New Equestrian Trail Skirts Perilous Traffic Rush, Winds Into Foothills Above Sylmar

A milelong horse trail dedicated Saturday certainly is not one of the most scenic passages in the foothills above Sylmar. It is located beneath power lines and sandwiched between the Foothill Freeway and a mobile home park.

But for hundreds of horse enthusiasts, this short trail represents a big step forward in improving equestrian safety because horse riders will no longer have to vie for road space with vehicles along a busy stretch of Foothill Boulevard.

The opening of the trail links two popular equestrian parks in Sylmar visited by several hundred horse riders each weekend--Stetson Ranch Park and Olive View Arena.

Before its opening, riders traveled along Foothill from Roxford Street to Glenoaks Boulevard, competing with bus stops, hotel and condominium construction and vehicular traffic, to get from one park to the other.

“With all the development, riding has been a real hazard for us,� said Charles Wolfe of Sylmar, chairman of the city’s Equine Advisory Council. “We’ve been having almost daily skirmishes.�

No Serious Accident

Though there has not been a serious horse accident as a result of recent development, several horse owners said Foothill traffic and the loud noise of construction equipment scares their animals, causing them to rear up or trot erratically.

“Just try being stuck on a horse when a bus comes whipping by and lets out its air brakes right next to you. You’re helpless, and it’s frightening,� said Jeannine Roman, a Sylmar horse owner active in equestrian organizations.

About 100 people, nearly all on horseback, gathered Saturday around a portable stage at Stetson Ranch Park for a ceremony to dedicate the trail. Most of them were equestrians from the Sylmar area, where there are “close to 12,000 to 14,000 horses,� according to Randy Miller, a member of the board of the Greater Los Angeles Equestrian Parks Assn., which organized the event.

Under blue skies streaked with thin clouds, Bill Gomberg, a field deputy for Councilman Ernani Bernardi, described the trail as “a gift to the heritage of California and the early West.�

Then officials used outsized scissors to cut a ribbon across the trail, and 90 horsemen moved out for an inaugural ride.

The opening of the Stetson Ranch-Olive View Arena Connector Trail comes after a seven-year push from local horse groups.

Land Deed to City

The land was deeded to the city in 1979 as part of a city-imposed land-use condition on the developer of a large mobile home park, park officials said. At the time, local equestrian organizations fought the mobile home development, fearing that it would limit access to foothill trails.

Construction of Stetson Ranch Park, with its horse riding rings and hitching areas, the setting aside of land on which to build a trail between the park, and the nearby Olive View Arena helped quell some of the protests, said Myron Reichert, owner of the mobile home park.

But city park officials said that lack of funds prevented them from developing the trail, which required grading and the construction of two small bridges over flood control channels. The area was fenced off, forcing horse riders onto the street.

It was the developer who finally built the trail during construction of the second phase of his mobile home park.

Reichert said, “The city had told us they would look favorably upon the second phase if we could come up with the trail,� though it was not a binding condition on the development.

Although leaders of local equestrian groups are pleased with the opening of the trail, they see more problems ahead with the impending opening of the 350-bed Olive View Medical Center.

The entrance to the Wilson Canyon trail, one of the major trails into Angeles National Forest, is next to the huge hospital on Olive View Drive. Dozens of horse riders daily ride along and cross Olive View Drive to get to the trail.

“The ambulances and traffic won’t mix well with horses,� Roman said.