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My view from...
The Styles Ranch
(a very smokey, fire-threatened place not too long ago)
-- by Kathy Styles

     Should VPR members have exclusive rights to the grounds as an evacuation spot in an emergency? That question was briefly posed by Ron at the last potluck as he was soliciting members to form a committee to discuss evacuation policy. The query elicited immediate “YES” and “NO” responses from the audience, even though he was just floating the idea of a committee, not really asking for an immediate vote! Obviously, this is an issue people have strong feelings about that needs to be addressed. I wanted to give my view, since Robert has been involved in at least two evacuation efforts involving the club, the most recent county-wide fires and one that occurred in Fallbrook a couple years ago.
My immediate response to the question posed was no, do not restrict use of the club -- an emergency is just that. How can we in good conscience turn away horses in need of a safe place just because their owners are not members? Robert’s immediate response was yes, we should restrict the club -- we put out all the effort, assumed all the liablity, got nothing in return but headaches (from some very inconsiderate owners), and some members were left without a place to stay. So let’s look at both sides here.

     Around midnight on Sunday, Robert got the first call from a trainer in Valley Center who wanted to know if she could bring a large number of horses to VPR due to the fires in Ramona. Keep in mind at that time, Ramona was the only community in danger, and none of us had a clue about what lay ahead for the entire county. He of course obliged her. However, having done this once before in a totally unorganized manner, at least this time he was able to inform her that she would be responsible for bringing her own hay and also for the day-to-day care of her horses. In addition, the horses had to go into individual stalls and she would have to clean up after them during and after their stay. (In the previous Fallbrook fires about 2 years ago, horses got dumped in such a hurry, they had no food and we didn’t even know who they belonged to). He made sure the gates were open and we welcomed them in.

     By Monday, the picture had changed dramatically. Many communities were in danger, including our own, and we were getting calls from as far away as Orange County. Robert just said it was going to be first come, first served, and if necessary we would tie horses in the arena to the uprights, keeping them a safe distance apart, such as was done at the Poway arena. No one wants to say no when a distraught horse owner is on a cell phone, hauling their animals away from flames and smoke. The plan was to accommodate anyone we possibly could.

     By Monday night I was thinking we needed to get at least one of our own horses over to VPR (we have 3 horses and a 2-horse trailer). I figured that would make our imminent exit easier. Robert was still driving back and forth, several times a day to see how things were going at the club. By the time the knock came on our door to leave and he was at VPR, I put in that panic call on my own cell phone -- COME HOME NOW--WITH OUR TRAILER!! When he got home we assessed the situation and decided to stay, but we were in essence locked into Fallbrook. He could not get out again, so here we stayed. But the phone calls kept up and now club members were starting to call, wanting a safe place to evacuate.

     So, the upshot of it is this -- Any emergency is going to be a very fluid, changing situation. I personally would just not feel right telling a non-member in immediate danger in let’s say Valley Center or Ramona, that VPR could not help them out and potentially have the facility sit empty, just in case our members needed to use the grounds.

     But here’s the truth of the matter -- we sheltered over 60 horses over a five-plus-day period. They used our facility, our water, our lights, etc. Many generous promises were made as they left the gate and returned home, thanking us profusely for having made the place available. To date, I am not aware of any of these promises having come to fruition. One group was going to donate money -- we haven’t seen a dime. One group was going to replace the back door on the clubhouse as they noted it needed repair and thought that would be a nice gesture -- hasn’t happened. I will say the trainer who brought the most horses in paid to have a dumpster brought in to haul away their own manure and bedding, and they did all bring their own hay this time. Through all of this, some of our own members, while they could have squeezed a horse onto the grounds, would not have had a stall for use, as mostly non-members had them all occupied. And the ugly issue of liability always hangs over our head -- though I would certainly hate to turn away horses in danger because of this. Some things in life just require some risk.

     So perhaps some sort of compromise is in order as the club develops a policy for handling such situations in the future. A set amount of stalls could be reserved for members, knowing that the situation would have to be reassessed each day. If the majority of members were not in danger, then of course the stalls could be released. It would not be unkind to let people know in advance that we do charge for evacuated horses -- every one of us pays something, every single day, to keep horses, whether at home or boarded out. Why should anyone assume that expense would stop because the horse had to be relocated? And we certainly need to do a better job of getting information from owners -- names, addresses, phone numbers, veterinary contacts, horses’ special needs, etc. Personally I don’t see why every single horse owner who used our club cannot sponsor one of our show classes this year (this is on Robert’s to do list - he knows just who to ask first!).

     In short, my view is this…Of course we should let non-members come in, but perhaps restrict their numbers until we are sure we can serve our own members in need. And, it is perfectly reasonable to ask for something in return, after you have helped someone in need. We are not the Red Cross or the Salvation Army and the availability, or even very existence, of our facility in the future is highly dependent upon our club members providing their dues and volunteer time for our events. As VPR develops its evacuation policy I would hope it gets distributed to all area horse clubs and stables, so they know we are here to help, but also to inform them in advance that they will bear some responsibilities regarding the use of the club when the next emergency strikes.

     If this issue has struck a cord with you, please come forward and volunteer to be on the committee that will make future VPR evacuation policy -- it could affect us all again very soon.

Hello VPR,

     I read with interest the article on your website about using VPR as an evacuation site.

     My clients and I used VPR during the fires a few years ago. At the time, we were in Poway. We had to evacute to 3 different places before we came to your grounds. We were one of the first groups there and we felt so blessed! After the smoke and chaos further south VPR felt like another world. We brought our own feed (and had a delivery or two from our feed store), stayed with the horses at all times and cleaned the stalls. We did leave the manure in your manure pile. That year and almost every year since, I have sponsored VPR and tried to be helpful and supportive to the club. I was there and saw how chaotic it became as more and more horses arrived. I saw some of the negative things happening that the article talked about. I completely understand that VPR has limited space. I would also be terrified of the liability! I just wanted to drop a note to say that we were grateful for the chance to stay at VPR. I don’t envy your club’s dilemma. I hope that we were gracious.

     Thanks again,

     Sarah Allen