Horse center may close

The Orange County Fair board is discussing doing away with the equestrian center in order to make way for more parking spaces.

The horse stabling and training facilities might have to leave the north end of the grounds to make room for the expansion needs of the complex as a whole, officials said.

Since the center is surrounded on all sides by municipal buildings, houses and schools, the facility doesn’t have many other places to turn to satisfy its growing demand for space. Already, nearby parking lots at OCC and spaces in residential neighborhoods are used to park the high volume of cars that come to the fair on weekends.

“We need to decide whether the equestrian center is the best use of that land,� fair Chief Executive Steve Beazley said.

The equestrian center, which occupies a few acres, is home to more than 100 horses and has multiple arenas for jumping practice and close to a dozen barns for stabling.

Independent trainers give people riding lessons either on their own private horses or horses owned by the trainers, and veterinary care is also available. The number of equestrian centers within a reasonable distance is constantly diminishing, so the one at the fairgrounds is a valuable community resource, some riders say.

Because it is in such a cramped area, though, the Fair and Events Center staff estimates it could cost $53 million to expand parking if it doesn’t use the equestrian center’s land, while it would only cost about $2 million to add 2,000 spaces if they did.

The main alternative to using the equestrian center land would be making a multilevel structure across the street from OCC.

“We want to be respectful and professional [to those involved with the equestrian center], but when you weigh $53 million versus $2 million, it’s hard to argue against that,� said board President Julie Vandermost.

She said she wants the process to be done cautiously and with plenty of input from horse enthusiasts and the equestrian center staff.

Efforts to reach the equestrian center management were unsuccessful Monday.

Discussion will continue among the board members at the next fair board meeting at 10 a.m. Jan. 22 at the Memorial Gardens building on the fairgrounds.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at [email protected].