Woman's passion takes her from BC to SV
By Angela Randazzo Special to the Acorn

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers HORSE LOVER- Kathy Annotti feeds carrots to Gunner at the Keystone and Stepping Stone Riding Schools' paddock in Simi Valley on Sunday. Annotti, who hails from from Victoria, British Columbia, opened the business last spring and now offers a place to graze for injured or aging work horses.

When Kathy Annotti first walked the property on Tapo Canyon Road she was considering purchasing four years ago, she noticed a quartet of oak trees clustered together on a nearby hill. Among the four was one large grandfather oak, which Annotti saw as "the master," holding court over the field of grass and chaparral below.

"I envisioned this as one of my pastures," said the 44-year-old Thousand Oaks resident, who soon after decided to buy the 50-acre property and turn it into a farm.

Sadly, a wildfire destroyed the grandfather tree in the fall of 2003, but the name- Four Oaks Farm- stuck. Now horses graze in that very pasture and others like it at the new equine facility Annotti opened last spring in Simi Valley.

In the arena, Annotti teaches her clients the art of jumping horses under the banner of the Keystone Riding School. Her assistant, Shauntay Mashagh, trains younger riders ages 6 and up at Stepping Stone Riding School, also located on the farm.

"I want my clients to understand why we do things, and I want my horses happy," Annotti said. "Rider and horse are a true partnership. If we can communicate what we're expecting, the horses can do their job better."

While Annotti enjoys winning blue ribbons at competitions, she said her most important consideration is a horse's well-being.

"We're not a competitiondriven barn. At that point the animal becomes secondary," Annotti said. "We have personal-best goals when we go to a show, but not to the point where we say this horse isn't good enough for us."

Oak Park resident Sharon Ching is impressed with the training her daughter Lelaina, 11, has received under Annotti. "I love Kathy's way of thinking regarding riding and horses. She has patience with her students," Ching said. "Most of her clients have been training with her since they were girls, and now they're teens or adults. It's rare for someone to stay with a trainer for 10 or 15 years."

As a child in Victoria, British Columbia, Annotti rode at the public barn in town before getting a horse of her own.

"When I was 14 I got a horse named Sarah. She was my life. I rode her in hunter and jumper shows," Annotti said. "On a good day we were lucky enough to win ribbons. For me, it's always been about the fun part of it."

Annotti went to the University of Victoria for a business degree, but the lure of horseback riding wouldn't pull back its reins.

During a summer break, she moved to Oregon and didn't return to college after receiving a job offer to manage and care for horses in Newbury Park.Over the next 20 years, Annotti worked as a trainer and riding instructor in Burbank, Granada Hills and other locations.

With the establishment of Four Oaks Farm at 4860 Tapo Canyon Road, Annotti has finally found a place to call her own.

In addition to the riding academy, Annotti has created an equine retirement and rehabilitation facility for horses that are injured or aged out. "What I'm trying to do is give a place for horses that are working horses to come and relax when they're injured and get out of the work environment while they recover," Annotti said.

Annotti credits her husband, Marc, a land developer, and his office staff for helping to build the facility. Annotti said her friends helped with the grunt work.

Laura Friedmann, a retired teacher from Tarzana, helped Annotti build fences and put underground pipes together, sometimes by headlights as it got dark.

"It's heaven on Earth here. It's a wonderful place to come," Friedmann said. "It's like getting away from everything. You unload all your cares. You get that horse you pet and stroke and brush, and it's a different world."