A local gem in the community, the Santa Rosa Valley Equestrian Park offers 50 acres of natural wide-open space for horseback riding, exploring and hiking. This beautiful park holds a special place in the hearts of many Santa Rosa Valley residents, whose dedicated efforts are responsible for its existence.
“For over 30 years, the residents of Santa Rosa Valley lobbied to develop the Santa Rosa Valley Equestrian Park in Hill Canyon,” shares local resident and realtor Rosemary Allison.
Dedicated members of the Santa Rosa Valley MAC, including Rosemary, Ruth Means and Mark Burley, and Supervisor Linda Parks spent countless hours meeting with the Thousand Oaks City Council members to bring the dream to fruition.
“The last hurdle that the City of Thousand Oaks gave us in 2010 to overcome was to raise the funds to build a bridge that was in the park,” recalls Rosemary, who donated funds along with some fellow residents to finance the building of the bridge.
On April 12, 2011, years of negotiation and work paid off when the City of Thousand Oaks approved the agreement with the County of Ventura and the Santa Rosa Valley MAC to move forward with the construction of the park, says Rosemary.
“The residents came together to put some ‘sweat equity’ into the development. We had a ‘tractor’ party where community members, including Mark Burley, Joe Markiewicz, David Boyle, Kimme Black, showed up with tractors to level out the pad. Other residents, including Master Gardener Tom Wade and his wife Diane became part of our planting party,” says Rosemary, noting that the Equestrian Park is one of her favorite places in the area to spend time at with friends and family.
“Over the years we have had many community events there, including the ‘No Place Like Hope’ picnic, created by Santa Rosa Valley resident Kimme Black. My fellow Santa Rosa Valley MAC council member Mark Burley and I enjoyed our ‘Ole Fashion Pie Auction,’ which raised funds for the event,” she adds.
And last June, the park welcomed another community-building program called Stepping Stones. In October the Santa Rosa Valley MAC and Stepping Stones will be hosting a fundraiser at the park with an Old Fashion Pie Auction.
“I had the privilege of being part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Supervisor Jeff Gorell to welcome the Stepping Stones program to the park whose mission is to connect horses and people regardless of circumstance and wealth with low-cost riding lessons and horse experiences. The joy in their faces validated all of the hard work it took to get to this point,” she notes.
Santa Rosa Equestrian Park
10241 Hill Canyon Rd, Camarillo
Amenities
· Open space
· Two equestrian riding arenas and a training area
· Horseshoe pits
· Picnic tables and barbecues
· Trail access
· Restrooms
“The residents came together to put some ‘sweat equity’ into the development. We had a ‘tractor’ party where community members showed up with tractors to level out the pad."