays.

PLEASE NOTE: If any trainer is away at a horse show, clients horses which remain at the Barn are still provided with full training and grooming services and clients who are not attending the shows will still receive their full quota of lessons from other trainers who are members of the Whitethorne Training Staff.

Whitethorne offers on call/on site veterinary services and is fortunate to have a fully equipped veterinary hospital which is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week only 2 miles away. Also available on call are a number of farrier, acupuncture and chiropractor services.

All horses are fed three times daily, and each horse is provided with a feed chart which may be updated by the horse owner at their own discretion. Standard feeds at Whitethorne are Alfalfa, Oat Hay and/or Timothy/Orchard Grass (at extra charge). Clients may request the provision of special feeds and supplements for their horses, which will be fed to the horses by Whitethorne staff members.

ARENAS

The MAIN RING

This arena, which is floodlit, is encircled by a two rail white PVC fence is also surrounded by a lawn, Pepper Trees, and a Rose Garden. At 300ft x 160ft the arena is a full Grand Prix size and is provided with a complete set of NEWCOURSE™ Grand Prix jumps. The arena footing is a custom FIBAR™ mixture which is specially formulated to give the best possible cushioning effect appropriate for Hunters and Jumpers. It is normally watered and groomed twice daily using our 2,500 gallon water truck and a Red Master Harrow arena grooming implement which is specially developed for the purpose.

The UPPER RING

This arena, which is also surrounded by lawns and encircled by a two rail PVC fence, is also a full Grand Prix size at 270ft x 175ft. It also has the same FIBAR™ mixture footing as the main ring, but also has three permanent water obstacles arranged around the arena in addition to a full range of NEWCOURSE™ jumps. This arena is also normally watered and groomed twice daily using a 2,500 gallon water truck and a Red Master Harrow arena grooming implement.

The DRESSAGE COURT

The Dressage Court is 60 meters long by 20 meters wide and is constructed to meet the FEI standard. It has a movable single rail PVC fence, is surrounded by lawns and is provided with letter boards in accordance with FEI requirements. The court is also normally watered and groomed twice daily. The footing in the dressage court, although still using a FIBAR™ mixture is constructed differently to the main and upper ring to provide less depth of footing and a different consistency more suitable to the training of Dressage Horses.

THE GRAND PRIX FIELD and RIDING TRACK

The Grand Prix field is a 2.5 acre grass field surrounded by an oval Riding Track which measures approximately one quarter of a mile. The footing on the track is a mixture of washed plaster sand and FIBAR™, and the track is watered and groomed daily. This track is an ideal exercise environment for warm up and cooling off after lessons or training sessions.

The grass field which covers the whole center portion of the riding track has been laid with a special mixture of special footing materials and a mixture of grasses which will mat together to provide an excellent footing. It is also an ideal training facility of riders who are competing at venues such as Show Park in San Diego, Blenheim EquiSports in San Juan Capistrano, Spruce Meadows in Calgary, and the LAEC Grand Prix filed where there are a number of high quality Jumper Classes which take place on grass fields.