Bar SZ Ranch Archives ⋆ The Whoa Podcast

Doug Williamson Legendary Trainer

August 1, 2017 by John Leave a Comment

Doug Williamson Legendary Trainer

It’s been a busy summer and in listening to some of the old shows, I came across this interview with Doug Williamson in 2015. Doug was 73 at the time. Now, he’s 75 and he’s like an Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going! Doug has trained 42 AQHA champions. He’s been a horseback nearly all his life.

It’s one of the best parts of doing the podcast, I got to watch Doug work and ride a couple of horses, then he took a break. We sat in his office surrounded by plaques, ribbons, trophies, and newspaper clippings. Doug was proud of the things he has accomplished on a horse. Doug has trained 42 AQHA champions. But, he was also generous with his time and patiently answered some of my personal questions about horse training. This interview with Doug Williamson remains one of my favorites.

Meeting Up with New Friends

There’s a horsemanship group called Golden State Horsemanship Club. We had met up with some of the members when they hold their annual equestrian get-together at the Bar SZ Ranch Memorial Day Weekend. (We experienced it three times and I would encourage you to check it out.) Mike and Cynthia were embarking from Northern California for a 2-week horse vacation. They are podcast listeners and wanted to stop over in Bakersfield and check out some of our riding areas. It was great to get to ride with them and show off just a few of the wonderful places we get to ride. We took them out to Ethel’s Old Corral and shared lunch and a beer. Good times.

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We have well over 100 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed. Get the Stitcher app and tell us how it works. We are on Google Play too! You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com. Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter and Instagram– just look for WhoaPodcast.

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John & Ranae

Episode #111

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Working Cows with Scratch on the Bar SZ

January 18, 2017 by John 1 Comment

Working Cows with Scratch on the Bar SZ

Working cows in open country is so much fun. The Bar SZ Ranch was once the home of the famed Sire, Doc Bar. It is now an event ranch where people go for family reunions, weddings, and corporate retreats. We traveled there to spend a weekend with our horse friends and ride the ranch.

This was one of the more fun videos I’ve produced. After telling Bar SZ Ranch manager, Tim Borland, I wanted to see how Scratch did working cows, he rounded up his Kabota and we took off. With my wife, Ranae, sitting in the co-pilot seat we first went to the south side of the ranch. Scratch did well having the little tractor driving right along side of him. And, Ranae did a wonderful job of getting footage and she was bounced around by the open trails.

We found a small group that needed to be moved and circled wide. “Jerry” the bull was lounging in the spring sun. He was a bit reluctant to move, but Scratch did well. He is a confident horse and is not afraid of much once he is given the chance to assess the situation. Going over open country with the squirrel holes, uneven footing, and fallen branches can put stress on some horses. Not Scratch.

We go all the cows up and moving and then it is just a matter of not rushing them. A calf tried to duck away and we had to go back for it. Sometimes you have to dip and dodge through bushes and brambles, but most of the time working cows is all about just keeping them moving forward.

There were a couple of streams to cross. When a horse is focused on a job he rarely worries about things like water crossings.

I think Scratch rather liked the whole experience of working cows.

Meetup with the Downunder Brumbies

June 9, 2015 by John Leave a Comment

Meetup with the Downunder Brumbies at the Bar SZ

It was a meetup with the Downunder Brumbies at the Bar SZ Ranch in San Benito, California. This was our second time with the meetup group of Downunder Horsemanship Brumbies. A meetup group is just a lot of horse owners who share and interest and love of Clinton Anderson’s Downunder Horsemanship Method. About 40 people gathered for this meetup over Memorial Day weekend at the Bar SZ Ranch. As a special treat, Certified Downunder Horsemanship Clinician Jeff Davis came out to California to help us with our horses.

The Whoa Podcast has done shows with the Brumbies and also on the Bar SZ. (We’ve even done a video). This year I worked less and enjoyed my wife, horse, and dog a little more. Yes, we took Buster. He had a great time. On this show I’ll give you my impressions of the meetup and how things went with my horse Jessie. The event was a great success and the Brumbies are already planning the 2016 Bar SZ meetup. You can check out things at http://2016springequestrianretreat.yolasite.com/ Also, if you are looking to start your own meetup group, contact the Brumbies on Facebook. They can give you tons of help.

About Us

Welcome to the Whoa Podcast about Horses and Horsemanship. I am your host John Harrer. Along with my wife, Ranae, each week on the show we talk about some aspect of owning a horse. It could be feeding or supplementation. It could be bits and bridles, tack, or cowboy boots. We cover training problems, or competing in shows. We talk to farriers and horse chiropractors. We talk about movies, books and magazine articles. And, we travel to places we think you would like to take your horse. That’s what the Whoa Podcast is all about.

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We have well over 90 episodes up now and you can find them all for free on iTunes, with our Android App in the Amazon store, and now Stitcher, or wherever podcasts are distributed. Get the Stitcher app and let us know how it works. It’s Free. You can also find every episode and more about the show at whoapodcast.com. Please take a moment and join our email list. Get in on the conversation with Facebook and Twitter – just look for WhoaPodcast.

You are a big part of why we do this podcast. We really love getting your feedback. Please let us know your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for the show. You can email us at: John@WhoaPodcast.com

I blog at TrainingJessie.blogspot.com and I have a new blog about my Louisiana Leopard Catahoula puppy named Buster at BusterBrownDog.blogspot.com and if you want to know even more – and I can’t imagine why – it’s all at JohnHarrer.com

Thanks for listening,

John & Ranae

Episode #065

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Bar SZ Ranch Home of Doc Bar and Thomas Kinkade

June 3, 2014 by John Leave a Comment

The Bar SZ Ranch

The Bar SZ Ranch was once the home of legendary American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame stallion, Doc Bar. As part of an event of a No Worries Club West Coast Group, the Nor Cal Downunder Brumbies, we participated in a weekend long stay at this famous ranch. While Doc Bar died in 1992 he is still buried on the Bar SZ Ranch under a walnut tree just outside the mare barn.

The Bar SZ Ranch was sold to the artist Thomas Kinkade in 2001. The Bar SZ Ranch has a main house, a guest house, and an art studio apartment. Located in San Benito, California, once a stagecoach rest stop between Fresno and Monterey, the property is under the guidance of the Kinkade Foundation. The Bar SZ Ranch managers are Tim and Michelle Borland who also happen to be part of the group.

Nearly thirty people participated in the group activities. Meals and cleanup were shared between the attendees. The only thing we had to worry about was taking care of and having fun with our horses. There were a ton of things to do around the ranch. We had a large open arena, a covered arena, a couple of round pens, several different trail courses to ride on, and cows. One session was on ranch sorting, where participants got to try their had at moving cows. Another was roping and we had some mechanical devices to rope. For each event, the Bar SZ Ranch brought in a knowledgeable neighbor to help instruct.

When we were not with the horses we spent an ample time hiking or just lounging around enjoying the company of our new friends in a gorgeous setting.

If you would like to read more about our trip, check out this blog page.

Links to the Bar SZ Ranch:

There are lots of ways to get information on the Bar SZ Ranch. Below are links for their website, Facebook, and rental pages.

Bar SZ Ranch Website Facebook VRBO AirBNB1 AirBNB2

Nor Cal Downunder Brumbies

Chris White Equine Sports Massage Therapy HorseMasseuse@aol.com

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