University Horse Riding Stables
Cloningers Appointed to Manage U Stables, Teach Equitation
Lewis A. Cloninger and his wife, Ethel Fay Cloninger, have been appointed to the staff of Montana State University to manage the University stables and to teach courses in equitation, President Carl McFarland announced. Lawrence Hauck, North Lima, Ohio, will be their assistant.
Mrs. Lynn Wolfe, who has been in charge of the stables and the horsemanship classes at the University since September 1955, asked to be relieved of her management duties because of conflicting personal responsibilities. She will continue to help in the department on a part-time basis.
The Cloningers have brought 39 head of registered American Saddlebred horses to Missoula from Joplin, Mo., including the outstanding champion, the Model McDonald, Mrs. Wolfe reported. Many of these horses will be used in the horsemanship classes at the University.
Cloninger was born in Bozeman and attended Montana State College. Mrs. Cloninger is a native of Livingston. She attended Whitworth College, Spokane. The couple has managed stables in Helena and Great Falls and in Washington, Ohio, and Illinois. Horses owned or trained by the Cloningers have won honors in horse shows throughout the country.
The new managers are “very well qualified,” Mrs. Wolfe said. “Their experience and skill will provide exceptional opportunities for our students in horsemanship classes at the University,” she said.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on December 26, 1956.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349829600/?terms=cloninger%2Bhorses
MSU Riding Classes Will Move To Cloninger Blackfoot Ranch by Glenn Upton
The University stables will be vacated June 15, Mrs. Lewis Cloninger said today.
The stables have been in continuous operation since the fall of 1955. Mrs. Sam Wolfe was the first owner. Mr. and Mrs. Cloninger bought the stables Dec. 1, 1956.
When the Cloningers took charge of the stables, construction of buildings had been completed by the Missoula Saddle and Lions Clubs.
“At that time we had 40 horses and now we have 65 in the stables all the time. We also board and train horses for students as well as for townspeople,” Mrs. Cloninger said.
During the Cloninger’s stay they have provided students with extensive riding courses for University credit in the health and physical education department. “We offer English and western style riding in the beginning, intermediate and advanced phases. We teach horsemanship, jumping, showing and packing,” Mrs. Cloninger said.
When the stables are closed the Cloningers will move their stock to their ranch located 24 miles up the Blackfoot on Gold Creek. They are presently constructing a stable that will house 50 horses. This stable is approximately 48 by 200 feet and will also have a small area in which to work the horses.
“We will be in possession up there April 1 and will be operating both places from that date until June 15. After that we will be operating the one stable on our ranch.” Mrs. Cloninger said.
“We have been asked by the University to continue the physical education courses on our ranch,” Mrs. Cloninger said. “We are planning to do this. It is possible that we will operate a bus for students, she said. We can also offer a trail riding course in addition to the physical education courses already offered. There are miles of trails on the ranch,” Mrs. Cloninger said.
The above article appeared in the Montana Kaimin newspaper on February 15, 1961.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4744&context=studentnewspaper
Lewis Cloninger was born in Bozeman, Mt. in 1913. He met his 2nd wife, Ethel Faye, in Spokane while operating a riding stable there. He served in the Army during WW2 and injured his back during that time. He was involved with horses his whole life, finally settling near Pasco in 1961. He won a regional equitation championship in 1996 before suffering a heart attack. He died in Pasco, Washington in 1998.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100197067
Ethel Fay Cloninger died at Moscow, Idaho in 1979. She was born in Livingston, Mt. in 1903. She and Lewis were nationally recognized breeders of American saddle horses. She was a contributing writer to several horse magazines, including the American Horseman. She was survived by two sons, Dr. Robert Niles and Leslie Niles. She and Lewis Cloninger were on the staff of the University of Montana from 1956 to 1962.
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