By far, the most unique neighborhood in Burbank is the Burbank Equestrian District, also known as the Burbank “Rancho. The zoning in this area allows residents to keep horses on their properties at an approximate ratio of 1 horse for every 3000 square feet of land (subject to various restrictions).
Located midway between the Burbank and Glendale Ranchos is the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The Los Angeles Equestrian Center (L.A.E.C.) is approximately 75 acres and offers a world-class show complex highlighting many different breeds and diverse disciplines during almost 50 equestrian events a year. Additionally, the equestrian center offers over 500 boarding stalls, horse trainers for almost every discipline, equestrian shopping, banquet facilities, the Traditional Equitation School, and generally the hub of horse activities in Los Angeles. More information about L.A.E.C can be found on their website at www.la-equestriancenter.com. In addition to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and your own backyard, there are many other smaller barns and boarding facilities in the area.
The Rancho Residents care deeply for their horses and other animals (as most horse people usually have a dog or cat or two!), so they are outside and around the neighborhood for exercise continuously throughout the day. It is a great sight to look out your window and see a horse coming down the street with the pitter patter of hooves. The trails of Griffith Park, an oasis for Rancho Residents are accessed by a swinging bridge over the Los Angeles River, and offer over 50 miles of riding trails contained in almost 5,000 verdant acres.
This unique area allows a horse lover, while living in the middle of a city, to get up in the morning, go for an early ride in the mountains, and still make it to the Westside by 8am!
The Rancho is comprised of approximately 750 single family homes and 150 condos and townhomes. Values of homes in the Rancho are higher than most areas of Burbank because people are willing to pay more to live in this close knit rustic community with a small town feel. Neighbors are truly neighborly and a sense of camaraderie exists because the residents have something in common specific to the area. The Burbank Rancho Homeowners neighborhood group, formed in 1963, is the oldest organized group in the city, and the members are very active and vocal when anything threatens the laid back feel of this area or the safety of the horses.
The Burbank Rancho is generally located between Buena Vista and Victory as the west and east borders and Alameda and Griffith Park as the north and south borders. There is also a small section of the Burbank Rancho near Warner Brother Records, south of Riverside Drive between California and Bob Hope Drive. The Equestrian Zone District also continues into Glendale along Riverside Drive and Sonora Avenue.
