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Memorabilia gathered from her four decades of successes in rodeos across the country fills Ramona Koch’s home—walls lined with photographs of an assortment of horses, a cabinet filled with engraved stirrups and belt buckles won in competitions, ribbons streaming down the antlers of a deer’s head, and more.
Recently, Koch received another trophy for her collection: the new poster for the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo, which features a photograph of her and her horse Calvin in competition at last year’s event.
According to David Westrick, president of the Saddle Horse Association Board of Directors, he and Rebecca Medeiros Wolf had been considering featuring a woman on the poster for several years, and Koch’s status as a cattlewoman trainer made her a perfect choice.
Westrick said that as the board members were selecting an image to use in the design, which would honor the rodeo’s heritage of local trainers showcasing their reining horses, the photograph of Koch, taken by Gloria Brigantino, “popped out” because it highlights Koch’s expertise exactly.
“Ramona obviously fits that bill,” Westrick said, “She’s competed and trained a lot of people in this community, including my daughter, to be quite successful in the arena. I hate to use the word destiny, but it was just perfect.”
The Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo includes the Downtown Parade at 11 a.m. on June 21, followed by a series of related events that culminate with the Rodeo on the weekend of June 27-29 at the Bolado Park Events Center.
Koch was surprised to find herself and Calvin on the poster and reflected on her fond memories of the day when the photo was taken.
“I love that little horse,” she said. “He tries so hard all the time, and he just buried at those stops. He was so awesome that day. He did his circles and changes flawlessly and stopped really good. He’s a special one.”
Calvin is just one of the many horses brought to her over the years by owners who say they need a little help. Now 72, training horses is Koch’s day job, but she has had a lifelong love affair with the animals.
“My parents didn’t have horses,” she said about her childhood in Campbell, “but my mom said my first word was probably ‘horse.’ I can’t remember not loving horses.”
Koch began riding at the age of nine, under the instruction of Don and Pat Avila, parents of famed horse trainer Bobby Avila. Her father bought her first horse, Pride Mac, which they found for her. She very quickly began to compete.
“The Avilas went to shows,” she said, “and so I went too. I showed in the showmanship and pleasure classes when I was 12 years old, and I won the 18-and-under showmanship at the Cow Palace.”
Her parents suffered a financial setback and though they lost almost everything they had, Koch was still able to keep her horse. Entering the job market at 18, she worked at a racetrack for two years before being hired by horse trainer Tony Amaral.
“It’s funny how life evolves where something presents itself at the right time,” Koch said. “He was one of the most famous cow horse trainers in the nation and I worked for him for five years until my parents passed away and I had to go home.”
At 23, Koch began working for herself, training horses, starting colts and giving lessons. Traveling in her Ford Pinto, her territory was from Almaden to Milpitas. She began to learn what kind of training a horse needed.
“You get on,” Koch said, “and they kind of tell you where you’ve got to start. You see if they have trouble with moving forward, moving backwards, giving their head, or moving away from your leg. You need them to be broke and obedient.”
In 1978, fate stepped in again when she took a horseshoeing class at Gavilan College. She took an advanced class the next year and ended up dating the teacher, Ron Koch. They were married in 1980 and moved to a property on Lone Tree Road, which they managed for more than 10 years.
“I started a lot of colts there,” Koch said. “Bill Dorrance, the great horseman, worked on a bunch of them with me. Then, Ron wanted to move out of state, so we went to Oregon, and after two years, we knew we needed to come back.”
Koch began competing regularly at Bolado Park in 1984, a return to the site of one of her earliest victories.
“I won my first class there at a quarter horse show when I was 14,” she said. “Never to know that I’d be living here one day and competing at the saddle horse show. So it’s a special place to me. It’s just in my heart.”
In her first year, she rode a horse named Flashin the Doc, named for having a distinctive white streak.
“He was a really nice horse,” Koch said, “but he was a horse that wasn’t for everybody. He was a pretty high-powered kind of guy, but he was a really great cow horse. Every class I ever entered with him at Bolado I won.”
In 1999, the couple purchased an 80-acre ranch in Paicines, where they continued to work with horses. When Ron died in 2001, Koch was determined to keep the business going.
“You know,” she said, “when you start a fire, it creates its own energy. That’s what this place did. We built everything here. I never dreamt I’d have this much going on here now.”
Expanding beyond training and shoeing horses, Koch is now involved in providing rest and rehabilitation for horses as well as a home for retirement horses. With 27 horses and 17 heifers on the property, it’s a full-time commitment.
“I get up around five-thirty,” she said, “then I’m feeding them, making sure they have fresh water, training them. The retirement horses need their medication. But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be living and nothing else I’d rather be doing.”
This year, Koch and her horse, Lucky, will be competing only in the open stock horse event, but she will have clients riding in the non-pro and boxing class events.
“I’ve competed on a lot of different horses at Bolado,” she said. “And they have all been very special. I think back on my first horse and all the mistakes I made. But so many horses have been great for me, and it’s been a good run.”
Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo schedule
June 22
8 a.m. – Figure 8 Eliminations – Free
11 a.m. – Jackpot Roping – Free
1:30 pm – Membership BBQ Lunch
June 27
8 a.m. – Class Eliminations – Free
4 p.m. – Western Art & Equipment Show – Free
4 -7 p.m. – Dane Browning – Free
4:30 p.m. – Wine & Beer Tasting
6:30 p.m. – Horse Show & Rodeo
June 28
8:30 a.m. – Dally Team Roping Eliminations – Free
8 a.m. – Halter Horse Classes – Free
10 a.m. – Saddle Horse Show Special Rodeo – Free
10 a.m. – Special Rodeo at Joseph W. Tripiano Arena – Free
11 a.m. – Western Art & Equipment Show
1:30 p.m. – Horse Show & Rodeo
5 p.m. – Cowboy BBQ Dinner, Dance & Auction
June 29
8 a.m. – Stock Horse Class Eliminations – Free
11 a.m. – Western Art & Equipment Show – Free
1:30 p.m. – Horse Show & Rodeo and Charros Drill Team Performance
All events are at the Bolado Park Event Center. Tickets and information are available through the San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo. Tickets will also be available at the park.
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