VILLARAIGOSA SADDLES UP TO RIDE THE OPEN TRAIL.Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. sat tall in the saddle Saturday as he rode the horse trail at Stoney Point on horseback, alongside more than 50 riders. The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council's equestrian committee and representatives from numerous horse-riding groups invited the mayor on the two-mile ride to share their concerns about a way of life they fear is being eroded by developers building high-density housing. ``I love this,'' Villaraigosa said as he rode up the dusty trail on a Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . Mounted Patrol horse named Tom. ``Los Angeles is big enough that we should be able to preserve these kinds of open spaces.'' Jerry England, chairman of the equestrian committee, agreed: ``There really need to be some unique little pieces of the city that are allowed to be different. ``There's not a lot of rural left any more as these big fields get chopped up for houses.'' Deb Baumann, managing director of the Vaquero Heritage Foundation, said preserving equine areas benefits more people than just local residents who own horses. Groups like Ride-On Therapeutic Horsemanship horsemanship: see equestrianism. horsemanship Art of training, riding, and handling horses. Good horsemanship requires that a rider control the animal's direction, gait, and speed with maximum effectiveness and minimum effort. , which works with adults and children with mental and physical disabilities, also depend on open space and riding trails. Baumann, who wore an 1830s vaquero costume and sat on a hand-tooled leather saddle and traditional hand-carved oak stirrups stirrups The footholds in a lithotomy table , said it's also important to preserve a part of Los Angeles' history. She noted that many places in Los Angeles started out as huge ranches, including Los Encinos Rancho, Rancho La Brea and Rancho San Pedro The Rancho San Pedro land grant was validated by the Mexican government at 48,000 acres (195 km²) in 1828, and a US land grant validating 25,000 acres (100 km²) was issued in 1858 by the state of California. . Villaraigosa said he had ridden a horse about 20 times in his life but seemed very at ease in the saddle. He took time at the end of the ride to say thank you and stroke Tom, a 17-year-old quarter horse who won the 2004 American Quarter Horse American quarter horse see quarter horse. Association's Equine Public Service Award. Pat Kouri, LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. trainer for the mounted patrol, said Villaraigosa was a good rider. ``He's doing really well,'' Kouri said. ``He's very relaxed. He's not worried, so the horse isn't worried.'' Members of the Davalos Family, of Silver King Silversmiths in Chatsworth, presented the mayor with a handcrafted hand·craft n. Variant of handicraft. tr.v. hand·craft·ed, hand·craft·ing, hand·crafts To fashion or make by hand. hand·craft silver belt buckle and leather hand-tooled belt at the start of the ride. The company also has presented one to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lisa M. Sodders, (818) 713-3663 lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa rides down the trail with Jerry England of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and other members. Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News |
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