Elizabeth Taylor & Ridgewood Ranch – Liz and Linnie
A unique Howard Family History Story
by Col Michael C. Howard, US Marines (Ret), Great Grandson of Charles S. Howard
Believe it or not, famous Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor had a connection with Ridgewood Ranch.
Elizabeth Taylor and Lindsay Howard Jr (my father & Grandson of C.S. Howard) remained friends most of their lives.
And yes, horses, family and a mutual sense of equine and racetrack humor were at the center of their friendship. Both were up front, candid people who had a low tolerance for phonies.
They first met through their parents in Los Angeles. Both sets of parents knew each other via the horseracing celebrity circuit.
Dad (most folks called him ‘Linnie’) had returned from the Marines following WWII and was going to first the University of Southern California and then the University of Arizona. He was asked by Liz’s parents via his father (Lin Howard Sr.) old friend and partner with Bing Crosby in the BingLin Stables), to ask their daughter Liz out. They were concerned that she was down and recovering from a divorce.
They both loved horses which was a good thing. And Liz loved meeting Seabiscuit, Noor, Ajax, and visiting several of the Howard Ranches. Ridgewood Ranch, in Mendocino County, was their first stop. But primarily they spent their time at the two in Ventura County, California. These ranches were on either side of the small town of Moorpark. The main BingLin Stock Farm was on the west side of Moorpark (old Balcom Canyon Road), and the Tierra Rejada Ranch was on the east of Moorpark off of Tierra Rejada Road. This was where I later grew up, on a portion named BarLin Stock Farm (named in 1954 after Barbara & Lin, my parents). Today, it is overlooked by the magnificent Ronald Reagan Memorial Library.
When C.S. Howard died in 1950, Lindsay Coleman Howard Sr. (my Grandfather, who we affectionately called “Gramps”) had the original Ridgewood Ranch (Mendocino County) Seabiscuit statue, moved to Moorpark. He also had two of C.S. Howard’s best horses Noor and Ajax, moved to Southern California for breeding at the two Moorpark ranches. Noor resided near famed old family horse specialist and trainer Lou Machado on the BingLin Ranch. Ajax resided at our Tierra Rejada Ranch (Gramps gave about a third of the ranch to Dad and Mom when they got married). This was an inducement to move back to California from Tucson, Arizona. Dad loved Tucson, and had been in on the ground floor there with the beginnings of the American Quarter Horse Racing Association. Rillito Racetrack was his second home.
Back to Elizabeth Taylor. She naturally loved horses and the track, so most of her outings with Dad were horse related. Most of her time visiting Howard horses was spent viewing the young Thoroughbreds at both ranches, and riding the various Quarter Horses. Liz enjoyed relaxing at the BingLin Ranch pool at my Grandfather’s house. It was up on a hill overlooking the beautiful barns and corrals on the north side that Grandpa and Bing Crosby had designed and operated. The south side of the BingLin Ranch was encompassed by beautiful Valencia orange groves, grapefruit, and avocado orchards. It was their visits to both Santa Anita and Hollywood Park where they got the most celebrity attention.
Dad later shared that their dating life was nothing dramatic, as both agreed that between her Hollywood career and his passion as a Quarter Horse racing breeder and trainer were going in separate circles.
Back in school in Arizona, Dad had taken an interest in Barbara Beck (my Mom) at the University of Arizona. She was an education major and was soon to become the 1950 Homecoming Queen. When her friends told her that Linnie was dating Liz Taylor, Mom responded at first that “she sure has bad taste”. But Dad’s stubborn charm must have prevailed. This was also a sad period for Mom, as the man she was most serious about, First Lieutenant William ‘Bud” Bonfoey, US Army, had been killed in action in the Korean War. I had the privilege in the 1970s, while attending St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, of meeting his mother at her home in St Paul, Minnesota. Mom always said she married Dad because she was on the rebound from the death of Bud, a West Point graduate from St Paul. He was an amazing Army officer, who was a highly respected by his men. He was serving in a front line infantry unit as an artillery forward observer, when killed by a grenade while repelling a Chinese attack. So sad for this family to have lost their only son.
Freedom isn’t free.
So, I apologize for the bunny trails. You have the basic ‘Liz and Linnie’ story, along with these fascinating photos of their dating life.
One other additional note. Later when Liz wanted to board her horse at our ranch, Dad thought this not a good idea and recommended our dear neighbor Joel McCrea (famed cowboy actor and first rate rancher). Liz then approached Joel who declined for the same reason (he said that his wife Frances would get upset with Liz “visiting”). Fascinating.
For the record, both Lin Sr. and Lin Jr. were taught how to ride at very early ages by Lou Machado, the real horse genius behind the Howard family racing stock and polo ponies. Lou’s Spanish family dated back well over a century to California in the late 1700s. Tom Smith fit in with his background as an excellent Thoroughbred trainer for Seabiscuit. Tom stuck with Poppie at Ridgewood, while Lou (Southern California was his ancestral Spanish home) went with Lin Sr. and Bing Crosby to the BingLin Moorpark ranch.
History is a fascinating and delicate thing!
Col Mike Howard
Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation Historian
Personal Research Note & Credits: Anita, Marcela, Chuck III, Andria, Judy, and Mom all confirmed this directly to me. Gramps and Dad worshipped Lou Machado, as did Anita. I loved watching Gramps and Dad try to outride each other … Gramps with his polo expertise and Dad his Western riding skills. And Joel McCrea added another fun dimension with his amazing roping ability with cattle!
History is amazing, but easily lost. We don’t know what we don’t know. Ever so humbling.