Backed by court ruling, O.C. fairground officials give horse boarders deadline to leave
A judge Friday ruled Orange County fairgrounds operators may forcefully remove occupants refusing to sign new contracts — and rent hikes therein — at the center’s Equestrian Center as it undergoes rebranding into the more publicly facing Ranch Community Center.
Now, officials with the OC Fair & Event Center are giving the holdout equestrians until Thursday to pack up and leave, and pay all back due rent since June 15, or to sign on for an extended stay through Dec. 31, at which time they must ride off into the sunset for good.
The warning, signed by the Ranch Community Center, was issued Saturday to 10 renters on behalf of the center’s board of directors, asking recipients to indicate their preferred removal scenario.
“It is very unfortunate that it’s come to this, after multiple attempts to seek compliance,” OCFEC Chief Executive Michele Richards said Monday. “[But] we cannot allow public assets to be paid for by public money when they’re being used by private businesses and private individuals.”
Tensions between the equestrians and the Event Center, acting as California’s 32nd Agricultural District Assn., came to a head in late August, when two groups that board horses and run nonprofit programs at the Costa Mesa facility filed a lawsuit against the agency after months of trying to meet collectively with OCFEC officials.
Plaintiffs Lisa Sabo, co-owner of equine therapy nonprofit Changing Strides, and OC Equestrian Vaulting founder Gibran Stout, allege fairgrounds operators imposed steep security deposits and phased rent hikes, amounting to a 52% increase by January 2025, but failed to define areas and activities covered by the agreement or assure training programs and lessons could continue.
Edits to the contract were rejected by the center’s chief executive, Michele Richards, and checks for rent bearing the original amount, similarly rejected, are being held in an escrow account. Horse boarders say they filed the suit as a last resort, hoping to prompt a discussion.
“OCFEC has refused to negotiate this version of the rental agreement,” their complaint states. “All tenants who have held over and not signed the new rental agreement have been illegally locked out of the arenas at the OC Equestrian Center.”
Though equestrians sought a temporary restraining order to bar the center from taking action against them and other holdouts while the lawsuit was ongoing, presiding Orange County Superior Court Judge Sheila Recio denied the request.
She determined the OC Fair & Event Center would be within its legal right to restrict use at, and even forcefully dislodge tenants from, the 7.5-acre site.
Recio considered the likelihood equestrians’ overall legal claims would prevail in court, a matter that came down to whether the agreement between the two parties was, effectively, a lease or licensing of the property.
A makeover of the Orange County fairgrounds’ Equestrian Center includes after-school programs, exhibits, private boarding and equine therapy. But the road to fulfilling that happy vision may still be a bumpy one.
The former, she argued through the citation of precedent, gives lessees “exclusive possession of the premises against all the world, including the owner.” A license, however, “merely confers a privilege to occupy under the owner.”
Recio also weighed the harm equestrians would face, were an injunction not granted, versus the harm OCFEC would face if it were granted. She determined that, short of conveying hearsay about a rider injured by an improperly exercised equine, the plaintiffs did not provide enough evidence of harm.
Richards, who said her organization, as a state agency, is represented by a legal team from the state attorney general’s office, explained the ruling gives OC Fair & Event Center the right to take possession of the equestrians’ possessions, including the horses, if boarders do not leave by Thursday or pay to stay until Dec. 31.
She emphasized animals would be kept and cared for on site and not relocated from the property.
“We are an agricultural association of the state of California, and we have animals in our care and ownership all over the property,” Richards said. “We would never, ever put an animal in danger.”
Costa Mesa resident Macki Hamblin, a dressage trainer and owner of Connected Equine, has boarded horses at the Costa Mesa facility for the past two years. She did not sign onto a new contract, in hopes the two parties could sit down and reach an agreement over new terms and how equestrians and their wards could play a role at the Ranch.
“I will continue reaching out with that olive branch — I want to be a part of, and help create, that vision they have,” Hamblin said. “But it does seem very one-sided. You send correspondence in and don’t hear anything back. It just seems unfortunate. Where does that disconnect come from? It hurts.”
Anna McLean, an attorney with the law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton representing the equestrians, on Monday confirmed an appeal would be filed within the court’s 60-day window.
“The court’s order did not address a number of our clients’ other arguments — that’s one of the things we’ll be bringing up on appeal,” she said. “We’ll also be exploring other options for interim relief in response to actions the [OCFEC] Board has indicated it will take.”
Hamblin said Wednesday she hadn’t yet decided what to do about the Thursday deadline.
“I do want to have a conversation and mend any bridges or misunderstandings,” she said. “I’m still hopeful for a third option.”
Updates
5:47 p.m. Oct. 30, 2024: This story was updated to include commentary from a interview with Costa Mesa equestrian Macki Hamblin.
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