James Wyllie

James Wyllie, beloved local equestrian educator, father and grandfather, passed away March 16, 2017 in Agoura Hills. He was 98. Born March 2, 1919 in Lincoln, R.I., Jim’s remarkable teaching career spanned six decades and 65,000 students.

He was firm but kind, principled but fun, and never stopped being curious about life.

As an Air National Guard pilot during WWII, Jim flew hundreds of reconnaissance missions. He married his high school sweetheart Helen (now deceased) and attended Michigan State College. After stints as a pilot to Havana and Washington, D.C. as an air traffic controller, the Wyllies moved to Los Angeles.

At the Hollywood Arts Center, he earned a degree in industrial design, taught by members of the Germany’s prestigious Bauhaus Group. An early project was the re-design of Brentwood’s Crestwood Stables, the popular riding hub of David Niven, Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck and Ray Milland. Researching all he could find on horses and their role in society, his intense interest turned into a devoted equestrian life.

Jim owned Paramount Ranch in its heyday, where Michael Landon gifted him with his “Bonanza” pinto, Cochise. His late-1950s Palisades riders included local Girl Scout troops, who proudly strutted their horses in local parades. He taught courses at UCLA, Cal Lutheran and Malibu’s Pepperdine University for 30 years, plus ongoing at Santa Monica College.

“Jim was not only a great equestrian and stable master, he was a life coach,” Pepperdine’s President Andy Benton said. “He was a teacher to so many students, and surrogate father to many young boys and girls. When they rode with him in those hills, he made them better people.”

Jim’s popular courses were accented with student trips abroad to ride. History, art, music and literature accompanied his horse management studies.

“He understood his craft at a deep, deep level,” Benton said. Jim and his daughter Cheryl trained four of his horses for the 1984 Olympics Pentathlon, and he taught old friend and ranch neighbor Ronald Reagan’s Secret Service to ride.

At age 65, he completed the one-day, 100-mile Tavis Cup Race. The subject of Malibu filmmakers Jennie and Neel Muller’s 2010 documentary “Legendary Horseman,” it showcases his eclectic life.

Jim blazed trails throughout the Santa Monica Mountains, embodying the Western ideal of horsemanship. His program continues at Malibu’s Saddlerock Ranch. He is survived by daughter Cheryl Wyllie, son Robert Wyllie, daughter-in-law Kathy, grandson Jimmy, sister Jessie Higginson and her husband Bill of Rhode Island.

A memorial will be held April 15 at 4 p.m. at Pepperdine’s Stauffer Chapel; a reception will follow in the Fireside Room.