Parcel Sold by Conejo Park District

A 3 1/4-acre parcel on Rancho Road north of Hillcrest Drive, which had been considered for a public equestrian center, has been sold to a private party, park officials said.

Conejo Recreation and Park District planners initially evaluated the land, owned by Welling Trust and worth nearly $1 million, as a neighborhood park site. Because of the land’s high cost, staff members had recommended passing on the land and forwarding the matter to the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency as a possible site for a small equestrian center.

Mark Towne, coordinator for the agency, said he would have considered the property for the equestrian facility had it not been sold. A report by the agency a few years ago showed a need for such a center in the eastern part of the city.

Meanwhile, the conservation agency, a joint powers authority of the city and the park district, is moving ahead on plans for a large public equestrian center on the other side of town. The board recently voted to begin crafting detailed plans for Rancho Potrero--a 25-acre, $2.3-million center in Newbury Park that will include horse rentals, boarding and special events.

Two Winds Ranch, which has been using the Rancho Potrero land for the past five years, received a one-year extension on its lease, Towne said.

One of the Conejo Valley’s few low-cost equestrian centers, the ranch, owned by Alvin “Bully” Caddin, was forced to move from its longtime site across the street from Rancho Potrero to make room for the Dos Vientos housing development in 1995.

Towne said Caddin will most likely be one of the candidates to operate the public center when it nears completion.