Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch . . .

Amid the bulldozed hills and subdivisions-in-progress, a horse ranch has arisen in Calabasas.

Rancho del Puma, a 100-acre complex in the Santa Monica Mountains, is the creation of developer Larry Dinovitz, who put his cousin, 20-year-old show-jumper Candice Schlom, in charge of the operation.

The private facility, which opened a year ago, has a knotty-pine stable with 16 horses, a 250-by-300-foot sand ring, a terraced grand-prix derby field and a partially covered patio for spectators. At least two show-jumping competitions a year will be held at the ranch.

“This is a duplication of other facilities in other countries where our horses will be competing in international competitions,” Dinovitz said.

Dinovitz has been involved with horses most of his life. In the 1960s, he and his wife owned and operated the Rocking K, a dude ranch in Bishop, Calif.

The surrounding mountains provide privacy but also have another benefit. “We do a lot of riding in the mountains for the horses’ muscles,” Schlom said.

As for the name of the ranch . . .

“There’s a puma in these mountains,” Schlom said. “We’ve seen it once.”