TRABUCO CANYON : Equestrians Ride to Park’s Rescue
Looking for help to open a 1,100-acre stretch of wilderness to the public, Orange County may have found a white knight.
The Saddleback Riders, a 100-member equestrian group that last month agreed to patrol and maintain an adjoining park site, has agreed to adopt the Chiquita Ridge-Tijeras Creek area as well.
Last month, the 1,000-acre Arroyo Trabuco area was adopted by the Saddleback Riders and added to O’Neill Regional Park. The inclusion of Chiquita Ridge-Tijeras Creek would swell O’Neill Park to almost 3,400 acres.
Although Chiquita Ridge-Tijeras Creek was offered to the county by Santa Margarita Co. at no cost, the financially strapped county initially declined to accept the land because of anticipated maintenance costs.
County parks officials approached Saddleback Riders this week asking if they would be interested in taking care of Chiquita Ridge-Tijeras Creek as well. The club voted unanimously Wednesday to do so, spokesman Don Carr said.
Not only did several horse owners volunteer to patrol the area on weekends, “we had some people ask what else they could do to help, like pick up trash off the trails,” Carr said.
The equestrian group said it will seek corporate financial assistance to purchase trail maintenance tools such as shovels and other items.
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