On Friday, June 21, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee proposed the first series of updates to its venue plan, sharing locations—including the equestrian venue—that will stage Olympic and Paralympic sports. In the new plan for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games, equestrian sports will be held at Galway Downs in Temecula, California. 

In 2017, the LA28 planning group assigned equestrian and para-equestrian to the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area in Encino, California, which does not currently have equestrian facilities. Since then, however, the International Olympic Committee has made clear priorities that include using only existing venues, and added a requirement that all the equestrian sports be held in one place, versus staging cross-country at a remote site, as happened in Tokyo.

“LA28’s venue moves and reliance on existing stadiums makes the Games more sustainable; enhances the field of play and warm up areas for athletes; improves seating, hospitality, services and capacity for more fans; places competitions in the hands of experienced venue operators and staff to ensure smooth delivery and operations; and provides legacy opportunities in the City of Los Angeles,” read a press release from the LA28 committee.

When making changes the committee considered multiple possible venues. However, the IOC requirement that all three disciplines—jumping, dressage and eventing—be organized entirely within the same site; this specification made other possible venues unfit. According to a plan submitted to the City of Los Angeles, Hansen Dam Horse Park in Lake View Terrace, California, had also been considered for the Games, but the size of the site was determined to be unsuitable for cross-country. Also, the existing business and boarders would be displaced during the preparation for and duration of the competition. 

A search determined the only existing venue that can accommodate the requirements of all equestrian disciplines, while also reducing the cost and complexity of delivery, is Galway Downs, a 240-acre facility in Temecula, California. The facility already had a cross-country course built through the advanced level and hosts dressage, hunter/jumper and eventing competition in addition to other horse-related activities. Because the new venue is approximately 85 miles outside of Los Angeles, the proposal must be approved by the city. Additionally, the Fédération Equestre Internationale and the IOC executive board and the International Paralympic Committee governing board must review and approve the updated venue.