Lisa Leonard loves that many of her pony ride customers today have parents who once made the same trek around the arena as youngsters themselves.

The pony rides at Waller Park continue to delight youngsters more than five decades after starting on a small section of the 154-acre site at the south end of Santa Maria.

When someone hands over their child and Leonard realizes the now-parent rode the ponies as a child, “that is the coolest thing ever,” she said. 

One man shared about riding the ponies in the late 1960s and then bringing his own children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she recalled.

Sitting atop an ambling pony, a young boy rides with a serious expression on his face. Atop another horse, a girl mugs for a camera. A toddler appears lulled into a stupor, eyes fighting to remain open due to the rhythm of the walking pony.

After riding her bike in Waller Park with her brother, Vivian Tognazzini, 4, took a turn atop a pony Saturday in a repeat trek for her Goleta family.

“She loves the horses. She just has always been drawn to them,” Megan Tognazzini said after the pair finished their rides. “I think it kind of fulfills a little bit of a dream for her of getting to have her own horse without having to own one.”

A different family started providing pony rides at Waller Park in 1969, but the Leonards became involved when the original operators looked to retire. 

At the time, Lisa Leonard lived in Arizona where she had moved to attend veterinary school. She operated a similar business in Arizona and learned the Waller Park business needed a new owner.

Leonard got her daughter her first pony at the age of 5 and began offering rides at children’s birthday parties.

It escalated when she called her dad, Jeff Leonard, to ask if he could build a carousel to accommodate multiple ponies. 

“It started with I want to spend more time with my kids, basically,” she said.

When she learned of the Waller Park’s pony ride operator was looking to retire, the Leonards leapt at the opportunity. Jeff Leonard operated the pony rides at Waller Park for two decades, and Lisa joined after moving back to the Central Coast.

“I love it. It’s tough. It’s a lot of work, especially with Dad gone,” she said. 

The pony ride operations are fueled by various family friends filling various roles including serving as Santa Claus in the days before Christmas.

“It’s basically family owned and operated,” Leonard said. 

Last weekend, a friend helped refill the water supply for the ponies in their pasture, saving her from having to do the chore at the end of a long day. Others help at the park during the rides.

“Little things like that that my friends do is just amazing,” she said. 

It’s not been easy. Flooding during rainy seasons caused damage to equipment. Last summer, the Lake Fire’s advancing flames meant the ponies faced evacuation from their home. They’re now staying in a Santa Maria Valley pasture.

“We still do the best we can to keep it going, but it’s hard some times of the year,” she said.

Still, they have regular riders who faithfully show up, some who want certain ponies, she said.

“Considered the park’s signature staple, pony rides are available to children in a Western setting, bringing much joy to the community,” the Waller website noted. The park is operated by the Santa Barbara County Parks Department.

Rides last approximately 10 minutes or a little longer. 

“We’re not like the other places where you go to take a picture and they’re already handing them back to you. We’re not like that at all,” she said. 

She works to keep the $8 rides affordable amid fluctuating costs for hay and other expenses to care for the animals.

Pony rides are available most weekends, weather willing. When school is on break, she sometimes adds weekday hours.

Special activities and attractions occur around holidays such as visits with Santa Claus or the Easter bunny or a haunted house for Halloween. 

In the summer she provided horsemanship classes to help educate youths about what it takes to care for horses, including brushing, feeding and saddling them.

She also continues to provide pony rides for children’s parties. 

Leonard provides updates about the pony ride hours and other programs on the Facebook page, “Pony rides at Waller Park.”