Dan Stephenson doesn’t currently own horses, but his “horse guy” credentials are well earned.
The Chairman of the Rancon Group/Europa Village moved his family to Temecula in 1968 as an early adopter of the vision for the Rancho California master-planned community. Horses and the rural lifestyle they come with were and are built into that vision and Dan is at the forefront of preserving that part of the region’s past.
He’s promoting the future, too. A member of the local committee focused on hosting equestrian events for the LA28 Olympics, Dan is “putting my heart and soul into revitalizing the Valle de los Caballos.” That included attending the 2024 Paris Olympics and, for the first time in three Olympic trips, watching equestrian. “If I was going to jump on board, I wanted to get a real feel for it.”
Dan and his wife Beverly owned Arabian horses for several years. They were mostly ridden by their kids and grandkids, but he’s spent many hours in the saddle with various business and community groups over the years.
A Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Dan has a long resume of professional accomplishments and humanitarian contributions to the community.
Not on that resume is a favorite horseback accomplishment — an eight-year streak as winner of a gentleman rodeo event in which 40 contestants ride with a ballon affixed to their back. The goal is to whack ballons off the other guys’ backs with a newspaper bat. “I won all those years by just trotting and cantering around the outside of the ring letting the other 39 guys beat each other up!”
Ensuring that future generations have horseback memories of their own from the Valley keeps Dan in constant cahoots with equestrian lifestyle supporters.
Valle de los Caballos
Valle de los Caballos (Valley of the Horses) became a major part of Rancho California upon the sale of the 87,500-acre Vail Ranch. “Eighty percent of the land was set aside for open space, including horse country, and 20% was to be used for high-density development,” Dan explains.
“Back then, everything was open space, so it was a long-term vision. I was convinced that 30-50 years from then, that would make the area very special. The fact that you could ride a short distance from where you live and be in the country would make it very unique. And that’s what’s happened.”
Rancho California was re-christened “Temecula” in 1989. As predictions for its growth have come true, efforts to ensure that horses and the rural lifestyle keep their place have intensified.
Preserving trails is critical to that effort. As many California communities have learned the hard way, if there’s no places to ride horses, they will disappear.
Restoring Easements
Trail easements were originally drawn onto every parcel of Rancho California when it was developed in the mid-1960s by Kaiser Industry, Kaiser Steel and Macco Reality.
An easement allows specific uses – in this case, horse, bike and hiking trails – on a property, even when the property changes ownership.
But when the Rancho California developers sold the properties, those easements wound up in a trust company. They were still valid, but some easements went unused or unenforced, and some were illegally fenced off, Dan explains. “For decades, nobody did anything.”
“I spent hundreds of hours trying to get all the easements from the trust. Eventually, I threw in the towel.”
Not completely though. About 10 years ago, Dan became a founding member of the Temecula Valley Rural Lifestyles organization. The group is making good headway on its mission of preserving trails and the rural lifestyle.
In 2023, TVRL dedicated the Pat Ommert Trail, a 2.7-mile segment along De Portola Road in honor of the legendary horsewoman and pioneering trail advocate. Last year’s key accomplishments included creating the Camino De Los Caballos Trail along Anza Road and connecting to Vail dam and lake. Plus, grading, dedicating and maintaining the KenTina Trail that runs along Los Caballos Road. It also raised funds for the grading, staking and fencing of a 1-mile segment along Pauba Road that will enable a 2.5-mile ride around the perimeter of the Valle de los Caballos.
Living History
Preserving trails is preserving history, Dan states. Valle de los Caballos was designed to have horse and riders ambling through it.
And not just horses, he notes. Today’s trails are multi-use, welcoming hikers and bicyclists, too. Safety is a high priority. White fencing clearly identified as multi-use trails alert drivers to be cautious when passing.
Progress results from working with individual property owners, Riverside County and like-minded organizations like the Rancho California Horsemen’s Association.
The challenges of connecting trails and maintaining trail accesses are many. “Not everybody wants people riding along the side of their property,” Dan says. Soliciting funds, organizing volunteers and hiring contractors are all part of the effort. Broad community support is essential.
The TVRL’s Annual Fundraiser generates much of that community support and it’s coming up Thursday, April 10 from 6-8 p.m. at Europa Village. The motto is “Hoof ‘Em! Hike ‘Em! Bike ‘Em! to Save Wine Country Trails.”
Festivities include wine and hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment and a silent and live auction. Galway Downs Equestrian is donating a VIP table for 8 during the Preliminary Challenge Gala May 10, and another VIP table for 8 during the Mothers Day Brunch May 11. Event tickets and bidding on auction items are available here.
Let The Games Begin
Staging Olympic equestrian and para-equestrian competition in Temecula “aligns with the original mission of the Valley,” Dan asserts. “Originally, the Valley was centered around Thoroughbred breeding and racing. Since that waned, it has turned more toward the type of equestrian events Galway Downs hosts.” (Most of the venue’s equestrian events are held in the three Olympic disciplines of show jumping, dressage and three-day eventing.)
Dan sees having Olympic equestrian competition at Galway as revitalizing the whole Valley. “It will help improve the (Galway Downs) facility, which will help build up all the equestrian events there. I see the Olympics as taking an industry that was almost dead 10 years ago and revitalizing it.”
Dan has high praise for Galway Downs owner Ken Smith and facility manager Robert Kellerhouse for the substantial property improvements made over the last several years. They’re a key part of the LA28 Olympic Committee’s reason for proposing Galway Downs as the equestrian site.
As with any progress, there are community concerns about Galway Downs’ growth and the prospect of hosting the Olympics. “There are always going to be people who want things to be the way they were 50 years ago,” Dan acknowledges. As someone who was here 50 years ago, he gets that.
Back then, Dan saw the region’s potential and jumped in to help shape the future in a way that fostered growth while preserving the Valle de los Caballos’ original vision. He hopes that mindset will prevail.
(Feature photo is Dan with Pat Ommert, during the ground breaking for the trail that now connects with Vail Lake.)
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