LA28 pulls Olympic equestrian events out of Temecula Valley

LA28’s decision to move the Olympic equestrian venue out of the Galway Downs Equestrian Center has prompted sharp criticism to Capitol Hill.

LA28 informed Galway Downs, Temecula city and Riverside County officials late Wednesday that the local organizing committee for the 2028 Olympic Games has selected another site.

The move came just two weeks after LA28 listed Galway Downs as the Olympic and Paralympic Olympic site in at least two documents provided the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Karen Bass and a move by a Los Angeles City Council to approve LA28’s amended venue plan that included relocating the equestrian events from the Sepulveda Basin to Temecula.

“We are extremely surprised that we were suddenly removed from consideration,” Galway Downs owner Ken Smith said. “We don’t understand how, based on the March 28 City Council’s vote of approval, that this could happen. When we started this process more than four years ago, we understood the equestrian venue selection for LA28 would be a highly competitive, evolving process. Being selected as the proposed equestrian venue put Galway Downs and Temecula Valley on the world stage. We’re very proud of that, and we’re just getting started.”

Rep. Darrell Issa, whose congressional district includes Temecula, demanded an explanation from LA28 officials on Friday.

“I’m deeply disappointed to learn that Galway Downs in Temecula is reportedly no longer LA28’s proposed host site for equestrian events at the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games,” Issa said. “This abrupt move appears arbitrary, unwarranted, and our community deserves a clear explanation of the process that led to this change. At this time, a satisfactory reason has yet to be offered.”

Issa was one of six lawmakers who wrote LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman, outgoing International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and LA City Council president Marqueece Harris-Dawson on April 6 in support of Galway Downs.

LA28 presented its Olympic venue masterplan to the IOC Executive Board this week. The plan was approved by the international federations governing the various Olympic sports and supported without reservation by the Executive Board, completing its final stage of approval, according to LA28.

LA28 said it will share the updated Olympic plan at a later date.