Kathryn Barger hits LCF trails, revamps tradition in Trail Blazers Ride
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More than 80 equestrians saddled up Saturday morning at Flintridge Riding Club, riding alongside Los Angeles County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger in a new leg of an historic tradition — the Trail Blazers Ride.
Sponsored by the city of La Cañada Flintridge, the Flintridge Riding Club and the LCF Trails Council, the event drew a large crowd of civic-minded residents and equestrians who turned out at 7 a.m. for a pancake breakfast before hitting the trails alongside their elected representative.
Led by Barger and Doug Larner of the Rose Bowl Riders, participants followed a creekside path during a 3½-hour ride that followed the city’s Gould Canyon Trail and Horse Lane to the Gould Debris basin, where riders and horses stopped for a break.
Residents whose homes line the trails came out into their yards to greet the mounted riders as they passed.
Saturday’s ride culminated with a barbecue lunch at the Riding Club patio, featuring live country-western music. La Cañada Mayor Len Pieroni, along with City Councilmen Mike Davitt and Jon Curtis welcomed riders, including Councilwoman Terry Walker.
Barger acknowledged in a Facebook post Monday her participation in Saturday’s foothills excursion represents the carrying on of a tradition begun more than 35 years ago by former Supervisor Peter F. Schabarum and kept strong by her own predecessor, Supervisor Michael Antonovich.
“In continuing this annual ride, I am reminded of how important it is to preserve and promote access to our most treasured natural habitats, also ensuring future generations may also enjoy and be inspired by them,” Barger said.
