A FIRST AMENDMENT PUBLICATION Woodland Hills, California
Volume 137 - Issue 10
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
One copy free, each additional copy $1.00
Parade of Breeds returns to campus
Event showcased different horses with competitions taking place BY FABIOLA CARRIZOSA
Bull Magazine Editor-in-Chief
F
rom Clydesdales to miniature horses– from San Luis Obispo to Compton, the equestrian communities rolled into El Rancho Drive and made Pierce feel like the good old days again. After several years of hiatus due to COVID-19, The Parade of Breeds returned to Pierce College at the equestrian center on Saturday, Nov. 19. The event was free and for all ages on a sunny and windy afternoon. “We had people that came from as far as Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara just to show their breed off,” said Nicole Land, Adjunct Equine Science professor and one of the presenters at the show. “We kind of had to start from scratch to find all the people to come and donate their time to us,” said Ileana Martinez, the show manager and an Equine Science major. ”Luckily we found a lot of great people.” Martinez said that as a community, they can make things happen. “We had the Compton Cowboys here today and they are all about community, just like us,” Martinez said. The Compton Cowboys not only took part in the parade, but they also participated in the show
Photo by Fabiola Carrizosa
Audrey and Jackson Popoff drive the Clydesdales from Unhitched Ranch to perform a demonstration at the Parade of Breeds at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.
jumping arena and the color guard presenting the colors to kick off the event. Paris Scott of Compton Junior Equestrians rode Helio in the jumping arena as Professor of
Equine Sciences Heidi Paul MC’ed. “Helio is one of the horses that I used to ride a lot,” said Carlton Hook, Compton Cowboy and owner of Helio. “Our horses haven’t been around flags in a while, but they
didn’t react too badly to the flags blowing around. It’s about being really confident and really relaxed.” Land said that they may have had about 45 horses total there and 31 horses in the parade itself.
One of the presentations in the horse carriage arena was by Unhitched Ranch. Audrey and Jackson Popoff of Unhitched Ranch showcased Clydesdales pulling a hitch wagon that one may have seen
delivering freight 100 years ago in the United States. Young riders also performed barrel races on ponies. The event concluded with the parade in the closed arena. Equine science students in attendance and other spectators alike were asked to guess the breed of each horse and the color of their fur as they were brought out. Ileana said that she worked the night before until two in the morning to put the show together. The gusty winds that weekend presented a unique challenge to the execution of the show. Land said that the winds put the show schedule behind schedule. “I prayed for no rain, but I forgot about no wind,” Land said. Land also said that the Parade of Breeds event went fantastic with the amount of horses that showed up at the last minute. “The whole horse community just came out of nowhere and it was just brilliant,” Land said. The event was coordinated by students from the equine science department, from welcoming guests to selling snacks. “It is a way to connect to people and to get to know other people too,” Martinez said. “ You get to learn about different disciplines and different cultures.”
fcarrizosa.roundupnews@gmail.com
Dinosaur exhibit takes audience back in time
Extinct creatures on display at Pierce College until Dec. 18 BY CHRISTIAN CASTELLANOS Reporter
I
magine yourself traversing ancient lands with creatures three stories high and several school buses long. You’re at Pierce College, but 252 million years in the past. It is the Mesozoic Era and it's a Thursday. Dinosaurs populate this space, and 30-foot-long Triceratopses and 40-foot-long Brachiosauruses can be spotted in the distance. Suddenly, you come face-to-face with a breathing Utahraptor, with its piercing yell, its winking eyes and feathers. One can get carried away when they encounter all this at Dinosaurs in the Valley, an immersive event that aims to educate its audience about dinosaurs and leave spectators in awe. With over a 100 animatronic dinosaurs that are built to scale, from baby dinosaurs to a 40-foot-long T. Rex, event producer Matt Flynn said this was the “biggest dinosaur show in the United States.” “These are true to life size dinosaurs.” Flynn said. “True to color, true to sound as well as all their
movements.” Each dinosaur, according to Flynn, is made up of steel and metals with mechanical machines at the base, while foam and a rubber like material covers the outside. Placards with descriptions of each dinosaur are also destined to appear next to them, with Flynn saying at the time of this interview, “We‘re still in the process of putting that up.” After sunset the dinosaur exhibit took on a new look with LED lights illuminating more of their features. As Flynn put it, the night event takes on “a whole new effect.” “When it's dark out and we have colorful lights hitting the dinosaurs, you can just hear the noise of the dinosaurs and see one in the distance that's lit up faintly,” Flynn said. “It adds a little intensity to the experience.” SoCal Influential Mom Bloggers Club Member Cristal Valle, who toured the event at night with her son Christopher, wished there was more light at the time of the interview but as long as he’s having fun she said, “I’m all up for it.” Flynn addressed the lack of lights illuminating the walkway and said more lights will be added by opening night.
Valle, who came from Carpinteria and is often invited to attend events in LA, agreed to this event because her son loved dinosaurs. When asked about her favorite part of the event, she said, “The Jolly jumpers are pretty fun and all the interesting facts about the dinosaurs too.” Christopher, who is in the 1st grade, said he liked the different kinds of dinosaurs. The one he liked in particular? “The T. rex,” he said. For Explorer and Jurassic Park dinosaur advisor "Dino" Don Lessem, scientific accuracy is very important. When asked about why some dinosaurs at the event had feathers and others didn’t, Lessem said it's rare to get well preserved fossils that show the imprints of feathers in the rock and while little meat eating dinosaurs and a relative of the T. Rex had feathers, there is no evidence to suggest other dinosaurs had feathers. “We do know that the ones with feathers–they weren't any good for flying. So it kinda makes sense that a little animal would need the insulation of feathers to stay warm, whereas a big animal, like the giant dinosaurs, have what’s called ‘mass homeothermy,’” Lessem said, who is also the CEO and founder of the
Photo by Arwen Dominguez
(L-R) Kenny Thomas tells Ezekiel Duran to pet the dinosaurs gently as Juan Duran holds him at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 25, 2022.
animatronics company Dino Don, Inc. “They’re so warm inside like an elephant that it doesn’t take much for them to stay warm so they don’t need feathers.” The event is produced by Lessem,
Soccer season comes to an end [see SPORTS on pg. 6]
Photo by Phatarapong Piyarat
Livia Pereira (11) attempting to steal the ball from Sabine Yalung at Shepard Stadium in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Nov. 19, 2022.
Rainmaker Films and Ultimate Fun Productions. It has also partnered with local charitable foundation Motor4toys, whose mission it is to help as many children as possible during the holiday season.
Dinosaurs in the Valley will run weekends until Dec 18. More information can be found at vwww.dinosaursinthevalley.com. ccastellanos.roundupnews@gmail.com
Opinions...................................2 News/LA Life...........................3 Photo Essay.......................4 & 5 Sports........................................6