Pasadena has ordered Rose Bowl Riders to vacate its longtime home at Hahamongna Watershed Park by January 31, 2027, ending what could be an 80-year presence at the site unless the two sides strike a new deal. The city's notice, sent September 21, terminates the club's month-to-month tenancy and gives it just over four months to move horses, equipment and personal property off the 12-acre property.
According to Pasadena Now, the city's Notice of Termination cites a lease term that technically expired December 31, 2023, leaving Rose Bowl Riders in what the notice calls a holdover month-to-month tenancy — an arrangement both sides had agreed could be ended by either party with 30 days' written notice. City spokesperson Lisa Derderian confirmed the notice went out on September 21, and Matthew Hawkesworth, the city's interim city manager and designated negotiator for the property, is listed as terminating the tenancy effective January 31.
Hawkesworth's notice lays out several justifications, per the same account: public-benefit riding lessons required under the lease were not provided in 2025 or 2026, insurance requirements went unmet at times, and the property had deferred maintenance and needed repairs. The notice also states the city never received or approved a request to assign the lease. Hawkesworth reportedly said the longer-than-required notice window would give Rose Bowl Riders time to remove livestock and personal belongings.
A Nonprofit Pivot That Went Nowhere
Rose Bowl Riders president Angela Lowell-Schade says the club had been trying to work with the city rather than against it. The organization met with city officials in April 2026 to discuss converting from a private membership club into a nonprofit joint-venture model, and its members later approved a transition tied to 501(c)(3) status, the club told the outlet.
The city had separately sought proposals for an operator to run part of the Pasadena Equestrian Center — located at 4750 Oak Grove Drive — under a 10-year agreement with two five-year extension options, requiring a public-benefit program and an annual fee tied to negotiation, a public-benefit calculation, or both. Rose Bowl Riders says it was the only respondent to that solicitation, which the city later canceled months after submissions closed, stating that its scope had changed.
The Pasadena City Council held a special closed session on September 8, 2026 to discuss the property, with city negotiators and Rose Bowl Riders negotiating price and terms of payment under state rules that allow such private sessions before a public agency leases real property, according to California Government Code section 54956.8. Lowell-Schade said the club was never informed of any decision following that meeting, and that the termination notice arrived instead — after roughly two months of children, parents and supporters speaking at council meetings on the club's behalf.
Governance Concerns Complicate the Fight
The dispute has not been confined to city hall alone. Public commenters at a mid-September council meeting raised separate concerns about Rose Bowl Riders' own governance, according to citizenportal.ai, which reported that a former board member alleged boarding contracts were abruptly canceled, fees rose 40 to 60 percent, and boarders were asked to waive legal rights. A speaker told the council that 21 horses had left in the preceding 30 days following the introduction of a new boarding agreement, though these allegations have not been independently verified.
Council members responded by signaling plans to review the lease process and consider a new request for proposals, per that same report. The mayor and several council members said they wanted a careful review of Rose Bowl Riders' proposed organizational changes, finances and member governance before approving any long-term lease assignment. That scrutiny came even as other speakers, described in a separate citizenportal.ai report on a council meeting in September, urged the council to support the club and the equestrian center more broadly.
An 80-Year History on the Line
Rose Bowl Riders traces its roots to 1944 and was incorporated in 1946. With help from the city, members built the clubhouse and main arena in 1952, and the property grew from just over three acres to its current 12 acres in 1970. Today the grounds hold a clubhouse, boarding facilities, three arenas, a round pen and a sun pen, with trail access to the Arroyo Seco and the Angeles National Forest.
The club describes itself as the only full-service equestrian center left in Pasadena and says it now counts more than 325 members, according to the group's own history page. It says it hosts children from across the surrounding hillsides, with trainers from Myrtle Hill Farm giving lessons on-site mornings and evenings, and that a related charitable arm funds free and reduced-fee programs for youth groups, disadvantaged children, adults and public-school students.
Caleb Kodama's story is one the club points to often. He started riding at Rose Bowl Riders at age 9, graduated from Pasadena High School in June 2026, and is headed to UC Riverside to study bioengineering — a trajectory his family credits in part to the years he spent at the barn.
Petition Drive and an Uncertain Next Step
With the clock now running toward January 31, Rose Bowl Riders has turned to a public petition asking the City Council to meet with the club and find a solution. The group says nearly 1,000 people signed within 48 hours of its launch, and as of September 28 the petition had 984 verified signatures. Rose Bowl Riders is encouraging residents to sign and to contact the council directly.
Lowell-Schade said continuing indefinitely on a month-to-month lease was not workable for the club, but she also said Rose Bowl Riders does not currently know where it would go if forced to leave. The city, for its part, has not provided its reasoning for requiring the club to vacate or outlined its plans for the site after January 2027.
Disputes over who should run public equestrian facilities are not unique to Pasadena. In Marina, a volunteer-based nonprofit spent 15 years on a month-to-month lease before the city explored bringing in a new vendor, according to Monterey County Now, a comparison that underscores how precarious month-to-month arrangements can become once a city decides to reconsider them.
