Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
![]() Mosquito and Vector Control Bakersfield is an agricultural community and according to Wikipedia, Kern County is the fourth most productive agricultural county in the USA. Kind of hard to assume anything else with a name like Baker's field. Really. That's how the city got its name. Colonel Baker had a residence and a field that was used as a stop-over by travelers. Baker's field became Bakersfield. We have excellent access to all things grown or raised, but that also means we get some of the pests that accompany those products. Mosquitos are of particular concern to our county leaders. As such, our county has developed a vector control program. The Vector Control Program provides for the surveillance, mitigation and educational outreach regarding animals that are capable of transmitting diseases to humans, which includes involvement with seasonal plague surveillance and response to ongoing and emerging vectors. ![]() Jimmy, our mosquito guy I don't know a lot about the program, but I thought I'd share what I do know since the mosquito guy was at our barn this week and was nice enough to answer my zillion questions. Essentially, each driver has an assigned area that he is responsible for monitoring. Our guy monitors areas of the northeast along both sides of the Kern River. He deposits mosquito fish into the ponds and standing water that he finds near the river. He also adds mosquito fish to water troughs, abandoned swimming pools, and any other place where he finds standing water. Mosquitos lay their eggs in quiet water, but the mosquito fish eat those eggs which helps to reduce/eliminate the mosquito problem. Mosquitos are of grave concern here in California as they are vectors of the West Nile Virus. Kern County has had a fair amount of human and equine cases of West Nile, but I can't say how our numbers compare with other counties. Here are the known cases in Kern County since 2007. To give you an idea of the size of Kern County, it's pretty big, here is a map of California with Kern County shaded orange and Bakersfield and nearby towns shaded in red.
lytha
7/1/2012 06:53:42 am
KILL THEM ALL, mosquito fish! (and how cool, a mosquito control guy!!)
Karen
7/1/2012 08:54:26 am
Lytha - one advantage you have is that your winters are cold enough to kill all that stuff. Our winters in the central valley can be pretty mild which can prevent eggs and other larvae from dying off. Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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