Happy Bottom Riding Club facts for kids
The Happy Bottom Riding Club was a famous place near Edwards Air Force Base in California. It was a ranch, restaurant, and hotel run by a brave pilot named Pancho Barnes. From 1935 to 1953, it was a popular spot for test pilots and movie stars.
The club was also called the Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude Ranch. It was a favorite hangout in the 1940s. Many important people visited, and it had over 9,000 members! Later, the United States Air Force wanted to buy the land. This led to legal battles. Pancho Barnes won, but a fire destroyed the club in the 1950s. She never rebuilt it. The club and Pancho Barnes were even featured in the book and movie The Right Stuff.
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How the Club Started
In 1935, Pancho Barnes bought the land for farming. She grew alfalfa and raised pigs and cattle. She also started a dairy farm.
Nearby, the U.S. Army Air Corps base at Muroc Army Air Base grew bigger after World War II. Soon, Pancho's ranch became more than just a farm. It turned into a busy restaurant, bar, and hotel. It even had an all-female staff. It became a top spot for test pilots to relax and have fun.
Fun Things to Do at the Club
The Rancho Oro Verde had many cool features. It had a swimming pool and a rodeo stadium. Pancho Barnes also built an airstrip in 1935. This allowed her pilot friends to fly right in and visit.
Pancho often hosted exciting events for her guests. These included big barbecues and a treasure hunt with 200 silver dollars! The rodeo stadium held three-day weekend rodeos. These events were often sponsored by the local VFW post in Lancaster.
The first swimming pool was rectangular. It was one of the first pools built in the Antelope Valley. Sadly, it was ruined by the 1952 Kern County earthquake. The new pool was round. It even had a circular ramp. This ramp supposedly let Pancho ride her horse right into the pool! This pool was lit up at night. This helped pilots see it from the sky.
A special tradition started at the club. When Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 plane, Pancho gave him a free steak dinner. After that, any pilot who broke the sound barrier for the first time got a free steak dinner! In the late 1940s and early 1950s, pilots from Edwards AFB broke the sound barrier often. Pancho sometimes gave out free dinners several times a week!
Fire and What Happened Next
Pancho Barnes and the military were good friends for a long time. But things changed in 1952. This was four years after Muroc Army Air Base became Edwards Air Force Base. The new base commander, General Albert Boyd, was a friend of Pancho's. However, he was worried about more flights from Edwards and from the club's airstrip. He would scold Pancho if her guests flew too close to military flight paths.
The government wanted to buy Pancho's ranch. Pancho fought back with her own lawsuits. She claimed harassment and unlawful actions. On November 13, 1953, the ranch was destroyed by a fire. This happened just before the lawsuit ended.
Pancho Barnes later moved to Cantil. The Air Force bought the land where the club used to be. However, the planned runway expansion was never built. Pancho wanted to rebuild the Happy Bottom Riding Club in Cantil, but it never happened.
How the Club is Remembered
The Happy Bottom Riding Club is remembered in many ways. It was shown in the book and movie The Right Stuff. It was also featured in a biography of Pancho Barnes called The Happy Bottom Riding Club by Lauren Kessler. A documentary film about Pancho's life, The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club, was made in 2009.
A TV movie called Pancho Barnes (1988) also told a story about her life and the club. Chuck Yeager, the famous pilot, even said he spent more time at Pancho's club than in a cockpit during those years!
The club was even mentioned in the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Air Force staff from Edwards Air Force Base still hold an annual barbecue at the old club site. They do this to remember Pancho Barnes and her ranch. Visitors can still see parts of the old pool, the restaurant's foundation, and the barn. From the air, you can even see the outline of the old airstrip.
