Site Sought for an Equestrian Center

Determined to maintain the city’s equestrian heritage, officials agreed Wednesday to revamp the lease of a popular Newbury Park stable and to take the first steps toward establishing one or two permanent equestrian centers in the city’s ring of open space.

The Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency board cut the rent for Two Winds Ranch, reflecting owner Alvin “Bully” Caddin’s reduced revenue and increased costs when he moved his stable to 20 acres of open space at Broome Ranch after being displaced last year by development.

But the board also decided to start looking for at least one permanent site for a stable. Once a site is selected, Two Winds’ management would have to bid to operate the new center, along with other competitors.

Thousand Oaks City Planner Mark Towne said his staff would look at a host of alternatives for the permanent center--keeping in mind the possibility of opening a second center--and report back to the agency board by next September.

A 1993 report by the Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee recommended opening an additional center at Lang Ranch, giving horse lovers in east Thousand Oaks a place to ride, as well as providing access to trails in the Simi Valley system. The report also recommended establishing a riding center, as well as a golf course, at Broome Ranch in the city’s southwestern corner.

Towne said that report would be given serious consideration, but that other alternatives would be looked at as well.

The board decided Wednesday to invite the public’s participation in selecting a final site.

The board also altered the terms of the Two Winds Ranch lease, which was to expire next Oct. 30. Instead, if Caddin is not selected to run the permanent equestrian center, he would have 12 months to cease operation on the public property from the time the bid is awarded.

The decision comes shortly after the open space agency sent a letter to Two Winds’ owner complaining about lease violations, but Towne said the complaint had no bearing on Wednesday night’s action.

“I don’t see that as being a problem,” Towne said before the meeting.

The violations include the use of trails outside the lease area, putting down asphalt instead of gravel on ranch roads, and the spreading of manure outside the lease area, according to Towne.

Towne said he would schedule a meeting with Caddin and his attorney as soon as next week to discuss the problems.

Two Winds moved to its current location in September 1995, across the street from its former home, when construction at the Dos Vientos site forced the ranch out.

Towne said the rent reduction was made because Caddin had said that his expenses and start-up costs at the new location were higher than what he’d expected.

“We considered this valid and acted accordingly,” Towne said. “We’re doing everything we can to make [Two Winds] successful.”

However, once the permanent site for the equestrian center is settled on, Caddin will have to submit a competitive bid to run it.