Petaluma-area equestrian center expanding

June 29--A family's horse-riding hobby has blossomed into a bustling world-class horse show park and boarding facility, quietly expanding over 17 years on a rural spread between Lakeville Highway and the Petaluma River.

The Sonoma Horse Park and Riverside Equestrian Center this month won approval from the county to modify its permit to allow longer hours, wine and beer sales, as many as 30 vendor booths during shows, temporary overnight stays for recreational vehicles during the summer show season and the installation of permanent bleachers with shade covers.

Howard and Marcia Herman bought the 70 acres of land about a mile west of Sonoma Raceway in 1997 when it was an aging boarding facility. Their daughters, Ashley and Meredith, were both successful competitive riders.

Eventually, Herman, an attorney and co-founder of National Insurance Group in San Francisco, retired and took the project on as another financial venture.

The family refurbished nearly everything on the site and built a world-class riding and show venue, creating a separate boarding center for about 200 horses and the show park, which hosts seven elite hunter/jumper horse shows from May to September each year.

"This is a business -- when you get to this size, it's no longer a hobby," Herman said Friday, his dusty boots kicked up on his desk at the "ranch office." "It's been an interesting transition."

Today, there are 17 rings set up to work with riders who work with about eight trainers who operate from the center.

Dusty Blackwood of Sacramento has trained 30 horses there for the last 2-1/2 years. She said her riders love the location, the beautiful weather and that the site hosts so many shows each year.

"There is lots and lots of space to ride in," she said. "It's just fantastic."

Herman built a $1 million "gran prix" area for shows, a luxury double-ring setup with a covered open barn-like events center in between for viewing during competitions or for meals and auctions during charity events.

"This is the first place like this built specifically as a show park," Herman said. "It's thrilling."

The site also houses Giant Steps, an accredited nonprofit therapeutic riding program for people of all ages who have physical, cognitive, emotional and developmental disabilities.

Not a single person raised concerns at the permit modification hearing at the Sonoma County Board of Zoning Adjustments on June 19, perhaps a testament to how quietly this facility has made itself comfortable in rural Sonoma County.

Zoning board member Don Bennett of Petaluma said the facility has generated no opposition and no controversy. The permit request was approved unanimously with a few minor conditions, including that the RV stays not become permanent and that alcohol permits are received from the state.

From July 29 through Aug. 2, the center will host the fifth annual Giant Steps Charity Classic, a six-day event that showcases top regional, national and international equestrians, including Olympic competitors.

More than $120,000 in prize money is at stake throughout the week, including a $40,000 on the final day in an Olympic-level show jumping competition that will test horses and riders from throughout the Western United States, Canada and Mexico.

The Italian fashion brand, Gucci, is the event's sponsor. Other big-money names like Wells Fargo and Tesla have joined as sponsors, Herman said, hinting at the clientele served, some of whom he says have "unlimited money."

Sonoma County benefits from much of that financial bounty.

As many as 700 horses are entered in the usually week-long shows. With them come their owners, families, and sometimes friends and staff. Many stay in hotels for the week, dine in local restaurants and shop in Sonoma County stores.

Herman couldn't estimate how much money his facility injects into the economy, but he suspects it's healthy, given the well-heeled nature of competition-level horse owners.

"We do seven shows a year, which amounts to about 50 hotel nights," Herman said. "We have very little traffic impact because people are coming and going all through the day. We don't really attract much of a crowd because it's mainly horse people and their families."

(You can reach Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.)

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