Horsing Around : Riding: Arabians display their versatility in the monthly Kellogg Center shows, held on the grounds of Cal Poly Pomona.

For decades, W. K. Kellogg had been known as the king of corn flakes. The breakfast-cereal magnate made a fortune on the toasted flakes, but Arabian horses were his passion from the time he owned a half-Arab pony as a child.

In 1925, Kellogg ventured out of his Battle Creek, Mich., headquarters to build a winter mansion for his family in the fertile Pomona Valley--and an elaborate stable and training facility for his Arabian horses.

By 1926, the Kellogg ranch was a first-rate breeding facility and show place. On Sunday afternoons, cars would jam the lot around the arena where Kellogg paraded his Arabian foals, mares and stallions before the public.

In 1949, the Kellogg Foundation donated more than 800 acres to the California state college system. The property is now the home of Cal State Polytechnic University--and of the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center, where the prized Arabian horses are still bred, trained and shown, a legacy to Kellogg’s ambitious hobby.

In the spirit of Kellogg’s popular Sunday shows of the ‘20s, the students, staff and horses of the Kellogg Center perform an afternoon exhibition on the first Sunday of every month.

Each exhibition is a variety show of sorts, geared to show off the Arabian as an exotic but versatile breed, known for its endurance and intelligence. The horses and riders demonstrate Western, English and hunter styles of riding; harness driving; drill team routines, and among the most popular bits in the shows, trick acts.

A few days before a recent Sunday show, Cal Poly senior Rene Aldo, an animal science major, practiced in front of the empty grandstand on Dear Me, a bay-colored mare she calls Hilda. Aldo and Hilda, who wore matching flamingo-pink leg warmers, have been partners for two years in the Cal Poly riding program.

The duo rides the disciplined Western and hunter styles in the Sunday exhibitions, but it is Hilda’s trick routine that steals the show. On command, Hilda displays her maternal instincts in a rather humanly fashion as she pushes a stuffed doll in a baby carriage, picks up the doll and puts her in a cradle, then rocks the cradle. Certainly a questionable advancement for child care.

Students are paired with school-owned horses for as long as class schedules and the students’ own dedication permits. It’s not unusual, says staff trainer Ann Clausen, for horse and rider to become quite attached to each other, and for the stables to become a second home. Students are supposed to ride their horses five days a week, but “some will just come out and play with them--brush or bathe them” on the days they don’t ride, Clausen says.

Clausen is among the staff members who ride in the Sunday shows. She teams with Fire Tu (nicknamed Billy), a six-year veteran of the show ring who also does a trick routine.

“It takes a certain type of horse to do tricks,” Clausen explains. “Our goal is to teach all the horses to do everything, but not every horse can do the driving class, not all will carry the flag. They’re just like people: They all have different personalities, likes and dislikes.”

Billy likes to show off.

“He’s too smart for his own good,” Clausen says affectionately while Billy stands next to her, playfully flipping the bit in his mouth with his tongue as he awaits his turn to practice.

Billy is one of the star attractions at the Sunday shows, where he does crowd-pleasing “dog obedience stuff,” Clausen says. “He heels, walks on his hind legs and comes when I call him.”

The animal does just about everything but sit. And he’s a liberty horse--which means that he performs without a rope--reacting exclusively to voice and whip commands.

For Cal Poly students, the show experience is exciting and educational. When Aldo first joined the riding program, she had ridden only twice. After being accepted into the program, Aldo was paired with one of the Sunday exhibition horses, and she immediately began to train for the shows.

The exhibitions are “a really neat experience,” Aldo says. “At first you’re really nervous, but they’re so well organized.”

The Cal Poly riding program also gives the students opportunities to show the horses alongside professional trainers at sanctioned Arabian shows around the state.

There are two ways to get into the program, Clausen says: by trying out in the fall (the number of new students accepted depends on the number of horses available) or by starting out in the grooming program.

In the riding program, horses and riders are matched according to experience. The grooming program gets students acquainted with the day-to-day care of the animals and the equipment; occasionally students get riding lessons, Clausen says.

“We have a way for everyone to fit in no matter how experienced or inexperienced,” she says. But when matching up students and horses for the riding program, “we never match inexperienced with inexperienced. The experienced riders will get the young horses.”

And the less-experienced riders are paired with veteran animals--or “baby-sitter” horses--those that will “stand there and put up with all the mistakes.”

The program has proved to be a valuable training ground for students who are planning careers in the horse industry, Clausen says. They are responsible for the care and training of their horses and learning about the equipment. Pre-vet students can even assist in medical and physical treatments.

“We teach all aspects of horse care,” Clausen says, “but training is a gray area. It’s just like being an artist. We can teach the basics, but there’s a lot of natural in-born talent involved.”

The horses at the Kellogg Center are all descendants of Kellogg’s original herd, Clausen says. The only outsiders are the mares brought in from around the country to be bred to the center’s prized stud, Reign On. (A favorite at the Sunday shows, he is a Park horse, performing the exaggerated high-stepping gait seen in English pleasure riding classes.)

The breeding facility, among the facilities open daily to the public for tours, is quite sophisticated, with a lab, ultrasound equipment and special holding facilities for the stud and mares. Most of the insemination is done artificially, says Dr. Gerald Hackett, an instructor and one of two veterinarians at Cal Poly vet clinic.

“It’s increasingly common, especially in Arabians,” Hackett says. “Mares come in from all over the country,” and artificial insemination helps prevent disease. The stud fees, $3,000 for purebred Arabians and $1,500 for other breeds, help subsidize the center.

Next door to the vet clinic is the Equine Research Center, built with the help of the Oak Tree Racing Assn. Here student projects range from color vision to methods to control parasites in horses, Hackett says.

Kellogg may have wished for an agricultural program and a strong horse program to “promote, exhibit and further the well-being of Arabian horses,” Hackett says, but with additions such as the research center, the programs can benefit all breeds.

Of Kellogg’s original ranch, only the mansion and the stable remain. Originally located in the middle of the campus, the Kellogg Center is a sprawling facility now nestled at the southeast end. The neat, U-shaped stables surround a landscaped courtyard. There are tack rooms with lockers for the riders and, of course, trophy cases with awards and photographs, including a 1939 picture of Kellogg posing proudly with two young foals.

There are several outdoor pens and fenced-in fields where the present-day foals romp and the older horses are content to chomp on the grass. The nearby arena has a covered grandstand, where an average of about 600 people gather to watch the Sunday exhibitions. The grounds and buildings, including the arena, farrier lab, research center and vet clinic, are open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

The Kellogg legacy at Cal Poly is an impressive one.

“(Kellogg) wanted to provide a ranch and horses that the public could visit . . . and we’ve done an excellent job,” Clausen says. “We’ve kept up all the old traditions--the Sunday shows are practically identical (to Kellogg’s exhibitions in the ‘20s). It’s all still here for the public. He’d be very proud.”

The next Sunday exhibition is Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. Adults $2; seniors $1.50; children 18 and under, $1. For information call (714) 869-2224.