Los Gatos equestrian facility looks to return to more stable situation with nonprofit’s help

ASHLEY BYINGTON BRUSHES her horse Pete in his stall at Bear Creek Stables in Los Gatos, smiling at his little huffs of air. Pete is the third horse she’s boarded there, and while she said it was “a great place to grow up,” the dilapidated stables have seen better days. With a push from the community, the facility is one step closer to restoring its former glory.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space board of directors unanimously approved a temporary contract extension March 26 with nonprofit Friends of Bear Creek Stables, allowing its members to continue providing basic care for the 19 horses on site until December. The contract was supposed to last from January through June, but was extended to give Friends of Bear Creek Stables more time to raise the $250,000 needed for Midpen to sign a 12-year contract and make the nonprofit its long-term operator. The nonprofit has raised roughly $60,000 to date after the former operator, Chaparral Corporation, left the site in January.