Riding Down

In LeRoy Makepeace’s Sherman Thacher and His School, a chapter detailing life at Thacher just before the turn of the 20^th century contains this: "Even after the railroad was built [to Ojai—then Nordhoff], the school seldom used it when the boys went to Ventura in a body. Riding was cheaper, more colorful, and more fun. The boys from 'up at Thacher’s' became a distinct feature of the valley." Daily, one boy fetched the mail at the post office in town. The whole school rode to church en masse. One early November weekend in 1904 that involved a trip farther afield was chronicled in El Archivero, the yearbook: "Mr. William Thacher [brother of the founder] and party left for Fillmore. Brooks’s pleasure was slightly marred by the loss of his horse, which died of old age en route. Otherwise the trip was a grand success. The Sespe Gorge proved highly interesting." (Interesting? In more ways than one, apparently.)

Current Thacher folk—students and faculty—hold fast to certain of those “colorful” back-in-the-day activities that involve non-motorized transport. Some walk to Ojai; some run—a 5-mile workout one way. A significant number bike down. Before long vacations, the entire freshman class and upperclass riders trot their horses to pasture, deep and away on the south side of the Valley. Once in awhile, a small group will ride down for Sunday brunch, leaving their steeds for the duration in a small corral down Montgomery Street, a pen refurbished a few years back by PTS members.

Earlier this fall, a group of senior girls, Head of School Michael Mulligan, and one of this year’s Thacher Fellows, Dana Vancisin, saddled in the late afternoon and hoofed it down through the orchards, along Hendrickson and onto McNell, thence to Reeves and, finally, Boccali’s, reenacting another tradition: mounting up and heading to where victuals and fresh lemonade have been abundant for decades. (Pre-Boccali’s, it was Papa Romano’s, and before that, The Pop Stand.)

The seniors—Christina Hartman, Oliva Stonehouse, Valorie Denton-Moore, Erin Chisholm, Steffi Star, Cynthia Santos, Rae Murphy, and, behind the camera, Lili Pike—had a few thoughtful comments on the evening’s adventure, particularly in light of the fact that most had kissed their horses farewell back at the end of freshman year.

“Surprisingly, it felt pretty natural [to be back on a horse]. It all sort of came back to me once I got to the barns,” said Rae. “Basically, the ride gave me a really awesome ‘only at Thacher’ moment to tell all my friends elsewhere. How many people can say they rode on horseback to go get pizza with their high school principal? My favorite part came at the end. By the time we got back to school, it was already dark. We (and by "we," I mean Mr. Mulligan) decided to take a detour back to the barns via the Upper Field. In the midst of bush-whacking in the dark on the trail back to the barns, there was a clearing where you could see the whole Ojai Valley all lit up below. I'm a sucker for those sort of moments, so I may be biased when I say the view was spectacular. I wish we could have stayed there for just a tad bit longer to enjoy the moment.

Olivia (a palomino in a former life), remarked on the delights of relative spontaneity: “Riding to supper reminded me of how, at Thacher, you can decide to get together for this sort of event and just make it happen—and have an awesome time!”

Having spent her junior year studying abroad in Beijing, China, Lili shared thoughts that were, naturally, informed by that several-month geographical and temporal distance from Casa de Piedra and the Ojai: “For me, this ride marked the passage of time. I really felt like a senior, returning to the barns and remembering going through the motions of tacking and mucking as a freshman. Being back on a horse feels awkward for about three minutes, and then, suddenly, you’re trotting through the avocado and orange orchards and everything falls back into place again. Dropping into the Valley down Hendrickson Road—well, you can forget how beautiful it is.

“And by the time we started riding back up to campus after dinner, the light having faded completely, the only visible signs of our passing through the dark were the sparks flying off the horses’ hooves. We all rode side by side through the orchard, our sense of camaraderie intensifying as we guided each other through the trees. Then, after loping around in circles on the lower field, we stopped at the Outdoor Chapel at the very end, whole valley spread out below with lights flickering in and out, and the moon rising above the hills: a perfect night!”

As testament, see the Media Gallery attached. Photography by Lili Pike.