Stable tour in Portola Valley Sunday Stable tour in Portola Valley Sunday (June 09, 2004)

An octagonal barn with a lushly planted center courtyard, whitewashed paneling and non-slip rubber floor is one of four private barns to be featured in the Los Altos Hounds stable tour on Sunday, June 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Portola Valley.

The octagonal barn, home to Jesse James and Shadowfax, also boasts a handsome tack room, wash rack where the horses are bathed and then dried by heat lamps, and automatic fly-control misters.

Other stables on the tour include a new barn built with recycled materials, a cottage-style barn and two large public facilities, the historic Folger stable at Wunderlich Park and the new Glen Oaks Equestrian Center on Alpine Road.

Co-chairmen Carol Tague and Mindy Baxter say docents will greet the public with guided tours from 2 to 4 p.m. at Wunderlich. Refreshments will be served. Champagne will be poured during the jumping demonstrations at Glen Oaks.

Lunch will be served in a new gazebo in the gardens at one of the private barns, where vendors will display equestrian and gift items. There will be a hunting horn contest, along with a hound puppy petting pen. Other activities include show jumping, pony driving, horse shoeing and riding lessons.

The Los Altos Hounds riding club has 50 active members and rides from November to March. The club was organized in the Los Altos Hills area in 1953 and continues today in the Woodside-Portola Valley area and other Northern California locales. Riders follow a pack of English and crossbred foxhounds over hills and fences.

Tour tickets at $35 can be picked up at the Ladera Office Center, 3200 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the day of the tour. Luncheon tickets are $25 and advance reservations are suggested. Advance tour tickets at $30 can be purchased by sending a check to: LAH Stable Tour, 57 Avocet Circle, Watsonville, CA 95076.

For more information, call 851-2551.

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