Miniature Horse Carries Day, 3 Judges Rule

A Thousand Oaks woman has won another court battle in her fight to keep a miniature horse called Ragtime in her suburban back yard, but more legal clashes are pending.

A three-judge appellate panel upheld a ruling by Ventura Municipal Court Judge Herbert Curtis III, who in September dismissed a criminal case filed against Patty Fairchild by the city of Thousand Oaks.

City officials charged that Fairchild violated city zoning regulations by keeping Ragtime, a 29-inch-tall stallion, at her home in Oakbrook Village. Curtis rejected the city’s argument, saying its zoning code regarding horses is poorly worded and unenforceable.

City attorneys appealed. But three Ventura Superior Court judges--Melinda Johnson, Bruce A. Thompson and Kenneth R. Yegan--ruled Monday that a city ordinance prohibiting the keeping of two horses on less than 20,000 square feet of property did not mention restrictions against keeping a single horse, regardless of its size.

Fairchild said Tuesday that she broke into tears of happiness when her attorney, George A. Eskin, called to say she and Ragtime had won.

“I was crying,” she said. “I walked around here in a daze.”

The controversy over Ragtime started more than a year ago after a neighbor complained to city officials that the horse caused a stench.

In May, 1987, the Thousand Oaks City Council declined to exempt Ragtime from zoning laws governing the keeping of horses, and a month later ordered Fairchild to remove the stallion from her property. Fairchild defied the council’s order and set the stage for a legal showdown.

Assistant City Atty. Shawn Mason said the city has no plans to appeal the ruling but does intend to pursue a lawsuit against Fairchild.

Thousand Oaks and the Oakbrook Homeowners Assn. have filed suits seeking injunctions to have the horse removed. The association’s lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 6 in Ventura Superior Court.

The Ragtime case has won national attention. The tiny horse has been shown on television and in newspapers romping in Fairchild’s back yard or resting inside the house on the living room couch.

Fairchild said the Cat and Dog House, a center in Santa Monica that finds homes for stray dogs and cats, has raised about $3,000 to help pay the $10,000 in legal fees she has incurred.