Can Former Olympian, Equestrian Coach Save SJC Riding Park?

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — A local equestrian riding center may have a future beyond livestock usage. However, most of San Juan Capistrano's equestrian community is calling for a different sort of action.

The city faces a total of $9 million in improvements to keep runoff out of the creek, following a lawsuit by Orange County Coastkeepers that alleges clean water violations, according to the OC Register. In March, the city of San Juan Capistrano agreed to move ahead with $2 million in improvements.

That included a "removal of an existing Arizona crossing, a streambank restoration within the San Juan Creek, and installation of a stormwater capture and treatment system," according to an agenda. A study, according to the Capistrano Dispatch, said that there was "a potential for equestrian waste, equestrian-related products to be carried via stormwater runoff and indirectly discharged into San Juan Creek."

However, it is not enough to maintain the large equestrian site.

To handle that price tag, the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park may have to find someone other than an equestrian-based company to make the necessary improvements. Proponents of the riding center say that would be a mistake.

In 2016, a study said the equestrian community "brings in more than $50 million to the city" a year, according to the Register. Closing the center would be detrimental to city revenue and the riding community at large.

Solutions to the use of the property include both livestock purposes and beyond, according to a report in the Orange County Register. By changing the venue to look beyond riding, some of their issues may disappear.

Management has hosted events at the facility, from soccer tournaments to corporate events, concerts, dog shows, car shows, and even the circus. They have alluded that perhaps having horses not on the property during the rainy season may help with the runoff issues, as in the Coastkeeper's lawsuit. It is not yet clear if that will solve the problems related to infrastructure.

Per the suit, a $7 million infrastructure project needs to be handled to meet the Coastkeeper's demands, the Register says. These include adding underground tanks that will store excess water during major rain events.

A possible solution could be in the works with Robert Ridland, president and owner of Blenheim EquiSports. As a current U.S. Olympic equestrian coach and former rider, Ridland has a "month-to-month" agreement on the property.

Planning for a bid for multi-use, maintaining equestrian events, as well as other events, ould be "a model for future generations," Blenheim told the Register.

When the city purchased the property from Rancho Mission Viejo in 2010, the agreement was that it would remain "open, recreational land," the OC Register reported.

"We'll find a solution," he said. "There are multiple potential solutions."