Yes, I too was trying to think of places they could put a shuttle lot and I really couldn’t come up with any. The only one I could think of was the Vail Lake Campground, but unfortunately that’s on the east side of Galway so the traffic challenges to get all those people to that shuttle lot and then send them back to Galway just won’t work!
1 Like
I’m glad you understood the comment. 
I agree there was a town infrastructure issue but at the at the same time, much of the transport etc of spectators was going to be mass transit (as outlined in Agenda 2020+5). Realize that at MOST, for the entire games, there would be 200 horses. Thus, the issue is spectator management.
At the same time, consider the days with soccer tournaments at Galway. They manage at least 5000 folks coming and going with all the teams and the number of fields they have.
1 Like
Would have to find a lot right off the 15 (freeway), or probably two lots—one north and one south of Temecula.
There are the big fields where they have the harvest festival in October behind Big Horse too.
1 Like
I thought about the Big Horse lots as well, but then you still have the issue of tons of people coming off the 15 and down Temecula Parkway almost to Galway Downs itself. It can be a traffic nightmare on any given Saturday let alone the Olympics. I think Peggy is right it would have to be a lot on the north and south side of the 15 intersection with Temecula parkway but where?!?
Showing on days when there is a soccer tournament is one of the things that makes me concerned. It’s not bad getting in and out if you know how to do it so as to avoid the soccer crowd, but if you made a wrong turn and get stuck in the soccer traffic it’s not pretty. But possibly solvable with shuttles.
They’d also have to do something about the phone/data network. Things are noticeably slower on soccer days. But also solvable, probably more so than the traffic issue.
I’m solving my own problem here. They could probably use the park-and-ride at the corner of the 76 and 15 which I actually only live a few miles from. It’s really big and for something like the Olympics they could just block public access to that other than Olympic spectators. Don’t have any idea what would be North as I don’t go up that way very often but I’m assuming there would be something similar.
2 Likes
Current update
1 Like
Lake Elsinore maybe? Might be good to have in north of the 15/215 bottleneck. In theory there should be a decent number of park and ride lots around Temecula bc people commute long distances from there.
Definitely need to keep people off the Temecula Parkway. It’s bad enough mid-day on a Tuesday when you’re hauling to the show. We generally stay in an AirBnB north of Galway so we can go back and forth without touching Temecula Parkway. If not in a vehicle hauling a trailer I get off an exit early coming from the north and go in the back way.
1 Like
Given the way this has been playing out I’m going to wait for something more solid than an anonymous source.
Santa Anita is in LA county which was a soft requirement. Not sure where they’d put the cross country. I think we parked onsite in 1984 but that was before a portion of the parking lot was turned into a shopping center. The arena that they used for the Split Rock Jumping Tour event is not big enough for Olympic specs but they could probably figure something out.
To me, I live in a town smaller than Temecula and we have the BMW International Golf Tournament. Roughly 40,000 spectators per day with roads no different than Temecula. Daniels Parkway is smaller than Temecula Parkway and in the middle of a suburban development so no parking. The key has always been parking lots and transport to and from the golf course.
This is why I don’t quite understand the transportation issue.
2 Likes
It’s a good point. And badminton every year deals with worse on tiny English roads. I guarantee Ali and Ken and Robert thought of my idea on the Bonsall park-n-ride and whatever is north in Lake Elsinore long before Peggy and I did. And if people are shuttling, then there is actually plenty of hotels Airbnb’s and housing in the greater one hour-ish distance from Galway. Hell I’ll make my kids and hub sleep in horse trailer and I’ll rent out my four bedrooms in my house lol
Perhaps you’re right that bribes are involved. It’s a real shame because Galway is so clearly the facility should host the equestrian events to keep it tangential to LA. I looked at a Google map of Santa Anita earlier and where the hell are they going to put the cross country?
4 Likes
I don’t think there were any bribes involved, when the decision to use Santa Anita makes so much sense. I’m thrilled about the change. No worries about parking. There’s a metro train station half a mile away. I will be able to get there from my house without driving at all.
1 Like
For sure the weather and heat in Temecula was a major factor! Paris was warm enough, the individual show jumping was around 88 degrees and believe me it felt hot! Can’t imagine mid to upper 90s, which I know the FEI put a lot of pressure on the IOC due to concern from riders. TBH as someone who went to the Olympics in Paris and grew up in Los Angeles, I think LA is going to be a total mess and unable to provide a way for people to move through the city for events. It’s going to be insane.
3 Likes
So, this is highly unlikely, but, Griffith Park would be a really awesome place for the cross country. It’s an iconic place and since it’s a park the county can do what they want to get the terrain and jumps correct. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center is already set up to accommodate the horses. It would certainly be a challenging course terrain wise but at only 20 minutes from Santa Anita (at night, no traffic time) it would be easy on the horses too.
I just feel like after coming off of the equestrian events being at Versailles putting it in a racetrack in the middle of suburbia LA is such a letdown. Maybe at least the CC could be at a unique location.
I live in Temecula. I own several horses. I know zero people, including other horse people, who wanted the Olympics to be at Galway. Our city does not have the infrastructure to properly host the Olympics. The soccer they hold on weekends at Galway causes an amazing traffic and dust issue. The Olympics would make things way worse. I highly doubt if the powers that be changed the venue, due to bribes, (as mentioned above). Temecula is yonder, away from LA. Santa Anita is centrally located. Temecula is way east. Inland from LA. It is ridiculously, dangerously hot in July. In the summer, In the summer, I get to the barn at 5, to ride as many as I can before it gets too hot. Which is normally around 10. Few people ride in the afternoon, in the summer, in Temecula. Having the Olympics in July in Temecula would have been loony. They made the correct decision. If you folks lived in Temecula, close to Galway, you too would be delighted the Olympic venue changed to a more appropriate location.
5 Likes
There was less traffic during the 84 Olympics than there normally would have been. It was an Olympic Miracle. They did things like getting delivery trucks off the road during some hours, shuttles (there was effectively NO parking at some of the venues), and a number of people panicked and left town. The traffic is worse now, I commuted from SW LA County to UCLA from 1982-1984 and it was no picnic. We also have more public transit. It could still be awful. Time will tell.
3 Likes
Agree about Griffith Park, it might be a very good possibility and makes sense. It is not Versailles of course but there is more horse friendly infrastructure in place and real terrain.
Griffith Park is operated by the city of Los Angeles. Admittedly, the whole city-county thing here is confusing. There might be some pushback if they try to do too much in some areas. They didn’t utilize it in 84 and I think there may have been talk of it back then, so who knows. But it would be an awesome opportunity for a P-22 themed jump.
Santa Anita is pretty iconic and the setting is lovely, at least towards the mountains.
Has there been an official announcement yet, or is it only the Dressage site article.
3 Likes
I took the train from San Diego and took a shuttle to Santa Anita from the train station. It was amazingly easy and the traffic was nothing compared to usual LA traffic (granted, from 40 years ago…)
2 Likes
