thedrifter
02-02-06, 05:45 PM
Stepp Stables a mainstay at Camp Pendleton
MCB Camp Pendleton
Story by Cpl. Tom Sloan
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2006) -- Major Jon E. Langlois is decked out in his cowboy gear, blue jeans, boots and hat, and he is ready to ride. With bridal and feed bucket in hand, he saunters over to the stable where his horse, Bounce, is pawing the ground in eager anticipation. The playful 13-year-old American Paint Horse gelding rears his head and lets out a whinny when Langlois appears. It’s time to hit the trail.
Langlois, like many servicemembers, spends his weekends at the Stepp Stables
“I try to make it out here as much as possible,” said the 33-year-old AH-1W Super Cobra pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367.
The Marine Corps Community Services’ Semper Fit Division sponsors the facility, which is open to servicemembers and Department of Defense cardholders, explained Debbie L. McCaim, secretary and long-time equestrian. Civilians are welcome, provided they’re accompanied by a servicemember, added the Fallbrook resident.
The stables operate Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offer something for every level of horseman, whether they’re a beginner, intermediate or expert equestrian, explained McCaim, who’s been associated with the facility off and on since 1968, when her father, the late Lt. Col. G.M. Jinx McCaim, was the director of the Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society.
Langlois is a relatively new horseman. Though he spent very little time around horses while growing up in Fitchburg, Mass., he became increasingly interested in riding after he was stationed here in 2003.
“I heard about these stables, and I started coming on the weekends,” he recalled.
Langlois started taking riding lessons and going on trail rides. He also volunteered to feed the horses and help out around the stables. His fun was cut short, however, with the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom Two.
“I deployed to Iraq, but I picked up right where I left off when I got back,” he said.
His love for horses had grown to the point where he decided to purchase his own horse.
“(Bounce) came up for sale, and I bought him,” he said. “I’ve had him for seven months now.”
Langlois is one of many servicemembers who owns a horse and boards it at the stables.
“There are 120 privately owned horses boarded here, and we have 70 horses available for trail riding,” explained McCaim. “We also give riding lessons.”
“Parents bring their children here and take them riding,” she said. “There are activities here that get the whole family involved. Young Marines come out and ride, too, and we encourage them to bring their friends.”
Major Mike Celis, Department of Safety and Standardization officer, Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 164, brought his two children, Alex, 6, and Mandy, 3, to the stables for a family outing.
“This is our first time here,” he said as he hoisted his son and then his daughter up onto the back of an old, gentle bay mare. “We heard about the place from a friend that brings his family here.”
With his son and daughter seated in the saddle, Celis led the steed down one of the trails.
Celis said he likes what Stepp Stables offered.
“I think the place is awesome, and we wouldn’t (go horseback riding) if the base didn’t make it available,” he said. “It’s not something you’d expect this close to San Diego.”
McCaim said business at the stables is booming year round, with approximately 65 riders per day during the summer.
“We get a lot of repeat customers,” she said. “The Marines that come and ride for the first time enjoy it so much that they come back. We also get people coming here to ride from as far as Okinawa and the East Coast. We’re probably the largest on the West Coast.”
McCaim believes the stables, which with pens, arenas riding trails and pasturage encompass more than 6,500 acres, remain popular because of what it has to offer.
“We have a good time here,” she said. “It’s a great place to come and have fun. People see deer and all kinds of wildlife when they’re riding. It’s better than Disneyland.”
The Marine Corps built the stables in 1950. In 2003, MCCS renamed it in honor of Sgt. Maj. William F. Stepp.
For more information call 725-5094.
MCB Camp Pendleton
Story by Cpl. Tom Sloan
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2006) -- Major Jon E. Langlois is decked out in his cowboy gear, blue jeans, boots and hat, and he is ready to ride. With bridal and feed bucket in hand, he saunters over to the stable where his horse, Bounce, is pawing the ground in eager anticipation. The playful 13-year-old American Paint Horse gelding rears his head and lets out a whinny when Langlois appears. It’s time to hit the trail.
Langlois, like many servicemembers, spends his weekends at the Stepp Stables
“I try to make it out here as much as possible,” said the 33-year-old AH-1W Super Cobra pilot with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367.
The Marine Corps Community Services’ Semper Fit Division sponsors the facility, which is open to servicemembers and Department of Defense cardholders, explained Debbie L. McCaim, secretary and long-time equestrian. Civilians are welcome, provided they’re accompanied by a servicemember, added the Fallbrook resident.
The stables operate Wednesday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offer something for every level of horseman, whether they’re a beginner, intermediate or expert equestrian, explained McCaim, who’s been associated with the facility off and on since 1968, when her father, the late Lt. Col. G.M. Jinx McCaim, was the director of the Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society.
Langlois is a relatively new horseman. Though he spent very little time around horses while growing up in Fitchburg, Mass., he became increasingly interested in riding after he was stationed here in 2003.
“I heard about these stables, and I started coming on the weekends,” he recalled.
Langlois started taking riding lessons and going on trail rides. He also volunteered to feed the horses and help out around the stables. His fun was cut short, however, with the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom Two.
“I deployed to Iraq, but I picked up right where I left off when I got back,” he said.
His love for horses had grown to the point where he decided to purchase his own horse.
“(Bounce) came up for sale, and I bought him,” he said. “I’ve had him for seven months now.”
Langlois is one of many servicemembers who owns a horse and boards it at the stables.
“There are 120 privately owned horses boarded here, and we have 70 horses available for trail riding,” explained McCaim. “We also give riding lessons.”
“Parents bring their children here and take them riding,” she said. “There are activities here that get the whole family involved. Young Marines come out and ride, too, and we encourage them to bring their friends.”
Major Mike Celis, Department of Safety and Standardization officer, Marine Medium Helicopter Training Squadron 164, brought his two children, Alex, 6, and Mandy, 3, to the stables for a family outing.
“This is our first time here,” he said as he hoisted his son and then his daughter up onto the back of an old, gentle bay mare. “We heard about the place from a friend that brings his family here.”
With his son and daughter seated in the saddle, Celis led the steed down one of the trails.
Celis said he likes what Stepp Stables offered.
“I think the place is awesome, and we wouldn’t (go horseback riding) if the base didn’t make it available,” he said. “It’s not something you’d expect this close to San Diego.”
McCaim said business at the stables is booming year round, with approximately 65 riders per day during the summer.
“We get a lot of repeat customers,” she said. “The Marines that come and ride for the first time enjoy it so much that they come back. We also get people coming here to ride from as far as Okinawa and the East Coast. We’re probably the largest on the West Coast.”
McCaim believes the stables, which with pens, arenas riding trails and pasturage encompass more than 6,500 acres, remain popular because of what it has to offer.
“We have a good time here,” she said. “It’s a great place to come and have fun. People see deer and all kinds of wildlife when they’re riding. It’s better than Disneyland.”
The Marine Corps built the stables in 1950. In 2003, MCCS renamed it in honor of Sgt. Maj. William F. Stepp.
For more information call 725-5094.