So short, in fact, that it doesn’t even merit a mention in Street Names of Santa Barbara, by Neal Graffy, which we’ve been sourcing for much of the facts and stories behind Santa Barbara’s colorful streets and their histories. That being said, we’ve managed to come up with some interesting facts on our own.
Equestrian Avenue is so named because it used to be the location of a livery stable, in the days before the automobile came to town. The two-story building facing the Santa Barbara Street side was originally a hotel for travelling salesmen, which explains why there were kitchens in the rooms. The garage out back was built specifically to house one of the first cars to arrive in Santa Barbara, a Model T Ford. Hence the reasons why the garage is so tall, and how the hotel was easily converted into apartments and a diner.
The cache is NOT at the listed coordinates. The listed coordinates are for the side of the street that exits onto Santa Barbara Street. The other side is one short block away, at Garden Street. With such a short amount of distance to cover from end to end, we decided to place a semi-diabolical cache for you to find. You are looking for a horse, of course.
As this is no ordinary horse, we’ve placed both a Cowboy and an Indian along the street to help you locate him. This shouldn’t be too difficult, as they are in plain view. Once you’ve located them, consider the following clues:
- The Indian is on the wrong side of the street, but aiming in the direction of the horse.
- The Cowboy is on the correct side of the street, and aiming in the direction of the horse.
- The horse is between the Cowboy and the Indian
- The Cowboy is closer to the horse than the Indian
- One of the first two statements is false, true and the other is true, false.
UPDATE: the Cowboy and the Indian are no longer where we placed them. Originally, they were both on the south (ocean) side of the street. You should still be able to solve the puzzle using the hint, only now the Indian is where the horse used to be.
That should be enough for you to locate the cache – heck it’s rated four stars, not five. There is no special camouflage, trick boxes or anything of that sort. There is no need to leave the sidewalk or go onto residents' property or landscape to locate items. Just keep everything on the down low and try not to attract too much attention. But just in case you need some additional help, I’ve added a few additional clues below.
This is the ninth in a series of geocaches placed along historic streets in Santa Barbara. The cache container is a log only - you will need to bring your own pen. Please leave the cowboy and the Indian as they are – you do not need to move them to solve the riddle.
Update: the horse was getting restless and kept trying to leave the stable, so we've tethered him to a pole so he stays put. Please handle him gently when you find him so as to not 'spook' him and replace everything exactly as found.