So Cal Stables in Danger
Two stables in Southern California are in danger of closing due to the greed and ineptitude of those who are currently running the stables. Horses across the state are being pushed out, and it is imperative that we do not allow any more of our public stables to be closed- once these stables are gone, they will be gone forever. There are already too few places for horse owners to keep their horses, and displacing these hundreds of horses will impact stables that are at near capacity and may increase prices of the remaining stables to the point that board will only be affordable to those of the highest socio-economic levels.
1. Orange County Fairgrounds
The fairgrounds are owned by the county, and are currently legally required to be an evacuation site for any horses displaced from a fire, flood, mudslide or any other mandatory evacuation (Hanaeleh’s horses were evacuated to the fairgrounds during the Santiago Fire in 2007). They are also one of the last public stables in this area.
The county in its infinite wisdom turned over the management of the fairgrounds to an organization that completely mismanaged the stables while raising stable fees. This organization had no prior experience in managing a stable. Their recommendation after doing very little except taking tax payer money was to raise stall fees. The latest county decision would raise stall fees an additional 75%, which would make keeping a horse there completely unaffordable.
The county keeps citing the fact that the horses are not accessible to the public and there are no public services provided by the horses there, even though the OC Fairgrounds is home to multiple lesson programs and to therapeutic riding programs.
Please help us by adding your name to the letter of support to OC Fairgrounds (click here).
2. Lakewood Equestrian Center
Lakewood Equestrian Center is in danger of being closed down by the city council. The center was run by a private operator who did not properly maintain the facility. In 2019, the 2018-19 Park Development Committee was tasked with finding another lessee, and they turned over management to SJ Equestrian LLC for a year, only to have them refuse to renew their lease, and now city staffers are running the stable.
Even though a number of options have been proposed by individuals to keep the stable open, the city council continues to either try to find another organization that will take on all of the risks or threatens to just close it completely.
The city council has stated that they don’t want to get rid of the horses, while at the same time saying it’s fine if they do because the horses can just find another stable to go to. Their plan is to raze the entire area and put up pickleball courts and an RV storage so they don’t have to deal with the situation. They don’t seem to care that they will displace over 100 horses and will eliminate the livelihood of any number of people.
The city council has tabled the decision for another month to either close or find a way to keep the stables open.