Where have all the horses gone? O.C. fair officials vow a return, but some are skeptical
Horses figure prominently in marketing for the Ranch Community Center — the new brand and concept for the O.C. fairgrounds' Equestrian Center — but appear to be missing from the complex's strategic plan and the grounds where they used to flourish.
A billboard for the nascent center, erected on the northwest corner of the Costa Mesa property, depicts a trio of stabled horses, while a photo gallery on the Ranch's website shows a facility bustling with people, resident animals and activity.
However, the same 7-acre site that once teemed with up to 100 equines and their owners, many of them trainers who offered paid lessons as well as workshops, therapy sessions and rides for the broader community, now sits largely vacant as sandy arenas remain untrod.
Fair spokeswoman Terry Moore confirmed Thursday that five individuals are boarding six horses in five stalls. No trainers are currently working at the site.
The vacancy follows a bitter legal dispute between fairgrounds operators and equestrians over the terms, tenancy and management of the center in recent years and comes as Orange County Fair & Event Center officials build out the space with more public-facing programs under the newly rebranded Ranch concept.
But while the mainstay of equestrian tenants have left the building, and as lawsuits continue to wend their way through the courts, those who want to see horses have a strong presence at the fairgrounds continue to make their voices heard.
Center officials on Thursday considered public feedback submitted in response to a draft of a strategic plan, submitted to the board in January, which highlights the mission, vision and objectives of the center through 2029.
The 12-page plan identifies innovation, stewardship, operational excellence and visitor experience as primary objectives for the center and mentions the expansion of programs at the Ranch. But the document contains no explicit reference to horses or the reinvigoration of equestrian activities there.
While no public outreach meetings were held, citizens were asked to submit comments through an online survey. Among 505 responses submitted, 447, nearly 89%, specifically pertained to keeping horses and equestrians thriving at the fairgrounds.
'The OC fair has a duty to preserve the historical equestrian community here in Costa Mesa,' wrote a local resident named Madison. 'This new plan should include reasonable boarding for the local public to board their horses at a well kept facility (with improved facilities) and equestrian trainers who maintain lesson programs.
'Without the knowledge and life long experience of local horse trainers you cannot be successful — they are a key part of running a clean, safe, and enjoyable equestrian facility.'
'No equestrian center mentioned in the Strategic Plan? WHY?' wrote Alexis of Costa Mesa. 'Put it back in there. You board members are ruining a once vibrant community of people where 12-year-olds rode with 70-year-olds and friendships developed over a common interest — horses. Thousands of people have enjoyed their time out there over the years. Please support it and include it in your strategic plan.'
A previous strategic plan, covering operational objectives from 2022 through 2024, contained two pages specific to the Equestrian Center. It described numerous goals, such as hiring a supervisor, developing a revenue-generating horse show and working with nonprofit groups to provide free or low-cost riding lessons.
Gibran Stout — a local equestrian ousted from the center for refusing to pay increased rental fees who is involved in litigation against the OC Fair & Event Center— criticized officials Thursday for not involving the public in plans for the Ranch.
She, too, asked Center directors to specify objectives in the strategic plan and involve the community in creating robust equine programs at the site.
'When you have 90% of the people saying they want something, let's do it. Those responses from the public were from all the public. We're all the public, we're all the community. Listen to 90% of your feedback.'
Board President Nick Kovacevich said he didn't see anything in the comments that haven't already been incorporated into plans for the Ranch.
'The good news is, it sounds like we've already listened to them and we've already incorporated that, so they can essentially rest assured it's moving in the right direction that they want,' he added.
'I hear from members of the public, they're significantly uninformed or there's even been, maybe, misinformation they've picked up on,' Kovacevich continued. 'If you've attended any board meeting in the last year and a half, you know the topic of losing the Equestrian Center has come up, and every time it's actually the board demanding that we reinvigorate that center and the grounds and add more programming.'
Director Barbara Bagneris also expressed astonishment over the tenor of the comments.
'This seems more about semantics to me. We used to call it the Equestrian Center and now we call it the Ranch — the same activities are going to happen at the Ranch but more expanded for the community. Maybe that's the confusion?' she posed.
In a follow up interview Friday, fairgrounds spokeswoman Moore accredited the low census at the stables to the fact that trainers, who often board numerous horses for programs, have vacated, leaving only a handful of owners with fewer wards.
Moore further said initial occupancy plans focused on boarders, whose contracts and agreements are more straightforward than ones for those who conduct lessons and services at the site, and said officials will soon roll out a plan for inviting area trainers to the Ranch.
'Trainers bring in horses and fill stalls. [And] right now we don't have trainers there,' she said. 'The Ranch Community Center is the new plan, and we've moving forward with that plan. Exhibits are being built, and partners are coming in — we're getting there.'
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