Local horseman, cowboy legend Mattocks passes away

Story has been updated with funeral information.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Menifee has lost its last real cowboy.

Lynn Mattocks passed away Sunday at the age of 87. A decorated Vietnam War hero, rodeo star and crusader for the preservation of the area’s horseback riding trails, Mattocks truly was a legend in his own time.

A 30-year veteran of the U.S. Marines, Mattocks served three tours in Vietnam. He also was a champion rodeo cowboy in both the military and professional circuits. He served on the Riverside County Trails Committee, working tirelessly to map the Southland’s original riding trails and leading trail rides for countless others.

Along with the late Marty Rosen, Mattocks was instrumental in the formation of a parks department in Menifee, where he lived for decades on a ranch just south of Garbani Road and west of Menifee Road. On his ranch, Mattocks kept horses and entertained generations of children who took riding lessons and adults who learned the wonder and beauty of the creatures.

“Lynn was in Menifee before there was anything here,” recalled Rick Croy, a former Menifee resident, neighbor of Mattocks and member of Menifee’s Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission. “He would talk about how the Ralphs market used to be a hay field.

“Lynn really was one of a kind. He was a local cowboy legend; if you had a problem with your horse, you went to see Lynn. And you never talked to Lynn for just five minutes. He was a character. Whether you wanted his opinion or not, he’d tell you.”

Mattocks loved horses. He enjoyed showing novices how to care for and properly ride them, and he was a fixture in equestrian units that rode in local parades. Before age caught up with him and he was transferred to a private home with caregivers four years ago, Mattocks was always available to talk horses with anyone who would listen.

“Lynn put together big trail rides three of four times a year,” Croy said. “He’d tell everyone to get on your horse, we’re riding over to the VFW in Winchester. Sometimes there were 50 or 60 riders heading east, then left on Leon Road, and up through an area where they’re building houses now. Sometimes they’d have a band playing.”

Standing just 5-foot-4, Mattocks sat tall in the saddle and did everything larger than life. As a member of the Marines' First Counter-intelligence Team, he played a key role in the U.S. battle against the Vietcong. In June of 1964, he was the first Marine sent into Vietnam with a specific mission to gain intelligence in the mounting war effort.

"For a young sergeant at the time, I couldn't believe I was put in that position," Mattocks said in a 2011 interview with Menifee 24/7.

He was wounded in action twice and is a lifetime member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Retired from a military career in 1986, Mattocks returned to the Menifee area, to which he had first come while working as an extra in western films in 1959. And in 2018, he was inducted into the Marine Corps Cowboy Hall of Fame.

"I like to participate in the parades," said Mattocks, who rode in the Murrieta Veterans Day Parade for years and was once its grand marshal. "It's an educational experience for the people. I also like to go to the schools and let the kids know about the history. It's not taught enough in our schools."

It was fitting that last year, a portion of the new Salt Creek Trail in Menifee was named after Mattocks. He spent years working with the Bureau of Land Management regarding land use and the proper designation of trails for public use.

"We ensure the preservation of the existing trails and we're working on expanding the trail system," Mattocks said in 2011. "We want to make sure development in the area doesn't cut them off."

“Lynn was the map guru,” Croy said about Mattocks. “His knowledge of the trails in Southern California was unchallenged. He could put you on a horse in Calexico and tell you how to get to San Clemente beach, using all the old trails.”

Mattocks was involved with several projects on a national scale. One was his efforts to place a memorial near the National Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., in honor of Sgt. Reckless, a war horse that is buried at Camp Pendleton. Bought off a racetrack in Seoul, South Korea, Reckless was used to carry ammunition from supply stations to the front lines. On a single day during the Battle for Outpost Vegas in 1953, she made 51 trips to the firing sites, carrying a total of 386 rounds of ammunition on her back.

All these activities were stories Mattocks would tell visitors to his ranch. He would invite visitors into his den, where he would pull out file folders of clippings and photos to share his experiences.

“They broke the mold when they made him,” Croy said. “I learned more about horses just from watching him. He was the local horse whisperer.”

Graveside Service will be held on Aug. 29 at Riverside National Cemetery at 11 a.m. with a Celebration of Life following the service at 1 p.m. at Riverside Ranchero, 1198 Washington St. in Riverside.