Cotati couple honored for horse work

Bruce and Connie Martin will be honored today for their decades of hard work and love of all things equestrian, walking away from Farmer’s Day at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds with the 2015 Award of Excellence in Horse Industry. It’s the culmination of a lifetime spent riding and raising horses, while surrounded by others who shared the lifestyle.

“It is a real honor to be associated with those people that have received the award in the past and those to come,” Bruce Martin said. “The people who have received it is quite a list.”

The Martins first met as teenage members of the Sebastopol Wranglers riding club.

“I probably never would have met her otherwise,” said Martin, who grew up in Sebastopol. “She was a Cotati girl.”

They went on to attend Santa Rosa Junior College together and then Chico State University before settling in Connie’s hometown. They had two sons, and Bruce was working as an agricultural appraiser when, in the 1970s, they stumbled upon a business idea. Martin Ranch Supply was born.

“I used to love to build fences but hated to repair them,” he said. “We started building fences and gates that were of a different style and were more durable, which was a bit unheard of at the time.”

The Martins were instrumental in creating a wide variety of products such as barns, feeders, fixtures, gates, stall doors and grills, many of which were the first of their kind in Sonoma County.

“We made a lot of custom components for local barn builders, of which there were (and are) some great ones,” Connie Martin added. Developing those unique products is one of Bruce’s favorite accomplishments, even after all this time.

Over the years, they stayed active in the horse community. Bruce served on ag department advisory committees at Petaluma and Vintage high schools, along with Santa Rosa Junior College. Connie and friends hosted Friday night schooling shows at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. With partner Carol Clothier, she formed North Bay Horse Shows and presented hundreds of horse shows over a 10-year period.

Their children belonged to 4-H and showed horses at the Sonoma County Fair, with their oldest son winning a Western Championship open horse show award at the San Francisco Junior Cow Palace when he was 14.

“That is one of my favorite memories,” Connie said.

“He was on a homegrown horse, too,“ added Bruce.

Now the couple has come full circle, having sold the family business and shifted into retirement. Bruce’s horse Oakie is the last of many great horses raised on their property

“I’ve had Oakie since he was 3, and now he is 31,” Bruce said. For years he was a great trail horse but, like Bruce, is now retired.

While the award means a lot, Bruce said, he is especially pleased that the Sonoma Country Trailblazers were behind it.

“Being invited to the Trailblazers turned into a lot of years of enjoyment,” he said, reminiscing about his longstanding membership with the group. “It does make it special, and I am tickled to see them support this type of thing. The foundation does a lot under the radar to support horses in our community.

“We were in business so many years, and with Connie putting on horse shows, being involved with the fair and other events, it has been a source of pleasure to know the people we have known, and it is nice to see the familiar faces.”

“Although there aren’t as many of us left anymore,” added Connie.

The public recognition for Bruce and Connie Martin takes place today the Chris Beck Arena at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road. For details, visit SonomaCountyFair.com or call 545-4200.

Contact Rohnert Park Towns Correspondent Nick Walden at RParkTowns@gmail.com.