Riding with Reagan
From the White House to the Ranch
Personal moments with an American legend . . .
It is an image etched in the minds of a generation: Ronald Reagan perched atop his horse, riding through the dusty trails and canyons of his California ranch with his beloved wife, Nancy, at his side. But what most of us did not see was the man who always rode just a few steps away.
John Barletta was a Vietnam veteran and Secret Service agent with a lifelong passion for horses and a deep respect for the nation’s new president, Ronald Reagan. After he was chosen to lead the president’s equestrian protection team in 1981, Barletta became the president’s riding partner on the dusty trails of his California ranch, at…