March 23, 2007

Ft.Ord horse park faces big hurdles but promises great results
The Carmel Pine Coneby
KELLY NIX

A390-ACREworld-class equestrian facility proposed for the former Fort Ord would not only benefit the national and international horse world but would bring tens of mil- lions of dollars to the Monterey County economy, organizers contend. 

The proposed Monterey Horse Park, which would provide local equestrians with a top-notch training facility and host a variety of equestrian events, is located in an area known as Parker Flats. 

“It will bring about $65 million a year to the county,” said Steve Chidester, an architect and director of the horse park.  “That figure is from a conservative marketing report we had done on the facility.” 

Good enough for the Olympics 
If organizers can raise the estimated $26 million to build the park’s first phase, expected to come mostly from private sources, it will be much more than a run-of-the-mill horse ranch, according to Chidester. 

“The park is intended to be a state-of-the-art horse com- petition facility for all recognized equestrian events,” he said.  “This facility is intended to handle anything the world dish- es out, including the Olympic games.” While most equestrian centers can only handle particular events, the Monterey Horse Park would accommodate the eight disciplines listed by Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sport.  The park would include a multipurpose indoor arena, sand-based outdoor arena, grass grand prix field, cross coun- try course, RV park, horse camping area, equestrian museum and 150 miles of trails. 

Chidester said organizers envision the facility to be on par to the Kentucky Horse Park, considered to be the finest of its kind in the United States for horse events. The Kentucky facility is hosting the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event next month, a prestigious equestrian competition.  “We intend to do the same thing,” he said. “This would be the West Coast version of that.” 

A very ‘horsey’area 
The horse park was originally drawn up as a venue for the 2012 Olympics, which San Francisco unsuccessfully bid for.  London will host the 2012 games. 

But even without the Olympics, the horse park would be an extraordinary addition to the Peninsula, California and the nation, according to Sarah Clifford, who manages a horse ranch in Carmel Valley and trains cutting horses.  “I think it’s exciting because it won’t just benefit the horse community,” Clifford said. “If they finish it, it should help all the merchants. They are talking about having national and international events, which I think would would bring in a lot of revenue for hotels and restaurants.” Clifford said local horse enthusiasts are excited about the possibility of having a world class facility in their backyard and that she hasn’t spoken to anybody opposed to the horse park. 

“This is a very ‘horsey’area,” she said. “To compete at the national level, we usually have to go somewhere far away.” But there are a lot of hurdles organizers must overcome, particularly funding. So far, the horse park has only raised about $700,000, but the fundraising effort is on schedule, according to Anne Cribbs, executive director of the horse park. The price of the second multimillion-dollar phase has yet to be determined, Cribbs said. 
“We have a lot of money to raise” Chidester said. 

The horse park plans to enter into partnerships with California State University Monterey Bay to host the school’s future intercollegiate equestrian team, the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Monterey County and youth-oriented organizations such as 4-H Club and U.S. Pony Club. Other planned partnerships for non-horse events include music festivals, dog and cat shows, and auto shows, organizers said. 

Although the land is ideally suited for the facility, it will be expensive to condition the property so it’s compatible with equestrian events, he said. 

“It’s hard for people to even remotely get a grip on what this thing is,” Chidester said. “There are very few buildings, but it encompasses 375 acres.” 

But the horse park does have initial approval from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, which voted in early 2005 to negotiate exclusively with the horse park’s directors.  “We have very strong support from county politicians and supervisors,” Chidester said. The land would be leased from the county’s redevelopment agency, which will be getting several parcels from the U.S. Army in about a year.