About Chris Sobenes

Chris Sobenes was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. She fell in love with horses at an early age. On her first horse, Shamrock, she delivered newspapers and would go horse camping in the mountains behind Santa Barbara.

She has covered every inch of trail in Hope Ranch on her thoroughbred, Captain.

As she got older, she studied horsemanship with Ray Hunt and Buck Brannaman, and Cam Schryver. Chris is the California central coast sponsor for Buck Brannaman ‘s Horsemanship Clinic.

She has been a finalist in the Buck Brannaman Pro-Am Ranch Roping competition (the first year she competed).

For over 15 years, she was the equine manager and instructor at Rancho Rio Vista in Ojai. She has helped riders and horses of all disciplines and backgrounds improve their riding and understanding of horsemanship,

Chris currently is a traveling trainer at various ranches, training facilities, and private estates in Santa Barbara, Ojai, Ventura, Malibu, Thousand Oaks and Los Angeles.

Woman in plaid shirt and cowboy hat sitting outdoors near stone wall, smiling and laughing.
A man dressed in Western attire, including a cowboy hat, plaid shirt, and chaps, stands next to a brown horse. The man is smiling and holding the horse's face with one hand, while the horse has its eyes closed. They are in an outdoor riding arena with a wooden fence and trailers in the background.

About Jeremiah Sobenes

Jeremiah fell in love with horses late in life when their daughter could not afford to keep her appaloosa, Durango, at college. Durango became Jeremiah’s horse and Jeremiah became Chris’s student. Jeremiah enjoys working with troubled horses and teaching them fundamentals to improve their confidence and focus. Horses need strong leadership including jobs that give them success.

Durango and Jeremiah have made it to the finals of the Buck Brannaman Pro-Am Ranch Roping competition three times.

Jeremiah enjoys working with young horses and getting horses past unwanted behaviors.

His equine heroes are Chris Sobenes, Buck Brannaman, Cam Schryver, and is a student of Alois Phodhajsky, Francois Baucher, and Xenophon.