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Council approves long-term ground lease with Premier Equisports for Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park
Summary
The council approved a ground lease with Premier Equisports Events LLC to operate the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park through June 30, 2043; Premier must complete outstanding trail and landscaping work, maintain equestrian water-quality infrastructure, and host a minimum number of equestrian and community events.
San Juan Capistrano — The City Council on July 15 approved a ground lease with Premier Equisports Events LLC to operate the city‑owned Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park and to complete outstanding property improvements, staff said.
Assistant City Manager Matisse Bridal told the council the riding park comprises about 70 acres and that the city terminated a previous 20‑year ground lease with Action Sports Management Group (doing business as TRG/The Ridland Group) after TRG failed to finish required improvements. The city issued a final termination notice effective July 31, 2025, and staff recommended Premier as a successor operator because Premier has been hosting United States Equestrian Federation licensed hunter‑jumper events at the site since March 2025.
Under the proposed lease Premier would inherit the annual rent (about $400,000 after CPI) and be required to host a minimum of 10 equestrian events annually (eight English‑style, two Western) and to ramp community events from five per year in the first three years to 10 per year beginning in year four. Premier would also be responsible for completing a trail connection that links the city’s San Juan Creek Trail to the county trail system, landscaping perimeter areas of the property, installing two monument signs and maintaining required concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) water‑quality infrastructure and associated permitting and reporting.
Speakers at the public hearing, including longtime advocates for the riding park, praised Premier’s recent operations and on‑site improvements and urged the council to move forward while asking that the city monitor event saturation, drainage and the creek bank. One supporter noted the group had already completed the south trail entrance improvements; others requested handicap parking be included in site planning.
The council voted unanimously to approve the lease and authorized the city manager to execute it. Staff said the lease will allow uninterrupted operations of equestrian and community events and place completion and maintenance obligations on Premier.
What happens next: Premier will complete the outstanding trail and landscaping improvements and assume responsibility for CAFO infrastructure, permitting and reporting; staff will track performance against the lease obligations.
