Editorial: Keep our horse heritage

Sunday, May 7, 2006 | 9:08 a.m.

Even as urbanization continues to spread owing to unrelenting growth, thousands of Las Vegas Valley residents cling to some vestige of this area's Western heritage. They may be surrounded by single-family homes, but they hang on to their larger lots containing stables and a few horses. They rarely get to saddle up and go for a ride straight from their homes anymore, but they can load their horses in a truck trailer and still find trails.

But it is getting harder for them to find a place to show their horses and compete in various events with other horse owners. Horseman's Park in southeast Las Vegas is the only public venue for this, and its calendar is always full, meaning an activity that has great potential for growth and one that adds color and interest to our area is plateauing instead of growing.

This is why we support Las Vegas' plans for a 320-acre equestrian park east of Floyd Lamb State Park. If this park can be developed, there would then be public equestrian parks in the northwest and southeast valley, enabling local horse events to begin growing again.

Much planning has already been accomplished. The Bureau of Land Management has signed off on the use for the acreage, and a federally funded study of the park's concept has been completed. The issue now is money. The park's construction will cost $38 million, but the city has mitigated that expense by planning to build the park in four phases.

City planners, and a consulting firm working on the proposed park, hope that 60 percent or more of the total cost can be provided with funds being raised under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. This federal legislation guarantees that money generated from sales of public land in Nevada will be spent in the state for public uses approved by the Interior Department, including park development.

In our view, the equestrian park fits the act's intention perfectly, and we hope the Interior Department sees it that way as well.