Equestrian Center Faces Closure Unless Agency Pitches In

After three decades of running an equestrian center in this city, watching it grow from cow town to suburban enclave, Alvin “Bully” Caddin says he has had enough.

Unless the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency opts tonight to assist him financially--something it has already done several times in recent years--Caddin said he will be forced to shutter Two Winds, one of only two horse-boarding ranches left in Thousand Oaks.

“It’s come to the point where I’ve said, ‘Enough’s enough,’ ” Caddin said Tuesday, leaning against his pickup truck while he played catch with his dog Dolly. “Either they’re going to help me continue this, or I’m packing it in.”

About two years ago, Caddin had to move Two Winds from its longtime location to 20 acres of agency-owned land off Lynn Road to make way for the massive Dos Vientos Ranch development. Two Winds now boards more than 100 horses and also offers 35 horses for rent as well as a petting zoo.

However, he said, rent, sanitation and electricity costs at the new site are more than he can handle--even after agency officials revamped his lease last year and forgave $3,800 in back rent. The new location is not wired for electricity, and Caddin said he cannot afford to pay for it himself.

He contends that Thousand Oaks leaders have sent him so many mixed signals over the years that he isn’t sure they care about the fate of Two Winds, which the city never intended to become a permanent fixture at its present Newbury Park site.

“I’m too old to be fighting with the politicians,” said Caddin, giving his age only as “older than dirt.” “Not knowing what’s going to happen to me at this stage in the game--I’m too old for that.”

Officials at COSCA, a joint agency created by Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District to handle open space issues, are recommending that a subcommittee review Caddin’s claims and make a suggestion on whether to assist him more.

But Mayor Judy Lazar, an agency member, said Caddin has received quite a few breaks already. Although she is open to considering the idea, Lazar said Thousand Oaks officials need to discuss whether their assistance to Caddin has gotten out of hand.

“We’re certainly anxious to maintain equestrian facilities,” she said. “However, we have a responsibility to the general public to not give anything away. There is certainly a history of reductions when it comes to Bully and his rent.”

Realizing that there is now a shortage of equestrian facilities in town--and responding to public pressure by equestrian groups--the agency is studying sites for one and possibly two new equestrian centers. One of these could be located near the present Two Winds facility at the Olympia Farms site at the southwestern end of Broome Ranch.

But because this is a public project, the operator of the new equestrian center would be chosen through an open bidding process. There is no guarantee that Caddin and his Two Winds Ranch will be relocated to the new site, and Caddin concedes that he could not afford the move anyway without substantial financial assistance.

He argued Tuesday that his ranch should be allowed to remain in operation and that the agency should simply consider turning his site into a permanent equestrian facility, noting that Two Winds has for years served as a place for working families and youngsters to live out their equestrian dreams.

“We keep kids out of trouble,” Caddin said. “There was one kid who worked here three years and bought a horse. We’ve got three other kids doing that now. This is affordable to the people with moderate incomes. That’s what this place is all about, a place where the average person can keep a horse.”

Councilwoman Linda Parks, who is not a COSCA member, believes that the agency needs to do more to keep Caddin and Two Winds in business.

“I’d hate to lose what I believe to be the last rental place in this town,” Parks said. “If he is close to going out of business--and I for one believe that he is--we need to look at this. It’s one of our council goals to have better equestrian facilities.

“We don’t want to look back and say, ‘We could have done more for Two Winds.’ ”