"I know there are greedy eyes looking at that property and savoring the possibilities of what they could do with it," said former president Liz Blackwelder, 82.

Rose Bowl Riders is a nonprofit, volunteer-supported social club for horse-lovers created in 1946 that has leased acreage in 1,300-acre Hahamongna Watershed Park for 52 years. It is housed on 12 acres just south of Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the park, leased from the Metropolitan Water District.

When the group isn't enjoying its unique 12-acre rural setting, set among urban sprawl, it's trying to protect its open space, member and former president Mary Barrie said.

For years, various groups have proposed different development ideas for the park, said Blackwelder, whom Barrie has referred to as the "grande dame of La Canada Flintridge equestrians."

Current possibilities for development include a proposed partnership between La Canada Flintridge and Pasadena to create a joint-use sports facility in the park, which would include installing a soccer field; a 1,200-space parking garage mentioned in the Hahamongna Watershed Park Master Plan; and a 40-foot-wide road, also mentioned in the plan, that would displace a Rose Bowl Riders' barn and jumping arena.

The group's headquarters house about 100 horses and are used by such groups as the Tom Sawyer Camp and the Move A Child Higher equestrian therapy program for disabled children. It's also a staging area for the 136 families who are Rose Bowl Riders members and other horseback riders from across Southern California, Vice President Doug Larner said.

From Hahamongna Watershed Park, riders can take a 2 1/2-hour, tree-shaded ride into the Angeles National Forest, Larner said.

"We have in this canyon something special that other places don't have," Larner said, gesturing to the section of the arroyo north of the park.

One of the Rose Bowl Riders' goals is to make horseback riding an affordable activity for families, Barrie said. It costs $90 per year for a family membership to the group, and about $200 per month to rent a stall at the park, Larner said.

The barn was built by volunteer labor with donated funds and would be a great loss, Larner said.

"This is a sweat labor club," Larner said, referring to the barn. "The people who've been here for years, you can see their imprint on everything." Rose Bowl Riders has been extremely active politically in making its voice known, Barrie said. She doesn't think anyone is trying to kick Rose Bowl Riders out of the park, but the proposed development plans provoke anxiety, Barrie said.

"We're trying to hold onto this treasure," she said.

If she could have her way, Blackwelder said, the entire park would be preserved as open space. "Open space is the most important thing we have in our cities today, because of the increasing pressures of population and crowding out of the areas where people can get back to nature."

-- Marshall Allen can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4461.