After years of study, public hearings, and detailed review of infrastructure and environmental impacts, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors has approved the Thermal Ranch project, clearing the way for a landmark equestrian-centered development in the eastern Coachella Valley.
The approval followed a lengthy, methodical entitlement process that examined water supply, power delivery, traffic, land-use compatibility, and long-term community impacts. County supervisors repeatedly emphasized the depth of work completed by the project team and the unusually thorough level of planning behind the proposal.
ds, whose district includes Thermal, played a central role in scrutinizing the project. Throughout the public hearing, Perez pressed the applicants and county staff on water availability, electrical infrastructure, and long-term sustainability, making clear that approval would be granted only if those issues were fully and transparently addressed.
The proposed Thermal Ranch site plan.
Perez questioned the applicants in detail about how water would be supplied without burdening existing residents, how electrical capacity would be created in an area with limited infrastructure, and how those investments could benefit the broader community. After receiving detailed responses and confirmations from staff and service providers, Perez voted in favor of the project, citing the extensive due diligence and enforceable conditions attached to the approval.
“This was not a rubber-stamp process,” Perez said during the hearing, noting that the project proponents had been required to “do the hard work up front” on infrastructure that many developments attempt to defer.
Other supervisors echoed that sentiment, citing the Environmental Impact Report, the conditions of approval, and the applicants’ commitments as evidence of a careful, deliberate process. Several supervisors noted that the project stood out for directly addressing infrastructure constraints rather than assuming future public funding would resolve them.
At the center of Thermal Ranch is the Desert International Horse Park, a facility that has already become one of the most significant economic engines in the Coachella Valley. Operated by Jeremy Smith and his partners, the horse park has grown dramatically since the group took over management six years ago.
When Smith and his partners acquired the operation, the facility hosted roughly nine weeks of shows per year and generated an estimated $100 million in annual economic impact. Today, Desert International Horse Park operates for more than 18 weeks each season, stretches across nearly five months, and contributes more than $500 million annually to the local economy.
The park employs hundreds of workers, many from nearby communities such as Thermal, Mecca, Indio, and Coachella. According to Smith, more than 300 employees live locally, and many year-round management positions pay salaries well above the regional average. Beyond payroll, the operation injects millions of dollars each week into local businesses through supplies, services, landscaping, hospitality, and retail spending.
Speaking on behalf of the ownership group after the approval, Smith said the board’s vote was both affirming and humbling.
“We are proud of the impact that Desert International Horse Park has on the community,” Smith said. “It means a great deal that the community and its leaders recognized that impact and supported us in building a permanent home in Thermal.”
Smith also credited the approval to a team-based approach and an openness to community input throughout the four-year entitlement process.
“As first-time developers, we would not have been able to secure approval without an incredible team of experts guiding us,” he said. “The outreach we did early on showed us just how connected we already are to this community, and how much more we can do.”
That philosophy is reflected in the structure of the Thermal Ranch plan itself. The development is designed not only as a horse park, but as a master-planned community built around it. Housing types range from estate lots to workforce housing for horse park employees, alongside commercial uses, hospitality, and open space. The goal, according to project leaders, is to create a place where employees can live near their jobs and where visitors can stay, shop, and dine without placing pressure on surrounding neighborhoods.
One of the most significant factors in the project’s approval was the applicants’ commitment to self-funding major infrastructure improvements. The project will include the construction of a large electrical substation with capacity well beyond Thermal Ranch’s requirements, creating excess power that can support future development and improve resilience for existing customers.
Similarly, the project includes the construction of a major water storage facility in coordination with the Coachella Valley Water District. County staff noted that without the Thermal Ranch project, the infrastructure would not be built in the near term.
Supervisors highlighted these commitments as examples of responsible development and a clear reason the project earned approval.
For Jeremy Smith and his partners, Thermal Ranch represents more than expansion. Desert International Horse Park currently operates on leased airport land, a situation that has always carried uncertainty. Thermal Ranch secures a permanent home for world-class show jumping in California, allowing the operation to plan for decades rather than seasons.
When asked what success would look like for Thermal Ranch in about five years, Smith said, “Success for us is simple. Opening day at Desert International Horse Park in its forever home at Thermal Ranch. That’s what we’ve been working toward.”
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors.
County leaders expressed confidence that relocating most of the horse park operations to Thermal Ranch will take an already exceptional facility and make it even better. They also noted the applicants’ reputation for treating employees, guests, and neighbors with care and respect.
As one supervisor remarked during the hearing, the project proponents “have shown, year after year, that they know how to run a world-class operation and be good community partners at the same time.”
With final approvals in place, Thermal Ranch moves from years of planning to the next phase: turning a carefully vetted vision into reality and anchoring the eastern Coachella Valley with a permanent, full-service equestrian destination that will be recognized as being among the world’s greatest.
