Life with Horses

Story by KERSTIN KÜHN

SUE GRUBER SAYS SHE IS THE LUCKIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD. “NOT MANY PEOPLE GET TO LIVE THEIR DREAM, BUT I DO,” SHE ENTHUSES. INDEED, AT THE OJAI VALLEY TRAIL RIDING COMPANY AT OSO RANCH, SHE HAS TURNED HER LOVE OF HORSES INTO HER LIFE’S WORK, AND THAT’S CERTAINLY SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.

Located just west of Ojai, directly adjacent to the Ventura River Preserve, Gruber’s Oso Ranch — named after the nearby trailhead — is a sanctuary for any animal lover. With almost 100 horses and ponies as well as cows, goats, pigs, bunnies, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and a particularly vociferous peacock, it’s a place where the worries of the world get left behind. Daily trail rides take both locals and tourists into the protected river preserve, with its grasslands, meadows, and surrounding canyons offering a spectacular escape into nature. Riders are greeted by friendly guides and tacked up horses, and regardless of riding experience, Gruber’s steady steeds are there to take them on an hour-long adventure they won’t soon forget.

Among the 20 or so trail horses at the ranch most have either been rescued and come here to recover from injuries or been acquired and retired from former careers such as show jumping, roping, racing, and even police work. There’s Buttons, a former polo pony; Misty, a retired roping horse; Chia, whose injury saw her previous owners abandon plans for her to become a professional show horse; and Armador, an erstwhile three-day eventer and the great-grandson of Secretariat, the famous American Thoroughbred racing legend. These horses have been given a second chance at Oso Ranch because to Gruber a retired horse is just as special as a reigning champion. “Many people want the perfect package and will pass by purchasing a horse that’s older or has a little imperfection,” she says. “But even with a bit of arthritis, an overbite, a little blindness, or a scar, they’re still valuable citizens. I mean, my back doesn’t always feel good, but I can still put in a day’s work. I will buy any horse that is serviceably sound and work with its shortcomings. And more than that, I’ll give it a great home.”

Born in 1958, Gruber’s love of horses has been a life-long affair. While growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, she started horseback riding at the tender age of 9, when her mother took her on a trail ride. “I immediately caught the bug,” Gruber recalls. She started doing riding lessons “every Monday night for $5, come rain, sleet, snow, or heat,” and at age 12, her parents bought her first horse, a Pinto gelding called Cochise, who taught her many a lesson. “I definitely learned the hard way,” she laughs. “If I tell you not to tie your horse to a lawn chair that’s because I did. If I tell you not to jump on your horse bareback with a bucket of brushes in your hand, that’s because I did.”

At 14, Gruber attended her first horse show and got hooked. By the end of her first year of competing she was the All-Around Missouri Paint Horse Champion as well as Miss Missouri Pinto Queen and went on to compete at the National Miss Pinto Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

In 1974, Gruber’s parents moved lock, stock, and barrel to California, towing the family, including Cochise, all the way from Missouri to Los Altos in the Bay Area. Gruber completed high school and went on to enroll at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where in 1981, she graduated with a degree in agricultural business, writing her thesis on the feasibility of a horse-boarding facility. Soon after, she got married and moved, together with her new husband and two horses, to Oak View.

Based here, Gruber ran a successful private-yacht restoration business out of Ventura Harbor but despite the water’s great draw — water skiing has always been her second biggest passion — her love of horses and showing them never ceased. Over time she bought more and more of her own horses and participated in every event the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) had to over, showing in just about every discipline she could, including roping, reining, show jumping, dressage, and driving horses. She won countless titles, including 27 State Championships, two All-Around Open State Titles, five Superior Horse Awards, seven Honor Roll Achievement Awards, and over 50 All-Around Year-End Club Awards. What’s more, she has become an acclaimed judge, who has attended horse shows across the United States.

In 1994, Gruber divorced her husband and with all the money she had, bought the 10 acres of land that is now Oso Ranch. “I bought a travel trailer and a porta-potty and moved in with my 3-year-old son and three horses,” she recalls. Over the years, and with a lot of help from friends and family, Gruber built Oso Ranch into a horseback riding haven. There are two large arenas for both English and Western style riding, as well as another smaller arena and a number of round pens. There are barns, pastures, stalls, and stables housing the many horses, not to mention the other farm animals who call Oso Ranch their home. Gruber doesn’t just provide a great space for horse owners and lessees to learn, practice, and immerse themselves in the equine way of life, but also offers lessons to children and adults alike, and over the years she has hosted many a horse show and event.

Building the ranch up from the ground has been nothing short of a labor of love and Gruber insists that much of it is thanks to the kindness of the community. “Slowly one blessing after another walked down my driveway,” she explains. “Someone would come and say, ‘Hey I’m selling my horses, take all my saddles.’ Or, ‘I can’t ride anymore, please have my horse.’ Or, ‘Do you need a barn? I’ll gift you mine if you come and get it.’ One day someone knocked on my door and offered to pave my driveway for me. Everything you see on this property today has been built with the help and generosity of the community. It’s really been an amazing thing to see.”

But Gruber has given back, too. Not only has she rescued horses that nobody else wanted, in 2011, she founded Horses, Heart and Soul, a nonprofit organization that pairs dependents of the court and other at-risk children with those rescued horses. The program provides low-cost or free instruction on horsemanship and riding as well as care of horses in the stable atmosphere. “The idea is to create a sense of respect for the animals and one’s own self, as well as teaching responsibility for the care and wellbeing of the animal and the child,” she explains.

While the nonprofit received grants to operate and support the horses, the Covid-19 pandemic changed that. “We’re o the list and right now we have no money. So my instructor Katelyn is giving lessons out of the goodness of her heart and I’m supporting the horses. But I do hope the funds will return next year.”

Covid certainly changed a lot of things at the ranch. Not only was Gruber forced to cancel any and all shows, but she also initially shut down all operations, with only horse owners and lessees allowed on the property, and all lessons and trail rides canceled. But as the pandemic went on and things slowly reopened, business began to boom as trail rides became increasingly popular for people seeking outdoor and socially distanced activities.

As the sole vendor offering trail rides to guests of the Ojai Valley Inn, Gruber says that during the busy months she’ll have up to eight different groups hitting the trails per day. “We never turn people away, but some days do get very busy.” With five employees and plenty of volunteers, these days Gruber herself doesn’t get to ride too often. “I have osteoarthritis in my back, and it hurts,” she admits. “But I still do the feeding most days, which I love, because it means I’m still connected to all the horses.”

Gruber has certainly come a long way since riding Cochise as a little girl in Missouri but her passion and love for horses is as strong as ever. “When I submitted my thesis on the feasibility of a horse-boarding facility at college, my professor gave me a C-minus saying I was just a crazy horse girl and it would never work,” she recalls. “But I always knew that one day I would do it.”

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