New owners take reins at Horse Journal

Longtime journalists Tom and Cat Mauldin of Sisters have purchased the Central Oregon Horse Journal (COHJ) from Kiki Dolson, publisher of The Nugget.

"We feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to purchase the Horse Journal. The Nugget staff has done a terrific job with the publication, and we're excited to take it from here," said Tom Mauldin.

The COHJ publishes quarterly and has been in existence since 2003 when The Nugget started the magazine to cover the Central Oregon equestrian community.

The ownership change took place January 14, and the Mauldins are looking forward to the transition and publishing the spring (late March) edition of the COHJ.

Before "semi-retiring" to Sisters in the fall of 2006, the Mauldins had been longtime Oregon newspaper owners. They owned the Cannon Beach Gazette, the North Coast Citizen and the Rogue River Press.

"While I don't miss the rainy North Oregon Coast, I admit to missing what Tom and I did together on a regular basis at the Gazette," Cat said. "I guess there is some truth to that old saying about 'bleeding ink.'"

Asked if they planned any immediate changes, the Mauldins said "not at this time, but we do have a lot of ideas and a strategy for the future."

Known primarily as a "newspaper" or "softball" guy, Tom said he does have some horse history.

"Well, it did take me seven hours once to get a young stud into a horse trailer, but hard work and determination paid off," he said. "I've been on a few trail rides and long ago owned a couple of Arabians. Been out of the saddle a long time but very excited to get back on it."

In addition to owning their own newspapers, the Mauldins worked for a number of corporate-owned newspaper groups, including McClatchy, Morris, ABC-Capcities News Group, Gannett and Hart-Hanks.

"Tenures with those large dailies gave us a lot of experience and opportunities to travel, but being in the local trenches is where we want to be," said Tom. "Community journalism is extremely important - you have a great deal of yourself invested into your community."

While owners of the Gazette, the Mauldins earned national recognition as the Gazette was named the top non-daily newspaper (for its circulation category) in the United States on three occasions by the National Newspaper Association (NNA). On three other occasions the Gazette was honored among the top dozen newspapers in the country by the NNA, the largest and oldest newspaper organization in America.

Tom coaches the Sisters High School varsity girls softball team, and Cat is the "official" scorekeeper and an "unofficial" team mom. They noted the quarterly schedule wouldn't interfere with their commitment to the Outlaws softball program.

The Mauldins have five children and are quick to note that all are college graduates and four have advanced degrees. They also have four grandchildren.