News of the Arroyo
Title: | 'Neigh' to soccer field |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2004-06-27 |
Summary: | June 27, 2004 - It looks like the stable and equestrian facilites on the border between Pasadena and South Pasadena in the Arroyo will stay. Here's the account of the celebration. |
Author: | Gary Scott, Staff Writer |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | Horse lovers celebrate decision to preserve stables SOUTH PASADENA -- Clarice Knapp thinks the old barn at the San Pascual Stables has stood for 100 years, or at least since the 1916 flood reportedly washed several farm-raised pigs down the Arroyo Seco and deposited them near its doorstep. The barn recently faced a greater threat than waterlogged swine when in February the American Youth Soccer Organization proposed razing the stables property to build a sports complex. \"The only thing left of the horses was a horseshoe pit,\' said Knapp, whose husband is former South Pasadena Mayor Harry Knapp. About 100 horse enthusiasts and nature lovers turned out Saturday to celebrate the South Pasadena City Council\'s June 9 decision to reject the AYSO plan. Instead, the council voted to preserve the land for equestrian uses in perpetuity. \"Like we need another soccer field,\' said Sumee Chang, 31, of Glendale, who is boarding Barroom Buddy, a 16-year-old American Saddlebred, at San Pascual until the horse recovers from a bout of tendinitis. \"There are so few places left in the country that have stuff for equestrians,\' Chang added as she pulled hard on Barroom Buddy\'s bridle to keep him from digging his snout into a fat sack of carrots. Saturday\'s barbecue and an equestrian exhibition was organized as a \"thank you\' for those who helped fight to save the stables, Cathy Morrison said. \"It was bleak when we started,\' recounted Diane Domingo-Foraste, whose horses Bubba, nephew of racing legend Cigar, and Harmonie live at the stables. She said the initial animosity between equestrians and soccer players has died down to the point AYSO members are passing out fliers for the summer horse camp when signing up new players. Young women exhibited their show jumping skills, bouncing rhythmically in their English saddles as they angled their horses for the right approach. Observers looked on from the shade of tarpaulins, eating hamburgers and sausages browned on a wood-fired grill. While there are many male riders there, including the oldest boarder, 91-year-old Don Zimmerman of San Gabriel, Morrison said there was a sense that saving the equestrian center preserved a sport important to girls. \"This is a place where girls can come and participate in a sport that requires a lot of discipline and a lot of strength,\' she said. \"There is a sensibility about the nature of the horse that I think appeals to women.\' Alex Bellehumeur built the stables, at 221 San Pascual Ave., in 1978, shortly after the city purchased the former dairy land to keep it from being developed into housing. He thanked the community for supporting the preservation efforts and said his company hopes to extend the lease on the land, which is up in August 2005. -- Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com . |
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