By AVIS HOPKINS When John Lattin finally shuts the doors on ‘the. North Shore Riding Centre at 2003 Mount ~ Seymour Parkway at the énd of this year, a 20 year-old involvement with horses on the North Shore will end. The District of North Vancouver is terminating his lease after 20 years in order to put greenhouses on the property where the stable now stands “It’s my life,” he says simply, when asked what the stable has meant to him. “I developed it from a bunch of bush and a hole in the wall.” When the News visited him recently at his stable he was in the process of selling his own horses. The late fall had stripped most of the foliage from the trees surrounding the corral and rows of low russet- colored stalls stood empty: A handful of teenagers stood by the corral where the stable’s few remaining horses were having an after- workout run. The closure of the stable will mark another stage in the long decline of horses on the North Shore. Scores of houses, with empty stables in their backyards, testify to the number of horses the area used to contain. “There used to be a lot more horses in the fifties,” says George Thompson of 865 Wildwood Lane in West ‘AWAY OF LIFE COMES TO AN END’ Vancouver. “There used to be horses ali the way out between West Vancouver and 'Horeshoe Bay.” - Thompson himself horses on an acreage on Mathers Avenue near Taylor Way in 1949. He remembers when people would have their - gardens ploughed by horse and when the Lions Club. would put on herse shows at — Ambleside attracting 75-80: Bm horsemen. He also remembers a’ blacksmith shop which was. — located on Marine Drive west of Pemberton in the — early fifties. Since the mid-sixties the horse population has declined only slightly, from about 150 to 133 horses, estimates one horseman. There are now only two stables on the North Shore, both in the District of North: - Vancouver, which is the only municipality in this area to allow horses to be kept. Laura-Lynn Equestrian Centre, at:3355 Williams, now boards 35 horses. It used to board 75. The Corral Riding Academy at 1301 Lillooet Road has room for 75 horses. It has been in operation for about seven years and was set up with the help of the District. It has a policy of accepting North Shore residents first for vacant stalls. Both stables have waiting lists. Randall Smith, manager of Laura-Lynn, estimates his waiting list at six to seven months. Les Thorburn, owner of The Corral, says he has a waiting list of 14 horses now, FASi EDDies & Hair Unique presents UNIQUE INAGE TICKETS 95 987-5208 FASHION HAIR & FASHION 1940’s TO 80's - NAIR by: Hatr Unique MAKE-UP: Kevin Myers for Yvon Bourgeois Cosmetics FASHIONS from: Recoliections Boutique ee ee 40's to 60's Phoebe & Me 80's Mens fashions CHOREOGRAPHY: Sharon Lee MUSIC: David Wharry D&a Collectors Records COMMENTARY Maureen Nolloway Complimentary Hore d’oeuvre FAST EDDIES Cor. 3rd & Lonsdaic ERATE north shore news © OTM Snore NEWS JOHN LATTIN, whose North Shore Riding Centre and Saddlery will be closed at the end of the year, is shown with Jasmine, his five-year-old mare. The lease on the property is being terminated by the District of North Vancouver, which will be putting greenhouses where the stable now stands. (Terry Peters photo) , but before John Lattin's lease was terminated he had a 25 per cent vacancy. But horsemen agree there is a “housing crunch” for horses now that the North . Shore Riding Centre is being closed. That means some horses have had to be either sold or boarded in the lower Fraser CONTINUED ON PAGE C2 A collection of custom cabinetry for those who appreciate traditional! craftsmanship. f SS 156 West 3rd St. North Vancouver 980-0222 Fall Sale Drapery and Upholstery 20% off custom made draperics valances and spreads upholstery - custom made furniture blinds and woven woods Sale ends Nov. 3I st R & H Interiors 104 Donaghy Ave. N. Van. V7P 2L5 985-0641