San Juan Capistrano : Horse Fancier Wishes the City Happy Trails

When Joan Irvine Smith read in the papers that San Juan Capistrano was having trouble maintaining its horse trails, she did what came naturally for a horse fancier worth close to $200 million: She whipped out her checkbook.

On the lush grounds of The Oaks, the 12-acre, 108-horse stable off Ortega Highway that Smith bought last year, the 52-year-old granddaughter of Irvine Co. founder James Irvine Jr. gave Mayor Phillip R. Schwartze a $1,000 check Tuesday earmarked for maintenance of the city’s equestrian trail system.

The city’s ad hoc equestrian committee last month recommended introducing a $5-per-month hoof tax on horses boarded in San Juan to help pay for the upkeep of the trails, which cost the city about $17,000 last year. Angry stable owners have denounced the proposed tax as unfair, but Smith said she would not comment on whether or not she thought the tax was a good idea.

“We would have no problem with the tax, but it might cut into somebody else’s pocketbook,” Smith said. “It’s going to take a lot of thought. If the more affluent members of the community can be convinced to contribute in some way to maintain the (equestrian) atmosphere, maybe we can keep it from being onerous on the others.”