The 613 days until the 2028 Olympic opening ceremonies feel like a long wait for fans eager to see their favorites compete in show jumping, eventing and dressage. Yet games preparations already are well under way at equestrian host venue Santa Anita Park.
Each year since the racetrack began presenting grand prix show jumping in 2024, the layout at what was also the home of the 1984 Olympics has been altered and improved.
The biggest change so far will be seen this week and next, as Split Rock Jumping Tour’s two-week 3-star/5-star combo sets up on the infield at the historic facility in Arcadia, not too far from the Games’ Los Angeles hub.
“This year will be quite different from last year,” reported Nikki Walker, a vice president of 1/ST, the company that operates Santa Anita.
McLain Ward was the winner of the 2025 grand prix at Santa Anita.
A show jumper herself, Nikki has an eye for what competitors and spectators would like at the venue, where hospitality is a priority. Santa Anita is working to provide each constituency’s needs at the shows in conjunction with the Split Rock Jumping Tour, which puts on the competitions and has a contract through 2027.
The look of Santa Anita is “getting closer to the Olympic footprint,” Nikki revealed, but when it comes to the Games themselves, LA28 will “tell us exactly what they want. We don’t have any discussion over how the actual show is run.”
In the meantime, though, when it comes to Santa Anita’s own competitions, “We’re taking steps toward making a better horse show,” she said.
The layout has changed in a major way. Stabling for the show was moved to a better location and the main ring from the 2025 grands prix will now be a second ring. The secondary ring from last year, which had also included a warm-up area, will now become a spacious main arena measuring 200 by 350 feet. Those in the covered VIP section will have a view of the grandstand and San Gabriel mountains. That’s quite a backdrop.
And while the look of 2028 will be decided by the Olympic Committee, rather than Santa Anita, as Nikki mentioned, it’s not likely any organizer will forego a spectacular view.
As the LA organizing committee notes, every Olympics “has a unique visual identity known as the Look of the Games. This is the design system that breathes life into the way those Games are experienced — coloring the city, stadiums, signs and so much more.”
Who can ever forget what that looked like in 1984, when the competition was held on the track itself and the U.S. collected bouquets of team and individual gold and silver medals in eventing and show jumping? Eventing will offer a more complete picture at Santa Anita this time, because cross-country is being held on-site, rather than on a golf course further south, as it was in 1984.
Every seat in the stands at Santa Anita was filled for the 1984 Games. (1/ST Santa Anita Park)
Although the 2028 Olympic equestrian competition originally was scheduled for Temecula, about 85 miles from Los Angeles, Santa Anita wound up getting the nod after holding its successful 2024 show. After all, it is located much closer to the city, just an 18-mile drive.
As Nikki pointed out, the close-in location makes it “good for spectators to access the venue.”
Longtime Santa Anita employees had said, ” How cool would it be if we got the Olympics back here?’ and Nikki noted, “there are many people within our team that always had that dream alive for sure.” Some even had been there for the 1984 Games.
While the legacy of that competition at Santa Anita has been relegated to memories, this time around, plans call for the facility to have more of a non-racing equestrian presence after the Games wrap up in July 2028 and the Paralympics finish on Aug. 15.
“As we develop our facility and have all these permanent arenas, we’d like to utilize them and show off Santa Anita and make it a place where there is a way to display hunters and jumpers and maybe dressage and other equestrian disciplines in the future,” Nikki said.
She also mentioned possibilities for western and Arabian, perhaps partnering with their organizations or letting other show managers lease the facilities. She “wouldn’t rule out rodeos,” but added it is “too soon to say about eventing.”
Between the 3-star and 5-star World Cup qualifier, another aspect of horsemanship will be explored in a clinic Nov. 16 and 17 with trainer Leo Rauscher, which offers insight into more possibilities for different types of equestrian involvement on site.
In 2024, the Los Angeles Times reported that Santa Anita’s owner, the privately held Stronach Group (Nikki’s mother, Belinda Stronach, is its chairman and president), was threatening to sell the valuable real estate it had purchased in 1998. Asked about that, Nikki responded “not in the next few years.”
Nikki Walker with her mother, Belinda Stronach.
Growing interest in things equestrian is a mission highlighted by improvement to offerings for general admission spectators at the grands prix. In 2024, Nicki said, “We struggled with general admission. It was hard to market something without content; people didn’t know what they were coming to.”
With1,000 general admission spectators by year two, the organizers were happy, but still figuring out more ways to attract people.
In addition to covered ringside space for general admission, in another area, picnic tables make the scene more interactive. It’s close to the vendors, there’s a tie-in to a “wine experience” and a food market also will be available.
“We created a family center where kids can come. We want to get kids involved,” Nikki said, noting there also be a wellness day on the first weekend, complete with pilates and cold plunges.
“Year one,” Nikki said, “it was hard to make the community aware of what the jumping event was and what to expect. Now we want to make every year a better experience.”
