Horses Role in Truckee Development
by Irina Fedulow-Plante PT DPT-W*
Horses have played a pivotal role in the development of the Truckee community. Historical records indicate that horses, most likely, came to the Lake Tahoe region with European-American settlers in the mid 1800’s. Throughout this timeframe, the indigenous Washoe people, who were the original inhabitants of the area, acquired horses. According to Washoe oral tradition, their ancestors traded for horses and a few Washoe words for horse-related terms are similar to the Spanish words.
From 1860 to 1861, the Pony Express operated a mail delivery system utilizing horseback riders. One location of a Pony Express station is at Friday Station, near the California/Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe. In 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad was completed leading to the booming lumber industry. Joseph Gray and George Schaffer built the first lumber mill utilizing the power of the horse to provide transportation. Horses were also vital with the ice harvesting industry, which included clearing snow and moving heavy ice blocks throughout the town from the late 1860’s to the 1920’s.
In the 1960’s and 70’s horses could be seen ridden in downtown Truckee. During this time, the Truckee Donner Horseman group was created, which continues to foster interest in Western heritage and horsemanship in the community and puts on the Truckee Pro Rodeo, a very popular event for locals every summer.
Fast forwarding to the present, horses continue to have a strong and healing presence for our community. One of the newer programs through Achieve Tahoe is the Adaptive Horsemanship Program, where individuals with disabilities interact and connect with horses in a meaningful way with the collaborative efforts from the Tahoe Donner Association and Tahoe Donner Equestrian Center. Achieve Tahoe is a local organization that provides year-round outdoor recreation activities for people with cognitive, sensory and physical disabilities.
At the annual Wild West Fest that takes place at the Tahoe Donner Equestrian Center, Achieve Tahoe created a banner showing the timeline of the history of horses in the Truckee area with support from the Truckee-Donner Historical Society. They provided photos dating back to 1868 highlighting the important work of our equine partners in the Truckee area. Other pictures used in the banner included horses assisting with ice harvesting and transporting lumber, partaking in the Truckee Pro Rodeo, navigating the summit and snowy winters and more. We couldn’t be more thankful for the community that continues to show passion and inspiration for preserving the history and teaching future generations how horses helped shape and continue to shape the Lake Tahoe Region.
From 1860 to 1861, the Pony Express operated a mail delivery system utilizing horseback riders. One location of a Pony Express station is at Friday Station, near the California/Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe. In 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad was completed leading to the booming lumber industry. Joseph Gray and George Schaffer built the first lumber mill utilizing the power of the horse to provide transportation. Horses were also vital with the ice harvesting industry, which included clearing snow and moving heavy ice blocks throughout the town from the late 1860’s to the 1920’s.
In the 1960’s and 70’s horses could be seen ridden in downtown Truckee. During this time, the Truckee Donner Horseman group was created, which continues to foster interest in Western heritage and horsemanship in the community and puts on the Truckee Pro Rodeo, a very popular event for locals every summer.
Fast forwarding to the present, horses continue to have a strong and healing presence for our community. One of the newer programs through Achieve Tahoe is the Adaptive Horsemanship Program, where individuals with disabilities interact and connect with horses in a meaningful way with the collaborative efforts from the Tahoe Donner Association and Tahoe Donner Equestrian Center. Achieve Tahoe is a local organization that provides year-round outdoor recreation activities for people with cognitive, sensory and physical disabilities.
At the annual Wild West Fest that takes place at the Tahoe Donner Equestrian Center, Achieve Tahoe created a banner showing the timeline of the history of horses in the Truckee area with support from the Truckee-Donner Historical Society. They provided photos dating back to 1868 highlighting the important work of our equine partners in the Truckee area. Other pictures used in the banner included horses assisting with ice harvesting and transporting lumber, partaking in the Truckee Pro Rodeo, navigating the summit and snowy winters and more. We couldn’t be more thankful for the community that continues to show passion and inspiration for preserving the history and teaching future generations how horses helped shape and continue to shape the Lake Tahoe Region.
* About the Author: Dr. Irina Fedulow-Plante PT DPT-W is a Board Certified Neurological Clinical Specialist, American Hippotherapy Association Board of Directors, and Certified Achieve Tahoe Adaptive Horsemanship Coordinator. Mountain Neuro Wellness & Physical Therapy www.mnwpt.com; [email protected]
This webmaster asked Dr. Irina to write up a short explanation of HOW she used images from the Truckee-Donner Historical Society's Image Collection, and she kindly provided this interesting article.
Ironically, the same day Dr. Irina submitted this article there was an article in the Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/05/israel-gaza-soldiers-ptsd-suicide/, about how horses on various "horse-therapy" farms are assisting with PTSD issues with soldiers from the Gaza war.
Ironically, the same day Dr. Irina submitted this article there was an article in the Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/05/israel-gaza-soldiers-ptsd-suicide/, about how horses on various "horse-therapy" farms are assisting with PTSD issues with soldiers from the Gaza war.
The Achieve Tahoe volunteers and Adaptive Horsemanship Coordinator at the Wild West Fest Festival, August 31, 2025. Images used in the display board came from Truckee-Donner Historical Society's Image Collection.
The images used were COR3383, FTS0012, FTS0045, FTS0077, HKG0035, HM0036, HM0224, ICE0026, and LUM0022.
HCS 10/10/2025
