Horses

Between Horses and Humans and The Porch Movement invite you to join us for a heartwarming afternoon at our brand-new location, Amacker Ranch at 975 Centerville Lane in Gardnerville, NV! Immerse yourself in a world of arts, crafts, delectable treats, and heartwarming horse encounters.

I met a magical horse recently. She loved having her picture taken, if that is not enough, she posed. After about 15 minutes of photographing her I finally went to my car. I took one last look at her before I left and she was happily galloping up the hill that was behind her. I couldn't write a more perfect story!

Here at Kids & Horses in Douglas County's Carson Valley, our volunteers are a valuable member of the Kids & Horses family. They give so much of their time, energy, and love to our horses and clients, and we could not be more grateful. Each of them have their unique stories of how they came to the ranch and what experiences have made an imprint on their hearts.

Please take a moment to read about another one of our amazing volunteers, and if these stories inspire you,

Please save the date for Kids & Horses "Raise" the Barn fundraiser at the Crystal Bay Casino on September 16th, 2023. The event will be from 4pm-8pm.

There will be live music from Reckless Envy, line dancing with Country Casey, a country BBQ dinner, spirit tasting and more! You won't want to miss out on this night of fun for a great cause!

Kids & Horses is excited to be hosting our 10th annual fundraiser golf tournament at the beautiful Incline Village Championship Course on June 5th. Enjoy a beautiful day at the lake with your friends, and golf for a great cause! This is our largest fundraiser event of the year, and all proceeds go directly towards keeping our programs and facilities open for our community.

LAKE TAHOE, Nev. — Spooner Lake is one of Nevada’s most popular places to hike, mountain bike, ride horses or simply enjoy nature, and welcomes more than 150,000 visitors every year. On Thursday, the Nevada Division of State Parks is pleased to launch the bidding process for the park’s much-anticipated Spooner Lake Improvement Project, which involves a complete redesign and update of the facilities, including construction of a visitor center and amphitheater.

Happy New Year! Many of us are glad to see the end of 2020 and hope 2021 will be much healthier and more peaceful. The calendar says winter is here, but the temperatures don’t seem to agree. I’m not complaining — sunny winter days in the upper 40s make me happy. Something that does concern me though is the lack of snow.

Hindu mantras will open Board of Lincoln County Commissioners meeting in Nevada on January four for the first time since the county was established in 1866; containing verses from world’s oldest extant scripture.

Every winter, Carson Valley becomes a nesting ground for bald eagles, golden eagles, falcons, hawks, owls and other wildlife as they congregate to the region. Carson Valley’s expansive open space and cattle ranches provide habitat for the wintering birds of prey.

The Stewart Conservation Camp sits adjacent to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in the southeast corner of Carson City. Those serving time here are generally low risk, non-violent, held under minimum security and allowed to take on jobs like fighting wildfires and even training wild horses.

Carson High School's NJROTC Drill and Color Guard team competed in their first ever ‘virtual’ drill competition hosted by University of North Carolina ROTC program. The various teams’ performances were captured on video and sent to the University for judging.

When inmate Austin Miller started working with wild horses nearly two years ago at the Stewart Conservation Camp in Carson City, he knew very little about horses.

Lyon County is investigating a complaint that road department personnel allegedly harassed wild horses early Monday near Lahontan Street and US 95A in Silver Springs.

It’s no secret that Carson Valley is an exceptionally beautiful pocket of northern Nevada where nature, landscapes and legendary characters come together throughout the region’s four communities of Genoa, Gardnerville, Minden and Topaz Lake. The destination offers photographers a wonderland of opportunities to capture telling moments in time.

I have often written about my friend Laura’s fantastic gardens. She has always had horses and chickens. Then, also having a tractor, she was able to turn and aerate large piles — all the ingredients and tools for outstanding compost.

Due to increased horse activity on U.S Highway 50 and Alternate U.S. 395, Nevada Department of Agriculture and Nevada Department of Transportation officials urge motorists to use extreme caution when driving in the Virginia Range area.

Northern Nevada Development Authority and Visit Carson Valley’s cooperative partnership to promote Carson Valley as a film location is not only creating awareness, it is driving results.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management law enforcement recently removed approximately 45 abandoned vehicles illegally dumped on public land. Many of the vehicles were removed from the Mound House area east of Carson City and north of Reno in the Sun Valley area.

A pair of friends enjoy the morning at Buzzy's Ranch in Carson City.

Heading into the weekend, there’s a bevy of activities around the Carson City region. The American Cancer Society is hosting a poker run Saturday at Mills Park, and a free lacrosse clinic for kids ages 6-12 will be held at John L. Harvey Field. The Nevada Humane Society is virtually hosting its annual “Adopt a Duck” fundraiser for interested participants. Combined with train rides and live music, there’s plenty of excitement going on over the weekend! Read on for more information.

Nevada’s open roads are beckoning travelers who have been home-bound since mid-March. At a time when 18 states currently won’t accept Nevadans unless they quarantine for two weeks, it’s tempting to hop in the family car and explore Nevada history and nature giving you the opportunity to escape the tedium caused by the pandemic and to temper your wanderlust.

A group of about thirty Black Lives Matter protesters from Gardnerville, Carson City and Lake Tahoe took to the streets of Douglas County today, where they were met with hundreds of heavily armed counter-protesters, some of whom were physically and verbally assaulting the mostly-teenaged protesters.

In a scene reminiscent of the "old days" a small string of pack laden horses recently made their way into the rugged Toiyabe Mountains of central Nevada. Their precious cargo was neither gold nor silver but rather a load of brook trout fingerlings bound for two of the many small streams that can be found in that part of the Silver State.

UPDATE: Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch reports Wednesday that the #NumbersFire southeast of Gardnerville has grown to 20,500 acres. The Bureau of Land Management reports a lower figure, 18,000 acres, with 5 percent containment. The recommended evacuations for the Bodie Flats and Pineview areas have been lifted. Only residents are allowed to these areas.
***
UPDATE 3:40PM From Douglas County: The Numbers Fire is 0 percent contained and the fire is estimated to be at 10,000 acres as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the county's Facebook page. Multiple local, state and federal fire agencies are assisting and there are numerous fire apparatus and firefighters working on the scene.

Equipment on scene includes dozers, handcrews and aircraft. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time. No injuries have been reported at this time. The Carson Valley Inn and the Holiday Inn Express are serving as evacuation sites. The fire is on Washoe tribe land south of Gardnerville, continues to put up dense smoke. The fire has burned at least 1 home and 10 outbuildings.
***
Smoke and haze from the Numbers Fire burning south of Gardnerville will be apparent Tuesday throughout much of the Carson Valley and surrounding areas, according to the National Weather Service.

Celebrate the Fourth of July weekend with a historic steam train ride from Virginia City to Gold Hill in our beautifully restored outdoor cars with social distancing, powered by 100-year-old heritage locomotives.

UPDATE 5:18 p.m.: the acreage of the fire has been updated to 1,600 acres.

UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: the acreage of the fire has been updated to 800 acres.

UPDATE 3:21 p.m.: Douglas County releases the following press release:

Minden, NV- Several agencies including Bureau of Land Management, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, East Fork Fire, the US Forrest Service and the Nevada Division of Forestry are currently responding to the Monarch Fire, a Brush fire in the Fish Springs Pinenut Creek Rd area.

No structures are threatened at this time.

No active road closures at this time.

Douglas County is asking the public to please stay aware of your surroundings. The fire is moving possibly East of community. Stay aware and alert in the event of wind changes. The fire is currently estimated to be around 800 acres. (subject to change)

Please Call 911 if you need help. We have sent out a cell phone message to those in the area but you may also receive the alert in other areas in the valley.

As a reminder, please make sure your cell phone is signed up for our reverse 911 emergency alert notification system. You can register your cell phone here.

We will continue to update you as the information becomes available on this page: https://www.douglascountynv.gov/cms/One.aspx

UPDATE 3:10 p.m: a second fire was reported near Topaz Lake.

UPDATE 2:31 p.m.: the acreage of the fire has been updated to 250 acres.

UPDATE 2:19 p.m. the acreage of the fire has been updated to 80 acres.

UPDATE 1:56 p.m.
A press release was issued regarding the fire which states the following:

East Fork fire is currently responding to a Brush fire named the #MonarchFire in the Fish Springs Pinenut Creek Rd area, and is asking the public to please stay aware of your surroundings. The fire is moving possibly East of community. Stay aware and alert in the event of wind changes. Call 911 if you need help. Fish Springs, South and East of the community and covering the Sierra Spirit Ranch. We have sent out a cell phone message to those in the area but you may also receive the alert in other areas in the valley. We will continue to update you as the information becomes available.

East Fork Fire Protection District responded Wednesday afternoon to a brush fire off of Pine Nut Road in Douglas County.

Tucked away in the valleys of Dayton, a multi-generational ranch and farm has been quietly producing organic and sustainable agriculture for decades to the local community.

Holley Family Farms has been owned and operated since 1970, and bases their practices on the 19th century farming traditions of Dayton Valley, “where Italian immigrants produced vegetables and meat for the thousands of residents of the Virginia City Comstock,” according to the Holly Family Farms blog.

Just before 2 p.m. Friday afternoon a vehicle fire involving a horse trailer was reported 8 miles up the hill from Spooner.

The horses were removed from the trailer and were out of harms way.

However, the fire was reported to be spreading towards brush at 1:56 p.m.

Motorists should seek alternate routes.

Photographer Allison Gill was driving on East Lake Boulevard, north of Carson City on Monday evening and saw these wild horses by Little Washoe Lake. She thought they were beautiful and, being the aspiring photographer that she is, pulled over and hiked out into the field to get some pictures. These horses are exactly what you think of when you think of Wild West Nevada.

CARSON CITY — The old saying that legends never die might also be said about old locomotives. Many of those iron horses, long lost to time or the scrap heap, live on through historic photographs, artwork and the hearts and minds and skillful hands of railroad buffs.