Polo and riding still allowed at Will Rogers State Park
Despite that government officials said equestrian activity will remain the focal point at Will Rogers State Park, it’s been more than a year since horses have been banned from being there.
The state department of parks and recreation determined in the fall of 2001 that the horse operation at the park was significantly degrading the environment. State officials suspended overnight horse boarding while a new management plan for the park was developed.
But so far, there has been no environmental assessment completed and no management plan presented, horse enthusiasts claim.
Steve Capps, the deputy director of communications for parks and recreation, said on Tuesday that horses haven’t returned to the area because of extensive construction activity that includes refurbishing Will Rogers’ original home.
“As long as those activities are going on, there will be no horses in the park,” he said, adding he couldn’t confirm if an environmental analysis of the area has been done. He did confirm, however, that no management plan has been completed. Capps estimated that the construction would take another 18 months and said horses will return after that.
State parks officials had said in 2001 that the removal of the horses would only be temporary.
There were about 45 privately owned horses boarded at Will Rogers State Park, some of which were owned by prominent people like Maria Shriver, Jim Carrey and Billy Crystal.
Park officials removed the horses so they could evaluate the environmental damage they say is caused by the horses. The state says that the horses generate about 4,500 pounds of nitrogen, 2,800 pounds of potassium and 765 pounds of phosphorous every year. Ecologists fear the chemicals were being carried by run-off into adjacent streams.
State officials argue that private boarding shouldn’t be part of a public-funded park. Rather, they would like to see equestrian activities like public riding lessons, polo matches and trail riding — not a permanent place for people who can afford to board their horses there.
4AC,“It got so out of hand it was damaging the park,” Capps said.
But boarders say it’s not the interests of a few celebrities that is at the heart of their argument. The lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in December of 2001 that sought to prevent the state from evicting the horses, was an 8-year-old Los Angeles girl, who took riding lessons there. Genesses Rievera, along with 34 other plaintiffs and the support of 1,300 petition-signing members of the public, filed suit in the Santa Monica Courthouse to enjoin California’s Department of Parks and Recreation, as well as its director, Rusty Areias, from terminating horse boarding and other equestrian activity at the park. A judge ruled against the group, and the horses were evicted in February of 2002.
The park, located in Pacific Palisades, is a popular destination for hikers of the Backbone Trail, as well as recreationalists who come to watch polo matches, play soccer and other sports. Since Will Rogers gave the land to the state, the park had been used for horse enthusiasts to board their horses, as well as a place where kids learn to ride. Polo matches still occur from May through October, and riding the trail is still allowed.
West Los Angeles resident Dorte Lindegaard, who exercises her horses in the arena just north of the polo field on a daily basis, said people consistently approach her wondering when the horses will come back permanently.
“Everyday people tell me it’s a shame,” she said. “Actually, they say a lot worse than that.”
“Everyday people tell me it’s a shame. Actually, they say a lot worse than that.” — — DORTE LINDEGAARD Horse enthusiast
Horse enthusiasts believe the state’s eviction is the first step to outlawing any horse activity there in the future.
According to the suit, the parks department has flouted the state’s promise in 1944 to Will Rogers’ widow that the park will be used “as a memorial and historical monument to the memory of the late Will Rogers.” The suit also claimed that the department’s actions violated its own 1992 plan governing the park’s operations. The plan deemed an equestrian presence “essential to any realistic interpretation of Will Rogers’ life.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 5, 2003. Read the original PDF.