Rolling Hills Estates horse fight

A half-century ago, when Pat Murnane was growing up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, it seemed like practically everybody had horses.
He recalls riding dusty trails - not to mention skateboarding down steep hills and swimming in backyard pools - and thinks of what a paradise for children the Hill was back then.
Now, the former house painter from Manhattan Beach is trying to re-create one aspect of that experience for local youngsters who have grown up in an environment where the equestrian spirit has waned.
"I always wanted to do trail rides. That was my dream," said Murnane, 58. "This is the nicest place to ride anywhere."
Murnane's Rolling Hills Estates-based trail-riding business, Wagon Wheel Ranch, has steadily attracted local youth groups and visiting tourists since it opened several years ago.
His rides are popular among his clients, according to letters submitted to the city on his behalf.
But not with some of the neighbors.
"If we thought for one minute that our street would be subject to strangers from all over coming and going, we would have moved elsewhere," said Jack Epstein at a City Council meeting last week. "It's a matter of privacy."