Horses whose owners are in the midst of a tense rent contract dispute at the OC Fairgrounds have now been prevented from exercising at equestrian center arenas — with activists increasingly worried about the horses’ health.
For months, boarders and trainers at the Equestrian Center, located at the OC Fair & Event Center, have been fighting skyrocketing rental rates that many say they won’t be able to afford.
Renters who previously paid $644 monthly for a 12-by-12-foot boarding stall for their horse will have to pay $979 per month in the new year under a new contract.
[Read: OC Equestrian Center Rent Hikes Start This Week as Tension Mounts]
There’s a group of equestrians that are refusing to sign the updated contract that includes the rent hikes and other provisions like paying a 50% deposit — based on one month’s rent — for each stall, equipment room and locker they’ll be using.
The dispute remains tense with equestrians raising issues about the lack of public givebacks from OC fair officials, who in turn have moved to evict vocal critics.
In late June, all boarders who didn’t sign the contract were served with 30-day notices to sign the agreement or leave the property.
[Read: Housing Horses at the OC Equestrian Center is Getting More Expensive]
Now that the 30 days have passed, fairgrounds staff has locked up access to arenas, turnout spaces and round pens at the center.
These facilities — which are used to exercise horses and allow them to run and walk freely outside their stalls — are now only available to the small number of boarders who signed the contract.
Katherine Fertig, a veterinarian with Orange County Equine Veterinary Services, wrote a letter to fairgrounds staff explaining that blocking off these areas is detrimental to the horses’ health.
“It is vital that all horses have access to daily exercise with adequate footing for a minimum of 60 minutes,” said Fertig, who treats many of the horses at the center.
“If this access is denied, the horse’s health and wellbeing is being put in jeopardy,” she said. “As a concern for the safety and well-being of the horses that I currently care for and treat located at the Orange County Fairgrounds Equestrian Center, I hope this can be resolved without the need to involve Animal Control.”
Fairgrounds CEO Michele Richards didn’t answer direct questions about the change, instead reiterating that everyone may exercise their horses around the facility regardless if they have a valid pass or not.
“The boarders at the equestrian center who have a valid rental agreement and who have paid the Board-approved rental fees were issued passes to use the arenas at the center,” Richards wrote in an email to Voice of OC. “Occupants who do not have a pass cannot use the arenas.”
Horse owners still have access to their animals’ stalls and the parking lot, wash racks, shoeing area, cross-ties and tack rooms.
One of the biggest concerns is colic, abdominal pain in horses which can be life-threatening.
“If you keep a dog in a crate and you never let them out, it’s mean, but it won’t kill them,” Carol Graves, a boarder at the center, said in a phone interview. “If you keep a horse in a stall, or if they don’t have the ability to get the proper exercise, it’s going to cause health issues for them, the most serious one being colic, which kills a lot of horses.”
A group of boarders, trainers and their families protested outside the OC Fair last Thursday after discovering they were locked out of certain spaces earlier that morning.
They held signs and rode their horses outside of the fairground entrances while hundreds of people entered to attend the fair.
It’s not just about the increasing costs — it’s also about access and a regional lack of public, affordable boarding options for horses and families looking for lessons.
“This facility is a gem of the community, not just for the people who board their horses, but there’s a lot of public programming that goes on here,” Graves said. “And in an urban environment, there’s not a lot of agricultural spaces that are left. A trainer here that has 17 horses? There’s nowhere to go. You’d end up in Temecula.”
County Supervisor Katrina Foley released a statement Thursday afternoon condemning the decision and calling on fairgrounds staff to reopen the locked gates.
“I am disappointed to see the breakdown in discussions between the OC Fair and the equestrians while thousands visit the OC Fair to have fun with family and friends,” Foley said. “Today’s action to lock the arena for boarded horses is unfair to the boarders who expected to resume negotiations after the OC Fair concludes, and unsafe for the horses, now unable to receive adequate exercise.”
She said the animals shouldn’t be published while the dispute continues.
“The Fair failed to consider the variety of horse breeds that require room to run and trot to remain safe and healthy,” she said. “The Fair’s inadequate notice prevented the boarders from seeking alternative facilities due to health screening requirements and impacted waitlists given the various regional facility closures.”
The rental rate increases have also garnered the attention of Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach).
“I have had serious concerns about the abrupt process to increase fees more than 50 percent at the Orange County Fairgrounds – without clear justification for the increase,” Dixon wrote in a statement released Monday. “This process has been unnecessarily contentious. We all should have a goal ensuring broad public access to equestrian, livestock and agriculture opportunities on land within State Agricultural Districts.”
Graves said they are having ongoing discussions with lawyers to plan their next steps.
“This could end in five minutes if CEO Michelle Richards decided to be reasonable and not vindictive,” she said. “And it’s just really, really unfortunate that she’s being vindictive and punishing us by hurting the animals that we love. This is not their fault. It shouldn’t be their problem.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13
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