Holiday for a horse, of course

Alicia Robinson

Local horse lovers will celebrate all things equine today with an

event recognizing the statewide “Day of the Horse.”

Santa Ana Heights residents who are members of the Back Bay

Equestrians will gather by the Delhi Channel this morning to mark out

where a future horse arena will go, give riding demonstrations and

snap pictures of people with horses.

The U.S. Senate in November approved a resolution declaring today

the Day of the Horse, and President Bush is expected to issue a

proclamation declaring a national Day of the Horse, said Jayne Jones,

a member of the Back Bay Equestrians, who organized today’s event.

“It’s a big day for us, and what we’d really like to do is share

it with people who don’t understand or don’t know much about horses,”

Jones said.

“Horses built this country right along with the rest of us,” she

said. “They’ve plowed our fields; they’ve fought our wars; we’ve even

based motor vehicles on horsepower.... I think a lot of people just

kind of forget that this animal deserves respect.”

At today’s event, horse lovers will read a Day of the Horse

proclamation, which state legislators passed in 2002, and give riding

demonstrations. People can have their pictures taken with horses and

see where the arena -- a fenced riding area -- will be built.

The Back Bay Equestrians have between 75 and 100 members, and the

East Santa Ana Heights community houses about 175 horses, Jones said.

The city of Newport Beach gained these four-legged residents when

it annexed East Santa Ana Heights in July 2003.

The city and equestrians have been working on how best to clean up

manure, which the city worries will affect water quality. Horse

manure now gets cleaned up regularly by volunteers with the Back Bay

Equestrians Adopt-a-Trail program.

“I think they’re doing a great job with their Adopt-a-Trail

program, but I don’t know that we can yet change the ordinance that

says if you have control of an animal, you have to pick up its

waste,” Newport Beach assistant city manager Dave Kiff said.

The city and the equestrians have discussed allowing horse manure

to lie when it is on nature trails, he said.

The equestrian group is pursuing nonprofit status before it moves

forward with the arena, which will fence in a cleared area so riders

can work with horses safely, Jones said. The arena will be a public

facility paid for by Orange County but now requires city approval.

The Back Bay Equestrians Day of the Horse celebration lasts from

10 a.m. to noon today. Those who want to attend should park at the

Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 N. University Drive,

Newport Beach, and walk to the Delhi Channel.