College to Close Equestrian Center : Education: Cal Lutheran officials cite changing times, cost of renovations. Development threatens other Thousand Oaks stables.

A horse named Brandy neighed at one corner of the corral as a tractor that was bought in 1958 chugged alongside the fence. Inside the rundown equestrian center, manager Mark Magdaleno spit tobacco juice on the concrete floor and pointed to the green hills, where they used to film “Gunsmoke.”

The equestrian center, on the campus of California Lutheran University, will close in May. College officials said the stables, although a time-honored tradition, no longer match the institution’s academic mission.

“When this place started, it was really the boonies, and students could bring their horses with them to college,” university spokeswoman Lynda Fulford said. “It’s not really that kind of place anymore.”

Only one student still keeps a horse at the center, and Fulford said the university would rather spend its money improving academic programs than on a million-dollar renovation of the equestrian center, which is used mostly by neighbors.

Owners of the 19 horses at the center have been notified that the center will close in May. An additional 13 horses are used to give lessons to eight students per semester.

The university’s decision mirrors what has happened across Thousand Oaks as development and suburban sprawl push riding stables out of the community. Two other, larger equestrian facilities in Thousands Oaks are threatened by proposed housing developments.

“There is no question that development is affecting the existing equestrian centers,” said Mark Towne, the city planner who handles open space issues.

The university has no plans to develop the stable site. Instead, officials say they simply do not want to invest in the renovations it requires. There are no permanent toilets in the center, and wiring hangs exposed from cracked and rusted outlets and fixtures.

Fixing it would be prohibitively expensive, Fulford said. “It’s a business decision,” she said.