While pickleball players are thrilled at the prospect of more courts at Conejo Creek Park West, many of the residents who ride their horses at the park's arenas feel the noise would be a safety hazard.
The Conejo Recreation and Park District is considering building 12 outdoor pickleball courts at the park that is also home to Thousand Oaks’ main equestrian park.
“It will keep a horse on high alert and make them nervous … and a nervous horse is a huge, huge risk,” said Jo Mitchell, who serves on the board for the local chapter of Equestrian Trails Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving riding trails. “That park should never have even been considered as an option for pickleball.”
On Oct. 15, the park district's board of directors will decide whether
to approve the draft concept plan for Conejo Creek West, which proposes the pickleball courts and other changes.
Mitchell, a retired horse trainer who has enjoyed the park for five decades, said that if the pickleball courts are built at 1350 Avenida de las Flores, she will never bring her three horses there again.
The demand for more courts
The Conejo park district currently has eight dedicated pickleball courts as well as 10 multiuse courts and has been considering adding more for the past five years.
Allan Linderman, president of the Ventura County Pickleball Club, said his organization has been advocating for more courts in the region for nearly twice as long. The Thousand Oaks resident said the courts are in such high demand that he has often had to wait up to 25 minutes — longer than the time it takes to play the game — for a court to become available.
“We do have a need,” said Andrew Mooney, the park district's director of parks and planning. “We have seen a continued interest and stable growth, whether it's for classes, drop-in play or hosting tournaments.”
In a 2024 survey and during 2025 public outreach meetings about future recreational uses at Conejo Creek West, pickleball generated the most interest by a large margin, according to CRPD.
Based on that feedback, the draft concept plan for the site proposes converting 1 acre of unused space on the 40-acre park into 12 pickleball courts. The plan also includes a new picnic area and improvements to the community garden parking lot, the multiuse trail and the equestrian park, including expanded and covered arenas, expanded evacuation stalls and additional shaded bleachers, according to the district.
Mooney said the park is the best location for additional courts because of its central location as well as its distance from both existing courts and neighboring homes.
Linderman, however, said the club doesn’t have a strong preference on where the additional courts are built as long as they are built.
“That location is as good as any location,” he said. “We’re just happy CRPD recognizes the need for more pickleball courts.”
Pickleball court plan raises safety concerns elsewhere
During two public outreach meetings in April, many residents expressed concerns that the noise from the proposed pickleball courts would be incompatible with existing uses, including the equestrian arenas and the community garden, according to the district.
Mitchell said Equestrian Trails Inc. doesn’t have anything against pickleball; many of the local members enjoy playing pickleball, and they would feel the same way about any other ball sport.
She said that unlike the white noise of the nearby freeway, which horses can drown out, the sharp and sporadic noise of pickleball near the main area and parking lot will cause many horses, even the most calm and well-trained ones, to be in a constant state of fear. If a horse gets spooked, it could not only throw off and injure its rider, but also run away, she said.
“It will make it impossible for me to come there with my horses,” Mitchell said, adding that many other horse owners will feel the same way.
Though CRPD provides programing at two other equestrian properties, Conejo Creek Park West is the only district site that is free and allows drop-ins. It features three sets of bleachers of which two are covered, three horse arenas and plenty of parking for horse trailers.
Mitchell said the site is home to roughly 40 Equestrian Trails Inc. events, primarily horse shows, each year and at least 2,000 riding lessons, including for young children and individuals with special needs, each year.
The amenities are crucial to revenue in the local equestrian industry, she said.
“It’s going to completely kill the local equestrian community,” she said of the proposed courts.
Mitigation efforts intended to reduce noise
Linderman declined to comment on the equestrian community’s concerns but said his members are used to sharing the district’s facilities.
“We would be good partners with whomever we would have to share Conejo Creek Park West,” he said, adding that it’s up to CRPD to consider the impacts of the courts on other uses.
Mooney said the pickleball courts are designed to be more than 300 feet away from the nearest equestrian area, more than 450 feet away from the garden and more than 600 feet from the nearest home. They would also be separated from other areas with landscaped berms.
If the board approves the draft concept plan, the district would conduct a roughly $30,000 environmental impact review that would study the impacts of the noise on the horses and ways to mitigate that noise, he said.
The report would also be brought back to the board for consideration at a future public meeting.
If the project continues to move forward, Mooney said, it would be several years before the courts are constructed, even if the district already has the necessary funding. He said there is not yet a cost estimate.
Makena Huey is an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at makena.huey@vcstar.com. This story was made possible by a grant from the Ventura County Community Foundation's Fund to Support Local Journalism. The foundation plays no role in story selection. The Star retains full editorial control.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Proposed pickleball courts near T.O. equestrian park raise worries
