Coach at Citrus Heights horse ranch arrested, held on $100k bail

By Sara Beth Williams–
A 23-year-old coach at a horse ranch in Citrus Heights was arrested Friday night on three felony charges involving inappropriate sexual activity with a minor.

Cruz Solorzano, one of the coaches at C R Circle Ranch in Citrus Heights, was arrested Friday night following a raid on their property the prior day by Citrus Heights Police.

Online inmate records at the Sacramento County Jail show Solorzano faces one charge of communicating with a minor with intent to commit a sex offense, penetration by foreign object and oral copulation with a minor under 18.

The Solorzano family owns the C R Circle Ranch, and have trained multiple youth in trick riding, silks aerial feats, horse vaulting, and dance over a decade according to prior Sentinel reports. The Nu Balance Horse Vaulting Club performs for C R Circle, Nu Balance, Olympius Dream Team, Imperial Crown, and T-N-B Trick Riders, which all at one point had Facebook pages. Only two of the five Facebook pages have shown any recent activity.

Ranch owner Michelle Solorzano and the Nu Balance vaulting team have also provided horse entertainment at the California State Fair’s Cavalcade of Horses.

Previously, police had confirmed that the department had executed a search warrant as part of an active investigation on the 1-acre horse ranch property on March 6. Solorzano was arrested March 7 and remains in the Sacramento County Main Jail on $100,000 bail.