Waller Park’s Beloved Ponies Must Leave, Saddened Community Brainstorms How To Help
ORCUTT, Calif. (KEYT) – A Central Coast treasure is going away soon, as Waller Park’s Pony Rides have to close down.
Their owner is moving away to receive treatment for cancer.
After more than 26 years of smiles, family memories and even personal milestones, Waller Park’s beloved Pony Rides is holding its final weekend this Saturday and Sunday because the ponies have to move.
The ponies’ owner Lisa Leonard says she recently received news about her cancer that has caused her to have to immediately relocate and she’s taking the ponies with her.
“They’ve got a humongous Oklahoma Cancer Research Center Institute out there that is going to be where I—I’m going from Mission Hope to there,” says Lisa Leonard, co-owner of Leonard’s Party Ponies.
They’ll be moving to her daughter’s ranch in Oklahoma, where Leonard says they hope to find a new home for their pony rides in the park.
“I’m going to take them to her and hand them over to her, and she’s going to try to make a go of it,” says Leonard.
Leonard and her ponies have provided rides in the Santa Maria Valley for decades, and they’ve been at Waller Park for more than a quarter century.
“I just remember me and my sister going on these horse rides and our parents being there, watching us as we were going around,” says Santa Maria resident Rick Gonzales. “And, you know, just really good times, good memories.”
Leonard says these rides and interactions with the ponies create strong, lasting memories, and she’s seen many of the kids grow up to bring their own children here.
“I just hope that that people come out and support her and give back to her as she has the community for all these decades,” says Gonzales.
Today is the final day of Leonard’s estate sale on Rice Ranch Road.
“It’s just a decision I have no choice to make,” says Leonard. “I am definitely going to focus on getting better. And hopefully come back someday and watch somebody else turning ponies around in that park. Jump in and help ‘em.”
Members of the rancher community are brainstorming how to help her meet her moving expenses, considering the creation of a GoFundMe.
“I don’t know how to do a GoFundMe because that would probably be a good idea, but she’s just trying to raise, not a lot of money, but enough to be able to transport her horses,” says Gonzales.
Leonard says that among her own favorite memories were shy kids who gained confidence after riding the ponies and learning to take care of them.
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