Bella Cavalli Farms


A Full Service Equestrian Facility - Santa Ynez Valley - Santa Barbara County, California

About Us: The Lockwood Family

A native of Chicago, Jeff Lockwood’s parents moved to Yuba City, California, when he was four years old. This small rural northern California town was a great place for an active young boy and Jeff soon became involved with horses after receiving a buckskin gelding for a Christmas gift. He quickly learned to ride and soon was showing his horse at events around Northern California and also became deeply involved in horse care and management.

Joanne Lockwood was involved in riding ranch horses at age twelve. She grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles in the small town of Glendale where she saved her babysitting money to be able to ride with her friends. It was at this time that she, just like Jeff, learned a great deal about the care and management of horses.

After a successful career in real estate development, the Lockwood’s interest in horses sprang up again with the purchase of a black mare for their younger son Ashton. Following this, Chris, the older son, also became interested and both boys took to riding very quickly and soon were training and showing their world class quarter horses. Chris became the Justin Boots California Rookie of the Year in 2005 and Ashton represented the State of California at the 2007 and the 2009 AQHA Youth World Show competing in cutting and reining.

Now the Lockwoods, with the entire family involved, began their search for the perfect facility to make their dreams come true. After several years of looking, they found a beautiful piece of property in the Santa Ynez Valley just over the hill from their home in Santa Barbara. After the purchase, the family moved to the property which they quickly named “Bella Cavalli” for beautiful horses and began an extensive building and remodeling program. Included in their equestrian plans was also a long standing desire to grow grapes and make fine wine so they planted ten acres of varietal grapes for winemaking. Now, after several years, the fruit of their dreams and labor have taken shape and Bella Cavalli is the outstandingly beautiful ranch that they wanted.

Both Jeff and Joanne feel deeply about their duties as owners of one of California’s Premier Equestrian Facilities and together state: “We feel that a strong foundation with our clients and their horse is very important to get the horse and owner ready for their demanding career as a productive competitor or just for the two to connect and enjoy their time together outside the competitive arena. Our trainers and the entire staff have developed a strong program and together with the owners and a pro-active communication system involving us all, we’re committed to bringing their horses along in their careers.”

The Lockwoods, as evidenced by the above, are involved in every function and aspect of the ranch and winery, its staff and all client relationships and the ranch actively supports non-abusive handling and training programs.

The Lockwoods (left to right): Jeff, Joanne, and Chris in back; in front, Ashton with the family dogs.