Proposed Olympic equestrian events could relocate to Raven Glen

Lake County Forest Preserve District officials say there's a new top choice for equestrian events if the 2016 Olympics come to the area.

The Chicago 2016 Olympics committee now considers the Raven Glen Forest Preserve near Antioch the lead contender for horse-riding events, forest board President Bonnie Thomson Carter said Friday.

That distinction had been held by the Lakewood Forest Preserve near Wauconda, a site the forest board unveiled a year ago as the likely location for an equestrian venue.

Although the forest district's plans still formally call for equestrian events at Lakewood, that likely will change within a few months, Carter said.

Chicago 2016 representatives will formally request the forest board move the proposed venue from Lakewood to Raven Glen at a special meeting in April, Carter said.

While a Chicago 2016 committee spokesman declined to comment on the proposed switch Friday, Carter spoke openly and enthusiastically about the change.

"I'm very excited for the opportunities that this offered to the forest preserves and to the residents of Lake County," said Carter, an Ingleside Republican.

The proposal is contingent on Chicago being named the host city for the 2016 Olympics. The winner will be announced in 2009.

The 544-acre Raven Glen preserve -- near routes 45 and 173 -- was considered for Olympic equestrian events early on but was deemed too small.

Last October, however, the site was reconsidered after Libertyville Township-based Abbott Laboratories offered the use of land it owns east of Route 45, Carter said.

A tunnel beneath Route 45 would connect the two sites, Carter said.

"I think having a partnership with a nationally known and respected company will help with 2016 Olympic bid," Carter said. "It also will reduce the temporary construction on forest preserve property."

The environmental impact of such construction was one of the reasons suburban activists have opposed Lakewood's equestrian proposal. Carter expects some opposition will remain if attention shifts to Raven Glen.

"I believe there are people who don't believe that the forest preserve should be involved with the Olympics," Carter said. "That's a philosophical difference. I believe we should."

Lake Zurich resident Sheilah Watson has been among the plan's most vocal foes. A nature lover who founded a group called Preserve Lakewood Preserve, Watson maintains an Olympic venue doesn't belong at Lakewood, Raven Glen or any forest preserve site.

"This is not what the taxpayers (want) when they pass referendums … to preserve land," Watson said Friday.

Forest district officials have asked the Chicago 2016 group to conduct an environmental impact study at Raven Glen, to have a professional equestrian designer develop a concept plan, and to create a business plan that would explain what facilities would remain at the site after the Olympics.

A privately run indoor riding area and stables were among the operations proposed as part of the Lakewood plan.

Carter wants the forest board to review those plans at a special committee of the whole meeting set for April 9 at the Brae Loch Golf Club near Grayslake. Chicago 2016 representatives will attend, she said.