WILLOW TREE FARM
Burson, California
Willow Tree Farm is a peaceful, well run horse breeding farm located in Burson, California. Staffed by exceptional horseman, the attention to detail for every horse is the only priority at Willow Tree. Producing some of the best horses for the Hunter-Jumper sport, Willow Tree also breeds select yearling for the Thoroughbred racing industry. Breeding the High sale yearling at the 2015 Barrett Sale in Pomona, California they were also the High score seller at that sale.
Willow Tree Farm prides itself in their breeding program being a "go to" place for Stallion Care, breeding, mare care, foaling and layups.
You are invited to contact Butch and Lu for a personal tour of the farm and opportunity to discuss the needs of your horse.
Willow Tree Farm prides itself in their breeding program being a "go to" place for Stallion Care, breeding, mare care, foaling and layups.
You are invited to contact Butch and Lu for a personal tour of the farm and opportunity to discuss the needs of your horse.
About UsButch and Lu Thomas own and operate the Burson facility in California.
With a horseman's love of the horses and a heart for their well being, Butch and Lu bring decades of experience to their lovely home farm. Their drive and dedication culminates in the excellent care of the horses, whether breeding or turnout or foaling, Butch and Lu are hands on of every horse on the farm |
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Clients• Some of the most amazing competitors, trainers, riders and owners have been involved over the years in Willow Tree Farm, Inc , both in the training and/or breeding program.
Infamous for their personal care of each individual horse, the horses well being is foremost in the program. Take a look at the USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award below for more information. |
AwardsGraeme “Butch” and Lu Thomas were honored with the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association’s Lifetime Achievement award during the association’s annual convention, held Dec. 6-10 in Orlando, FL.
The award honors members whose lifelong involvement in the sport and the USHJA itself has benefited the industry. Recipients of this award have dedicated their lives to furthering the disciplines of hunters and jumpers on a national platform. |
Butch Thomas•Born and raised in New Zealand, Butch has had a successful riding career, both before and after moving to the United States, including riding on the New Zealand Olympic Equestrian Team from 1966 to 1971.
A renowned rider, coach and trainer, Butch has outstanding leadership qualities that have contributed to the success of many riders and horses at the highest level. |
Lu ThomasAlso a highly regarded rider and trainer, Lu Thomas has an equally impressive resume that spans the hunter and jumper rings.
With successful rides in the FEI World Cup Jumping Finals and at prestigious hunter competitions such as the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, Lu now focuses on teaching students to excel in the Young Rider Competitions and the equitation division. |
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Butch and Lu Thomas - Their History
and the Road to Success
2015 USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award
The names one recognize easily are Butch and Lu Thomas, and it’s a pretty good bet that you have heard of them if you have been around the show ring anywhere in the world. The journey of the Thomas’ and Willow Tree Farm is an interesting one and includes many of the names of successful hunter-jumpers riders, trainers and owners all over the country. The list below is the ‘short’ list otherwise it could go on for many many pages:
Present day professionals that have ridden with Butch and Lu:
Peter Breakwell
Mandy Porter
Michael Endicott
Rachel York-Fields
Alec Lawler
John Charlebois
Tami Breakwell
Shaina Masters Humphrey
Gail Greenough
Jan Pearce
Patrice Muffley Corbridge
Jessica Dalton
Lesann Leclaire
Carleton Brooks (assistant trainer for Butch and Lu)
Audrey Goldsmith
Nelly Freeborn Emerson (I don’t know if she is still teaching or riding)
Spencer Chapin (barn manager for Butch and Lu)
Sarah Baldwin
Mark Laskin
Mike Crooks
People in the business who also rode with Butch and Lu
Lisa Running Kunkle
Karl Cook
Ming Solomon Lovejoy
Tami Masters
Blair Nissan Pettit
Lindsay Nissan Urby
Kristin Kay
Fentris Hall
Riders that Butch and Lu helped
Ned Happy
Janie Andrews
Terry Haake
Annalise Withsidland
Megan Furth (deceased; stayed amateur, but at a top International level)
Peggy Munkdale
Gigi Herman
Barbara Phillips
People who rode with Butch and Lu that are prominent in the industry:
Barbara Ellison - breeding
KC Branscom - breeding
Nancy Southern - Spruce Meadows
“When I was young my Dad flew for Pan American,” Lu began. “He was a captain, and was senior enough that he could schedule his route where he would be gone the beginning of the month, and then be home the rest of the time so he could take me to horse shows. He would usually fly out of San Francisco, and go down to Auckland, then Sydney and home. When he was ‘down under’ there he would always look up horse-related stuff.”
He met a man there, Doug Hannigan, who had a saddlery. Her dad mentioned that Lu rode and Doug suggested that Lu be sent down under to ride with the New Zealand Olympic coach, Coloman Bolger.
“It’s a small world,” Lu told us. “Bolger was in the same Army with Bert de Nemethy.”
In 1963, Lu, her mom, and one of her sisters made the trip. Taking the opportunity to ride in a clinic there, it was then she first saw Butch.
“Not only was Butch a beautiful rider, he also had the best horse around. So even though we actually met in 1963,” Lu continued, “it was casual at best but we would keep in touch with a Christmas card each year. In May or June of 1965, I was working for Tommy and Pat Blakiston and one of their clients, Mrs. Raines, had a big breeding program going and wanted to buy outside bloodlines. It was Butch who brought two broodmares from New Zealand to Three Rings Ranch on the boat for her, yes on the boat.”
“After 1965 I didn’t see him again until 1971, but we still exchanged cards” Lu said. “It’s really a goofy story. One day he just called me up and said, ‘We’ve got to get married. Will you marry me?’ So I said yes and we got married in December of 1971, I moved to Tacoma, WA and we worked there for three years.”
“Soon after we married we were asked to come run Portola Farms in Northern CA. Since we were showing more there than we were in WA, we made the decision to move down. We ended up buying the business, which was the original Willow Tree Farm.”
As a family grew with the addition of a son, Guy, they moved the family home to Burson from Woodside in 1990.
Anytime any of the show horses have gotten hurt, or just needed a break, we send them out to Burson to lay them up. It has sub-divided grass fields and five four-acre grass paddocks. It’s beautiful with willow trees, and in the winter there’s a little creek that runs through it.”
“Since we handle several stallions, we’ve also got a lab with all the capabilities to do everything related to breeding, right out of our place. It works really well, sort of a horse heaven.”
“Signe Ostby was a client for 32 years and during that time acquired some beautiful, athletic stallions with super bloodlines and good competition records. We originally handled the breeding for her but now she has her own facility in Santa Cruz”
Perhaps one of the most well-known home grown horses to come out of the Willow Tree breeding program is Peterbilt. Having the distinction of being the only horse to have won the $150,000 Triple Crown, Peterbilt and rider Guy Thomas blazed a new trail for the west coast. A recent addition to the breeding program is Jonhkeer Z!!
Whatever each horse or rider is best suited for, under the direction of Butch, Lu, and Guy, expect to see many, many young horses and just as many riders, achieve great things in the future…following the history of the past. From so many years of contributing to the sport of show jumping, Butch and Lu certainly deserve the Lifetime Achievement Award honors, a lifetime well spent!!
and the Road to Success
2015 USHJA Lifetime Achievement Award
The names one recognize easily are Butch and Lu Thomas, and it’s a pretty good bet that you have heard of them if you have been around the show ring anywhere in the world. The journey of the Thomas’ and Willow Tree Farm is an interesting one and includes many of the names of successful hunter-jumpers riders, trainers and owners all over the country. The list below is the ‘short’ list otherwise it could go on for many many pages:
Present day professionals that have ridden with Butch and Lu:
Peter Breakwell
Mandy Porter
Michael Endicott
Rachel York-Fields
Alec Lawler
John Charlebois
Tami Breakwell
Shaina Masters Humphrey
Gail Greenough
Jan Pearce
Patrice Muffley Corbridge
Jessica Dalton
Lesann Leclaire
Carleton Brooks (assistant trainer for Butch and Lu)
Audrey Goldsmith
Nelly Freeborn Emerson (I don’t know if she is still teaching or riding)
Spencer Chapin (barn manager for Butch and Lu)
Sarah Baldwin
Mark Laskin
Mike Crooks
People in the business who also rode with Butch and Lu
Lisa Running Kunkle
Karl Cook
Ming Solomon Lovejoy
Tami Masters
Blair Nissan Pettit
Lindsay Nissan Urby
Kristin Kay
Fentris Hall
Riders that Butch and Lu helped
Ned Happy
Janie Andrews
Terry Haake
Annalise Withsidland
Megan Furth (deceased; stayed amateur, but at a top International level)
Peggy Munkdale
Gigi Herman
Barbara Phillips
People who rode with Butch and Lu that are prominent in the industry:
Barbara Ellison - breeding
KC Branscom - breeding
Nancy Southern - Spruce Meadows
“When I was young my Dad flew for Pan American,” Lu began. “He was a captain, and was senior enough that he could schedule his route where he would be gone the beginning of the month, and then be home the rest of the time so he could take me to horse shows. He would usually fly out of San Francisco, and go down to Auckland, then Sydney and home. When he was ‘down under’ there he would always look up horse-related stuff.”
He met a man there, Doug Hannigan, who had a saddlery. Her dad mentioned that Lu rode and Doug suggested that Lu be sent down under to ride with the New Zealand Olympic coach, Coloman Bolger.
“It’s a small world,” Lu told us. “Bolger was in the same Army with Bert de Nemethy.”
In 1963, Lu, her mom, and one of her sisters made the trip. Taking the opportunity to ride in a clinic there, it was then she first saw Butch.
“Not only was Butch a beautiful rider, he also had the best horse around. So even though we actually met in 1963,” Lu continued, “it was casual at best but we would keep in touch with a Christmas card each year. In May or June of 1965, I was working for Tommy and Pat Blakiston and one of their clients, Mrs. Raines, had a big breeding program going and wanted to buy outside bloodlines. It was Butch who brought two broodmares from New Zealand to Three Rings Ranch on the boat for her, yes on the boat.”
“After 1965 I didn’t see him again until 1971, but we still exchanged cards” Lu said. “It’s really a goofy story. One day he just called me up and said, ‘We’ve got to get married. Will you marry me?’ So I said yes and we got married in December of 1971, I moved to Tacoma, WA and we worked there for three years.”
“Soon after we married we were asked to come run Portola Farms in Northern CA. Since we were showing more there than we were in WA, we made the decision to move down. We ended up buying the business, which was the original Willow Tree Farm.”
As a family grew with the addition of a son, Guy, they moved the family home to Burson from Woodside in 1990.
Anytime any of the show horses have gotten hurt, or just needed a break, we send them out to Burson to lay them up. It has sub-divided grass fields and five four-acre grass paddocks. It’s beautiful with willow trees, and in the winter there’s a little creek that runs through it.”
“Since we handle several stallions, we’ve also got a lab with all the capabilities to do everything related to breeding, right out of our place. It works really well, sort of a horse heaven.”
“Signe Ostby was a client for 32 years and during that time acquired some beautiful, athletic stallions with super bloodlines and good competition records. We originally handled the breeding for her but now she has her own facility in Santa Cruz”
Perhaps one of the most well-known home grown horses to come out of the Willow Tree breeding program is Peterbilt. Having the distinction of being the only horse to have won the $150,000 Triple Crown, Peterbilt and rider Guy Thomas blazed a new trail for the west coast. A recent addition to the breeding program is Jonhkeer Z!!
Whatever each horse or rider is best suited for, under the direction of Butch, Lu, and Guy, expect to see many, many young horses and just as many riders, achieve great things in the future…following the history of the past. From so many years of contributing to the sport of show jumping, Butch and Lu certainly deserve the Lifetime Achievement Award honors, a lifetime well spent!!
