Supervisor Antonovich Unveils Memorial To Late Mountain Trails Council Member

Posted by: KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 in Santa Clarita News November 20, 2013 - 3:35 pm 0 120 Views

Members of the equestrian union, parks and recreation and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department joined Supervisor Michael Antonovich in commemorating Darrell Readmond for his efforts to preserve trails in the Los Angeles County.

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The memorial honoring Readmond is a hitching post emblazoned with his initials, horse hooves and boot prints, which were modeled after Readmond’s actual boots.

Antonovich was there to unveil the memorial, along with Readmond’s family.

Readmond, who moved to Agua Dulce in 1978, was known for his continued involvement from the very beginning, which included his participation with the town council.

Readmond, who died in 2005, was one of the founders of the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council.

“Readmond was the first with the vision and foresight to see the Backbone Trail developed across the crest of the mountains,” according to the council’s website. “To that end, he worked for years with others like Warren Jessup to draw the trail on the maps that they had at the time.”

In addition to the hitching post memorial unveiling, Antonovich presented a plaque to the Readmond family identical to the one near Darrell Readmond’s memorial.

“Darrell, as we all know, was a very loved community leader,” Antonovich said. “We had many (trail) rides together.”

The supervisor remembered how Readmond’s active involvement and persistence led to the expansion and preservation of trails in the Los Angeles County.

“He was a person who would give suggestions,” Antonovich said. “He would always come up with solutions, and as a result, we have expanded our trails in the County of Los Angeles.”

Ryan Readmond, Darrell Readmond’s grandson, was one of the family members at the memorial unveiling.

“He would have been appreciative (for the memorial),” Ryan Readmond said. “He worked hard at what he did.”

Russ Guiney, Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation Director, said the memorial would be “a small testament” to the many things Readmond had done for the park and trails.

“He was not a quiet person, he was involved,” Supervisor Antonovich recalled. “That’s what makes this community so important is that everybody has a voice and your voice gets heard.”

As a result of Readmond’s constant efforts, more trail expansions are expected in the Los Angeles County.

“…the equestrian lifestyle is very important not just to the past generation or the current generation, but to the future generation,” Antonovich said. “So we appreciate his leadership there.”