On the coastal bluffs of Daly City Tuesday, roughly two dozen service members swapped the noise of San Francisco Fleet Week for the quiet of a trail ride down to the beach. The event, called Heroes and Horses, marked a first-of-its-kind addition to Fleet Week programming, pairing military veterans with horses instead of warships.
As reported by NBC Bay Area, some service members rode along a trail that leads straight to the ocean, a markedly different kind of Fleet Week outing than the air shows and ship tours typically on offer. The event took place at Ocean View Stables, located at 2152 Olympic Way, which sits on bluffs overlooking the Pacific just minutes from the city and operates as the only active horse ranch in the San Francisco metro area, according to Ocean View Stables.
Per NBC Bay Area's report, the event grew out of the passion of a veteran-turned-business owner who found healing and purpose through horsemanship after a deployment to Afghanistan. That veteran is Zachary Leyden, who served in Long Range Surveillance during his deployment and now leads the ranch's horsemanship instruction program, Leyden Horsemanship, alongside his wife Kalea Leyden, who developed the ranch's training curriculum, per Leyden Horsemanship.
A Ranch Built Around Veteran Access
Ocean View Stables has offered free rides to veterans. The ranch was a natural fit for Fleet Week programming, which brought a couple dozen service members to Ocean View Stables for trail rides.
The Fleet Week lunch was sponsored by The American Legion and Lucky Supermarkets, the same source notes.
The Science Behind Horses and Healing
A 2021 study published by Columbia University discussed equine-assisted therapy, emotional regulation, and communication.
Equine therapy is not classified as a standard nationwide medical benefit by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the agency.
Fleet Week's Deep Local Roots
The Daly City event unfolded as the larger San Francisco Fleet Week celebration got underway across the city, featuring the air show and ship tours that have defined the tradition for decades. San Francisco Fleet Week was originally founded in 1981 by then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein to celebrate the sea services and support the city's commercial maritime industry, according to the San Francisco Fleet Week Association, and it now takes place every October over Italian Heritage Weekend.
The festival has grown into a major economic engine, generating more than $10 million in direct annual local tax revenue and over $200 million in overall economic benefit for the city, the association reports. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense officially recognized San Francisco Fleet Week as the national benchmark model for fleet week events nationwide, citing its joint civilian-military disaster response and humanitarian assistance training alongside its public air shows.
Hoodline has previously covered the Blue Angels' return to Fleet Week this year. For the veterans who spent Tuesday on horseback above the Pacific, the Daly City event offered a quieter counterpoint to the jets and ships drawing crowds across the bay.
