Meet the Barn

A Little About Our Herd

Hi! I am Kristen Zuraek and I have been riding horses since in grade school. Upon college graduation, like the day after, I adopted a Thoroughbred off the track, Queen's Emissary. We dabbled in dressage, but later I fell in love with the sport of reining. I started learning with my first Quarter horse, Tops A Lena, barn name Leoboy. He provided the foundation for me. From there, I bought her Quarter Horse, Winsome Peppy, barn name, Maverick (pictured on the left), and further pursued my Western riding journey. Between my oldest daughter, Charlize, following in my footsteps, my mom and dad riding and competing with me, and their breeding business, shows became a family affair. I have been competing on and off for over 20 years.

My family and I moved to a property in the hills with a 4 stall barn, paddocks, and an arena. Shortly after, I opened Rancho de las Reinas which allowed me to fall in love with horses in a whole new way. My studies in equine bodywork and massage have had a similar effect, as has starting my wild mustang, Carina. My true passion is horses and I am always looking for a deeper connection, improved methods to care for them, and simply has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. In my current riding, I am learning all about working ranch horse versatility with my Quarter horse filly, Shiney Nu Jewel, barn name, Tallahassee.

Carina

Carina is our adopted wild mustang who joined us in 2016 after having lived at the Bureau of Land Management for nearly 7 years. She is known affectionately as "our little grey mare."

Chic

Chic is our gorgeous and talented retired broodmare who, when crossed with our stallion, Custom Slider, produced many talented babies, several of which became world champions in western events. She is now the matriarch of the barn living her best life.

Cornbread

Cornbread was originally purchased as a competition reining horse for my oldest daughter, Charlize. While she attended Davis, he spent 4 years on the UC Davis NCAA Horsemanship team. She moved on to vet school at Western U and he came home to join our lesson barn. He is an absolute pleasure to ride!

Darcy

Darcy joined Rancho in 2020. She is named after Mrs. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: a favorite movie of Kristen's. She now is privately owned by a beloved client.

Lilo

Lilo is one of the barn cats at Rancho. She was brought to the barn in and is extremely outgoing and adventerous.

Milo

Milo is a retired reiner who joined the family when my daughter, Rachel, wanted to begin reining. Though Rachel decided to dance instead, Milo became essential to Rancho as one of the best beginner lesson horses!

Rawhide

Rawhide has been in my family for generations and is the golden oldie of the barn. A retired reiner with many victories under his belt, he is now known for his exceedingly gentle disposition while helping beginners ride.

Tallahassee

Tallahassee, also known as Tallee, is the newest addition to Rancho. Tallee enjoys being hand-walked on the trails and loves targeting cones for treats. Her riding skills are improving and I am looking forward to showing Tallee in Ranch Horse Versatility classes.

Wendy

Wendy is the second barn cat at Rancho. She is more feral and shy than Lilo, thus her picture is quite outdated. You can tell her apart from Lilo by the white marking on her chest. She also talks alot!

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