Fairgrounds loses bid to place horses at El Toro
Lolita Harper
COSTA MESA -- Orange County Fair officials lost a bid to take over the
riding facility at the closed El Toro Marine base, officials learned
Wednesday after having cut the existing equestrian facility nearly in
half to pursue a larger off-campus program.
Costa Mesa resident Kathy Hobstetter, a trainer at Fox Point Farm in
the existing equestrian center, said fair officials made premature cuts
based on assumptions not facts. It was too risky to base future plans on
the possibility of acquiring land at the closed military base, she said.
“It was extremely tragic for this board to make such a drastic cut
with the pipe dream of securing alternative real estate in Orange County
-- one of the most expensive land development areas in the nation,”
Hobstetter said.
Fairgrounds officials say they are still searching for an alternative
spot for an expanded satellite horse facility -- a concept that has been
outlined in the proposed master plan -- but do not have a specific
location in mind.
Becky Bailey-Findley, president of the fairgrounds, said she is
confident that another location will be found. The fact that the master
plan is still in a design and research stage also allows for more
flexibility in securing an alternate site, she said.
Bailey-Findley agreed that real estate in Orange County is hard to
come by but said that is not the only option. Officials will also keep an
eye on existing equestrian facilities that may fall on hard times in the
future, she said.
“As one door closes, another will open,” Bailey-Findley said. “We just
have to keep an eye out for that next door.”
In October, the board of directors of the Orange County Fair and
Exposition Center approved preliminary plans to cut the size of the
equestrian center from 240 stalls and five arenas, to 180 stalls and
three arenas.
No horses would be displaced as a result of these cuts, as the
existing facility has been operating under capacity because of a
moratorium on new boarders.
Fair board officials said the move was made to free up parking on the
160-acre site. Horse enthusiasts were pleased by the decision,
considering that previous plans included moving the entire equestrian
center to a satellite location, leaving no horses on the Fair Drive site.
“At least they decided not to cut the whole thing,” Hobstetter said
Thursday. “Then where would they be?”
Fairgrounds officials said they are looking forward and do not regret
any decisions, but said they had no concrete plans or timeline for a new
equestrian facility they are calling “the Ranch.”
Conceptual plans for the Ranch call for boarding and training, an
adjacent but separate venue for equestrian events and shows, and a
community recreational site, with trails and riding. Although it would be
off the main campus, the center would still be considered a part of the
fairgrounds with all revenue streams still coming to the same place.
Hobstetter said she supports any additional equestrian centers in the
county, as they are much needed, but hopes the fair board will revisit
their earlier decision to cut the existing facility.
“With the failure to secure that lease, I would hope that the board is
extremely receptive to alternative ideas [for the master plan],”
Hobstetter said.
Bailey-Findley said there was no pressing need to revisit earlier
decisions but said she could not speculate whether the plans would be
revisited because the project was still in a research stage.
Only two bids for the equestrian site at the closed El Toro Marine
base were received. One from the fairgrounds and the other from the Will
Rogers Institute in Los Angeles, which won the lease.
* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)
574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .
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