Making the Most of Old Agoura Park

by Nona Green

Making the Most of Old Agoura Park

Dec 10, 2020

We called the raw acreage on the corner of Chesebro Rd. and Driver

Ave.”the field.” It was just a bare plot of dusty clay soil, yet it was the favored venue for the Old Agoura Annual Potluck and BBQ.The present-day Old Agoura Park was a twinkle in the eye of a dedicated group of Old Agourians back in the early 1990s. Some of those folks are still in the hood. Gary & Marci Peters, Nona Green, and Ron Troncatty comprised about half of the Old Agoura Park Development Committee. We worked closely with the City of Agoura Hills, and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to make the park a reality. Gary Peters, an appellate trial lawyer, brought insight to the table as an Equine Liability Specialist. The rest of us had plenty of horse-headed opinions being typical equestrians.

Old Agoura Park consists of a 100 x 400-foot arena, a 60-meter round pen, and a 50×50 square turn-out. There are bleachers, a water fountain, a few pickle barrels, and now mature sycamores and coastal oaks.

Fast forward to 2020, and the park seems underused. Granted, there are restrictions and protocols in place due to Covid-19, yet there were not many users before lock-downs, even since 2015 when sand replaced the dragged and groomed bare clay and rocks. Resources, including water and taxpayer-funded maintenance, keep the arena rider-ready. So is there a problem? Even though horse owners are only a small fraction of residents in the immediate neighborhood of Old Agoura, it would seem that a stellar facility would attract folks from other areas who would haul-in their horses. The facility could even attract clubs and event organizers, bringing in revenue to offset arena maintenance costs.

Old Agoura Park Do you use the arena? Let us know your opinions about it by completing this short survey:

Old Agoura Park Survey