A Kern County Equestrian Legacy Built On Family, Patience, And The Long View
Published: Dec. 22, 2025, Edited Jan. 31, 2026 | Featured image left to right: Tyler Giragosian, Heather Giragosian, Gemma Giragosian, Denise Foster
This kind of continuity isn’t rare here. This is Kern. It’s why people stay, and why so many eventually find their way back. Places like PDM Stables grow with the community, shaped by familiar families, changing seasons, and a long view that values showing up year after year.
And if you’re new, you don’t stay a stranger for long. The first step onto the property tells you that. Towering eucalyptus trees line the ring, their shade stretched wide from decades of quiet witness. The air feels cleaner. The mountains rise to the east. Birds cut through the morning like they’ve got something to say. There’s an ease to it all, a sense that you’ve landed somewhere good.
At PDM, belonging is felt. It settles in as you pull up a chair, listen to the horses breathe, and realize this place has room for your story, too.
A Family Name Built One Stall At A Time
PDM Stables grew the way real local institutions do, slowly and with intention. The property came first, purchased in the mid-1960s. Back then, only part of the barn existed. There were no polished tack rooms or expansive facilities. Just stalls, land, and a family willing to build.
PDM Stables was built brick by brick by Gabe Belluomini. Everything you see is because of Belluomini and his vision of having the best equestrian facility in Bakersfield, according to his daughter, Denise Foster. According to his granddaughter Heather Giragosian, Belluomini knew how to communicate with animals. He had what riders call feel. The kind you can’t teach. The kind that lets you get on a horse and, in minutes, accomplish what others might struggle with for months.
“He was just one of those old-school natural trainers,” Giragosian says.“He could get on a horse and in five or ten minutes, he’d do things people couldn’t do in months.”
That instinct ran deeper than horsemanship alone. Belluomini, born in Bakersfield with roots that trace back to Lucca, Italy, where stories of his early years included training animals simply because he could. Family lore tells of him teaching a goat or sheep to pull a cart, long before horses became his life’s work. Whether learned overseas during a long vacation in Italy or carried through generations, that hands-on, intuitive approach followed him to Kern County, shaping the way PDM was built from the start. Training here was never rushed. It was learned by doing, by watching, and by understanding the animal in front of you. This ideology and dedication to hard work has been passed down to Belluomini’s daughter, Denise Foster. Foster is now the Owner and Head Trainer of PDM Stables.
Early on, PDM Stables trained both English and Western disciplines. Over time, the focus narrowed. Doing one thing well mattered more than doing everything halfway. English riding became the foundation. Hunter green and tan replaced the early brown and yellow colors. The look evolved, but the philosophy stayed steady.
The Shows That Raised a Community
PDM Stables Christmas Show, 2025
Ask around Bakersfield long enough and someone will tell you they still have a PDM trophy at home. Maybe their mom won it. Maybe they did. The stables have hosted horse shows for over five decades, quietly building a competitive culture that didn’t require leaving town or breaking the bank.
PDM hosts five shows a year, four of them ESA point shows. They’re designed to feel like big shows without big-show barriers. The jumps are thoughtfully built. The rings are dressed with flowers. Riders show up polished and proud.
“For a lot of these students, this may be their only opportunity to ever show,” Giragosian says.“They get to experience what it’s like to be at a competitive rated show without having to own a horse.”
That accessibility grew in other practical ways, too. In 1996, the family opened East Hills Feed and Supply right on site, a move rooted less in expansion and more in necessity. What started small grew steadily, just like the barn itself. Today, the feed store is another way PDM lowers barriers, offering consignment riding apparel and rentable show pieces so families don’t have to choose between participation and affordability.“Hunt coats can be very expensive,” she says. “So we rent them out for the horse show so kids can look the part and feel confident without having to spend hundreds of dollars.”
Education And Equestrian Life In The Same Arena
PDM Stables Christmas Show, 2025
Giragosian helping lead the next chapter balances life at the barn with a career in schools. She has taught fourth and fifth grade and holds a master’s degree in education. PDM’s team includes a bilingual trainer, making the barn accessible to families who may be stepping into the equestrian world for the first time.
“We want to build successful humans,” Giragosian says. “The horses are part of that, but the bigger picture is confidence, responsibility, and learning how to work through challenges.”
That mindset shows up in practical ways. Homework is welcome. So are hard conversations about grades. PDM is the kind of place where a kid can finish a lesson then get nudged, lovingly, about that math assignment.
“If your kid is not doing well in school, we’re going to be asking them about that math grade,” she says. “Bring your math homework. I have whiteboards, I have desks.”
Safety stays front and center, too. Horses are powerful. They’re also sensitive. PDM teaches kids to respect both realities.“Safety is very important to us,” she says. “They’re very safe animals, but you have to respect that they are animals… and that they’re huge.”
Summer Camp That Turns Curiosity Into Confidence
PDM Stables Summer Camp, 2025
Seventeen years ago, summer camp began simply, built from an idea and a willingness to figure it out along the way. One session. About 20 kids. A whole lot of learning on the fly.
“I was 23 years old and I made it out of nothing in a few months,” she says. “The very first one… everything went really well.”
It kept going. It grew. Now, summer camp is often the best first step for a brand-new rider, especially a kid who needs repetition, routine, and a little extra reassurance.
“In camp, we’re doing four lessons in four days,” Giragosian says. “You don’t have that big gap in between.”
Camp is also where her education background shines. Giragosian tuned into anxiety, confidence, and how different kids need different kinds of support.“Even if you have a kid that’s a little nervous… camp is a really good place to start,” she says. “Some kids need you to come in and bring them in. Some of them, you need to stay away and wait for them to feel comfortable.”
IEA And A Bigger Goal For Kern County
One of the biggest next steps is launching an IEA team, short for the Interscholastic Equestrian Association. It mirrors collegiate competition and is built for access. Riders don’t need to own a horse. They don’t need to own equipment. At shows, they draw horses and ride what they draw.
“The equestrian sport is very heavily a money sport,” she says. “IEA is designed so you don’t have to own a horse, you don’t even have to own equipment.”
For Kern County, this fills a real gap. Locally, show jumping opportunities are limited. Giragosian wants to bring that side of the sport closer to home and make it possible for families who have never pictured themselves in an English barn.
“When people think of riding most don’t think of the show jumping equestrian side. Starting the team will allow for it to be more inviting,” she says.
2026 Plans: Scholarships, Nonprofit Work, And Family Days
There’s a memory that floats around the barn. Years ago, the gates opened for something called Pony Palooza. Kids rode. Ponies waited patiently. Popcorn was sold. Families wandered through and discovered the place in their own time.
Giragosian is planning more community moments that are: simple, welcoming, and hands-on. Family days where parents and kids can groom horses, learn the basics, and enjoy the country for an afternoon.
“Pay a small entry fee and have a little lesson about grooming the horses,” she says. “Maybe you don’t really want to ride, but you just want to be out in the country for the day.”
Looking toward 2026, the vision incorporates more accessibility. Giragosian is working toward creating a nonprofit branch tied to the equestrian performance team, with a long-term scholarship goal for a student who deserves the opportunity but doesn’t have the means.
“The long-term goal would be to have a scholarship that would pay for a year of lessons,” she says. And for those who aren’t sure where to begin, Giragosian says, “We’re giving lessons 8 to 11 Saturday mornings. Come out, watch, ask questions, meet some of the lesson horses. This is a good first step if you’re unsure.”
What Comes Next
PDM Stables continues the way it always has—with attention, care, and an eye toward who might be standing at the rail next. The plans ahead are practical and people-centered: the hope of a scholarship supported by a dedicated fund, an IEA team opening doors for new riders, and family days that invite curiosity before commitment.
It’s easy to picture. A quiet Saturday morning. Eucalyptus trees lining the ring. Horses shifting in the shade. Beyond the ring, nestled behind the barn, Heather Giragosian’s garden grows quietly, another piece of the land shaped with the same attention and care as the horses themselves. New families pull up chairs alongside those who’ve been here for years.
At PDM, the path forward is shaped by the land, the family history, the horses, and a community carried by the rhythm of hooves beneath a wide Kern sky.
How to Reach PDM
Heather Giragosian standing in her garden entrance
