Horseback Riding Trails of Southern California, Vol. 1

Everything the equestrian needs to know before hitching up their trailer: concise directions, ease of parking, trail maps and conditions, facility descriptions, and photos. Nineteen trails, on-the-road sources for veterinarians, safety and first-aid sections.

Paulette Mouchet is the author of the series, Horseback Riding Trails of Southern California, the first-of-a-kind guide to riding trails around the southland. Born in 1957, Ms. Mouchet moved to Southern California at the tender age of 9 months and has lived there ever since.

Like many horse-crazy children, Ms. Mouchet collected model horses and dreamed of having her very own horse. At the age of eleven, she joined the California Cavalry Command (CCC), an organization that celebrated horsemanship and the ideals of the Civil War U.S. Cavalry. Ms. Mouchet rode with the CCC for two years, learning teamwork and basic riding skills. On her thirteenth birthday, her childhood fantasy of horse ownership became a reality.

Through her junior and senior high school years, Ms. Mouchet rode almost every day. From 1975 through 1985, she managed a horse ranch where she continued to ride and enjoy horses. During this time, she received her bachelor's degree from California State University at Northridge and took horsemanship and horse management courses at Pierce Community College.

After marrying in 1978, Ms. Mouchet and her husband bought property near the Antelope Valley, which offers access to many riding trails. Ms. Mouchet continues to ride and learn from experts such as Buck Brannaman, teacher of resistance-free horsemanship.

Ms. Mouchet is a member of Equestrian Trails, Inc., Backcountry Horsemen of California, the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, and the Antelope Valley Trails, Recreation, and Environmental Council. She and her husband and two Peruvian Paso horses, Centella and Sam, explore new trails each month.