Horse lovers have enjoyed the facilities offered by the Empty Saddle Club in Rolling Hills Estates for decades. But the club wasn’t always a Palos Verdes Peninsula fixture.
According to William D. Canfield’s 1990 work, A History of the Empty Saddle Club, Its Origin and Development 1935 to 1990, the club’s origins instead can be traced to Redondo Beach.
Five friends from Redondo who shared a love of horses met there in 1935 to form an equestrian group that would march in parades and local events. They adopted a black and gold color scheme for their outfits, and began entering parades in 1936.
A couple of theories have been put forth to explain the group’s unusual name. We’re going to go with Canfield’s explanation:
During the fifth parade [in 1936], one of the horses slipped and fell in front of the reviewing stand. The rider and his horse were not hurt, but the horse came to his feet riderless. It was at that moment, as a result of a chance remark made in jest by one of the reviewing party, that this unnamed group of friends acquired the name “Empty Saddle Club.”
Having acquired matching outfits and a catchy name, the club members set about to find themselves a permanent home.
After looking for several months, the group settled on a piece of land in Redondo Beach known as the Triangle, which they began renting, charging membership fees to cover the cost.
Having their own space made it possible for the club to expand its equestrian activities. One very popular early activity there was broom polo, with riders using long-handled brooms instead of wooden mallets to advance the ball up the field.
The group continued to add members, but ran into a problem in 1939, when the owners of the Triangle property announced their plans to develop it, leaving club members temporarily without a home.
The Triangle Shopping Center eventually would open in 1949, and become a retail fixture in Redondo Beach for the next three decades.
Members scrambled and found a new location for the Empty Saddle Club at 182nd St. and Hawthorne Blvd. Luckily enough, it was nearly twice as big as the Triangle property, allowing the club to introduce even more horse-riding activities.
Canfield cites the arrival of Palos Verdes Peninsula ranchers Roy and Ray McCarrell as being responsible for the addition of roping events at the club.
Its stay at 182nd and Hawthorne would be brief, thanks to a movement in the club to purchase land for a permanent home. They looked to the Peninsula, where land was still relatively inexpensive and plentiful.
In 1940, club members settled on a piece of land in the Rolling Hills area just south of the Torrance city limit. The terms seem very reasonable by modern-day standards: 12.5 acres at a cost of $225 per acre, paid off in $20 monthly installments over the next 10 years.
The Empty Saddle Club finally had its permanent home, where it remains to this day, at 39 Empty Saddle Road. The site wasn’t without problems, though, starting with the private access road leading to it from nearby Rolling Hills Road. Recent rains had made the dirt road completely impassable for wheeled vehicles.
Club members rolled up their sleeves and fixed that and other construction needs on the property. They borrowed cash to pave the road, and by 1941 they had added a roping arena to the facility.
World War II slowed the club’s development, but by the late 1940s, it had been improved and built up sufficiently to allow the Empty Saddle Club to hold two professional rodeo events sanctioned by the sport’s governing body, the Rodeo Cowboys of America (RCA).
The Rolling Hills Rodeo was held there in 1948 and 1949, and many of the sport’s biggest names participated. Another then-big name, cowboy star Wild Bill Elliott, hosted the 1949 event.
The next two decades brought further improvements to the Empty Saddle Club, including a new clubhouse, horse barns and other amenities.
The club’s membership remains strong and active. Over the years it hosted dozens of equestrian events, from riding and roping competitions to gymkhanas, dressage and jumping competitions.
The club became a part of Rolling Hills Estates with that city’s incorporation in 1957. To celebrate, the city began holding its annual City Celebration community event there, a tradition that has continued to the present day. Last year’s celebration was a virtual one, but hopefully it can return to the Empty Saddle Club as a live event soon.
Sources:
Daily Breeze files.
Empty Saddle Club website.
A History of the Empty Saddle Club, Its Origin and Development 1935 to 1990, by William D. Canfield, Empty Saddle Club, January 1, 1990.
Los Angeles Times files.
Palos Verdes Peninsula News files.
San Pedro News Pilot files.
