The Marina Equestrian Center is currently at risk. 

The City of Marina has given the Equestrian Center approximately 60-days to vacate the property. The City wishes to demolish the old Fort Ord Army stockade (military jail) located next door to the Equestrian Center, and has requested that the horses vacate the property. The City will not advise whether this is a permanent or temporary move. Approximately 70 horses will be affected. 

Horse amenities are currently disappearing across the United States and it is getting harder and harder for the average working family to afford to keep a horse at a stable. The Marina Equestrian Center has made this dream possible for hundreds of families since 1994.  Additionally, the non-profit group - Christine Marie's Star Riders - have several of their therapy horses boarded at the Equestrian Center - these horses are used for therapy purposes for the disabled, as well as military veterans - a huge benefit for the local community.

There is no reason the horses need to be moved during the demolition of the old stockade. Many of the families keeping horses at MEC will not be able to afford to move their horses. The horses have already been living alongside the construction of The Dunes, Sea Haven and CSUMB housing areas for years. 

The City is not providing enough notice, or information to the Marina Equestrian Center members - nobody knows if they will be allowed back after the stockade demolition - or if the land will remain vacant and unused. The last thing any of us want to see is an ugly chain link fence surrounding a public asset. 

The National Park Service deeded this property to the City of Marina to be used as a public equestrian park. If the City evicts the current horses - there are no guarantees that horses will ever be allowed back on this property. That would be a travesty. The community and the next generation of horse lovers deserve a horse park. 

The Marina Equestrian Center is a unique asset in the City of Marina - none of the other cities in Monterey County have a public horse facility. Horses are just one of the many things that make Marina unique. And horses are a major part of Fort Ord History.

Please sign the petition and show your support for the Marina Equestrian Center - KEEP THE HORSES IN MARINA.