Clews Horse Ranch Moved to New Site
On Aug. 9 the California Coastal Commission approved the Clews long anticipated move to the old Mt. Carmel Ranch in Carmel Valley. The entrance will be off Carmel Country road on Clews Ranch Road and consists of a 38-acre site of which 11 acres will be graded for the horse ranch. The rest will be given over to open space under the MSCP (Multiple Species Conservation Plan).
Clews Horse Ranch, which includes the old red barn built circa 1925, will accommodate 135 horses and 16 cows. Some pipe stalls and a round pen have already been set up near the west entrance to the Ranch and others will be built after grading is completed.
This land has always been used for farming and ranching since it was first homesteaded by Sarah Jane McGonigle (sister of Felix McGonigle for whom McGonigle Canyon is named*) in the 1880s. In the early 1900s it was used as a dairy farm by the Sisters of Mercy who operated it right up to WWII. It became a cattle ranch in 1947 when the Robert L. Stephens family bought it and ran his Mt. Carmel Ranch there for over 40 years until SR 56 was built when Bob said the land “is no longer suitable for farmin’.”
Appropriately enough, the deed for the property to the Clews family contains the phrase “in perpetuity” so it can never be developed and will always remain a horse ranch. Yeah!
Submitted by Jack Northrop, Carmel Valley Trail Riders Coalition and author of Short History of Carmel Valley and McGonigle Canyon, Windsor Associates, P.O. Box 90282, San Diego, CA 92109 (1996).

Congratulations to the Lucas clan (Gregg and Irena, 12 year old Gina and the 9 year olds, Noah and Ciara) on their latest addition. Emanuel Joseph Lucas, a.k.a “EJ,” was born on May 12. He weighed 8lbs 10oz at birth - by 12 weeks old he weighed close to 20lbs; Irena affectionately refers to him as her “pork chop.”

Flying Changes welcomes your submissions. Please tell us about what’s happening in your life and/or at your barn: births, deaths, engagements, marriages, new management and barn moves. Please send your reports to Rebecca Sparenberg at rebecca@ridingmagazine.com or fax 858-268-0397. Photos welcome!