You Can't Get to the Kentucky Derby with a Donkey

The Rohr Park equestrian arena is perfect for its intended use: local backyard horse owners and visiting riders from communities such as Lakeside and Tijuana Valley. It was never built as a high-performance, multi-layered "competition arena" like those shown in the promotional videos referenced (see layers of arena below from video).

As one of my high-school coaching mentors used to say, "You can’t get to the Kentucky Derby with a donkey". This arena has never been intended for, nor used by, elite dressage or hunter-jumper circuits. Instead, it has long served its actual community purpose.

The arena has historically been used by the small, local Sunnyside Saddle Club for modest, low-level shows. In 2024, there were only five shows, and that was during a year when the arena was largely locked to the public. In 2025, there have been zero shows, for reasons still unexplained. This is the first year without shows in the 25 years I have lived in Bonita, excluding the COVID years when nearly all activities were shut down.

Despite this, the arena continues to be exactly what the community needs. It is ideal for everyday riders, backyard horse owners, families, and visitors, and it is more than sufficient for the small-scale SSC shows it has hosted for decades.

I can say this personally. I still have my 2006 fourth-place ribbon from a Sunnyside show.. a $4 entry fee, two-year-old halter class. That ribbon represents what this arena has always been about.. accessibility, community, and shared experience.. not prestige or exclusion.

Submitted by Darrell Jett | December 2025

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