Altadena equestrians and other open-space advocates have had several setbacks in the last few years. Ongoing problems include a large development destroying trails (and breaking promises to replace them), the County refusing to allow equestrian events at an equestrian arena at Loma Alta Park, and now having new development in the park threaten to encroach on what few resources are still available.

Join us and other local equestrian organizations on January 26 at 10am for an awareness ride followed by lunch at Loma Alta Park in Altadena. Check here for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!

Background

Altadena has a long history of equestrian activity. Recent events have threatened and damaged equestrian resources.

The Altadena Town Council is aware of these issues and seems to support maintaining and enhancing trails, holding developers accountable, etc etc. So there is local political support for some improvement in the situation, as well as a local equestrian and open space community who have common goals. Altadena Equestrian Resources is a local group focused on these issues. We can use your help!

The Altadena Crest Trail

The Altadena Crest Trail runs from Hahamongna (Oak Grove) Park to Eaton Canyon. But it is broken in several places, requiring horses (and other trail users) to take to the streets for long stretches to make the complete trip.

La Vina Development

The La Vina development on the west end of Altadena destroyed some and completely blocked other historic trails, including a segment of the Altadena Crest Trail. The developers had promised to re-create and maintain trail access through or around their development. Although they have given the county $400,000 to support work outside of or on the edge of their development, neither the developer nor the county has yet been able to implement any of the promises.

Loma Alta Park

Loma Alta Park in west Altadena has an equestrian arena and had connections to trails. But the trail connection was removed during the La Vina development, and horses must now negotiate paved streets to get to the trail. A rider was injured a few weeks ago when her horse slipped on the pavement while spooking at a pedestrian.

The park has a riding arena which was used for several years for a summer equestrian program for local kids (with some sponsorship from the County; good for them!). They would end the program with a playday. The County no longer permits that use, believing that the arena is too small to safely hold events. If that is the case, then upgrading the arena should be a high priority to retain programs and events which benefit the local community.

The County of Los Angeles has proposed building a gymnasium at Alta Loma Park. It will impact access to the equestrian arena and trails (parking and the gym are on opposite sides of the arena and trail) and they would use $3M of Prop A money and La Vina developer fees to do the work. Some of that money could go toward maintaining and improving existing facilities in the park, including a recreation center and the equestrian arena and staging area, and a large portion of the developer fees had been targeted at remediation of trails.