Different Visions for Running City Stables

In front of riders, trainers and residents, prospective managers of the Peter Weber Equestrian Center in Rolling Hills Estates on Tuesday shared their differing visions for the city-owned stables.

Doreen and Gil Houle, and Scott Hill, were publicly interviewed Tuesday as potential concessionaires by members of the . The council will not announce a chosen candidate until the its next meeting Sept. 13, after which they'll negotiate further with that candidate.

The council has been considering outside management of the equestrian center to improve its revenue-raising potential because the city has been unable to operate the facility at a profit, City Manager Doug Prichard said . The city will continue to own the stables and council members have assured residents the center will remain a "community barn."

The Houles have stable management experience and are involved in the local equestrian community. Gil Houle is a member of the Rolling Hills Estates Equestrian Committee. The Houles were described as the "second most qualified candidate" in a report by the Stables Concessionaire Committee because of "the time between their last equestrian operation and the present," among other issues (see this article's photo gallery for the full report).

In the same report, Hill "was considered the most qualified candidate by the Committee." Hill has operated Seahorse Riding Club, at 26411 Crenshaw Blvd. in Rolling Hills Estates, for about 20 years. He's a self-employed plumbing contractor who also owns and manages rental properties in the South Bay.

Both parties spoke to the council about what Peter Weber might look like under their respective management styles. Hill—who interviewed with his Seahorse head trainer—said he would run the stables like a business, in a "more military type" of way. The Houles focused more on the concept of a family barn with a petting zoo and kids' birthday parties as revenue boosters.

"It should be a family place, a friendly place," Gil Houle. "We want to be sure we can bring our grandkids there and they have a good time."

Hill said the center, like Seahorse, would remain a community barn.

"It's not just the horses; these people socialize with each other," he said. "I don’t see that changing."

Gil Houle addressed some residents' concerns that current trainers would be let go.

"They have a customer base that is very important to us. We want to make sure that they stay there," he said. "Equally important are the other boarders ... who trail ride, take lessons off the campus."

Hill said trainers at Peter Weber would have to "compete" to keep their jobs under his management.

"If a trainer is doing well ... I'm ecstatic," he said. "If a trainer is not making appointments, not showing up for lessons ... if they are not doing their job ... then, yes, I would have to make a change."

The candidates had different opinions about keeping current staff employees. After watching the employees for about six months, Gil Houle said, he has reconsidered his original plan to not rehire any of the employees.

"We would be willing to consider them ... reapplying for the positions that would be open," Houle said.

Hill responded with a resounding "no" when asked by the council if he would rehire current employees.

"I don’t believe that your current staff is functioning to the level that they should be," he said. "I would not hire any of them. ... The motivation of the employees that you currently have is lacking."

All interviewees said they would make major maintenance repairs almost immediately, but differed on how to raise money from the facility.

Gil and Doreen Houle mentioned pony camps, birthday parties and a children's petting zoo as ways of creating a revenue stream.

Hill talked of fixing up the current stables, replacing the lower barn and drawing customers with other types of improvements. He said he might use some employees from Seahorse at Peter Weber and vice versa, but said the two entities would remain separate.

Gil Houle said it could take up to a year for the stables to make money. "We're going to run it fairly skinny," he said.

Hill agreed it would take a lot of work before the stables saw profits.

As far as city involvement in decisions regarding Peter Weber, Hill said he would like the city to be "hands off as much as possible." Houle said he'd be comfortable working with varying levels of city oversight.

Mayor Steven Zuckerman said at the beginning of the interviews he was happy with the council's two options for concessionaires.

"It’s a wonderful place to be," he said. "It’s your two favorite flavors of Baskin-Robbins, and it's hard to make a choice."