Mountain Home Road, Woodside

Many people who live off Mountain Home Road are, by their own admission, "horsey."

Residents love their horses, and aren't afraid to show it. Moreover, they love where they live, because the animals are tolerated and even encouraged. Many of the homes in the Mountain Home Road area border on horse trails, and the town of Woodside hosts a number of horse-related events.

This neighborhood attribute brings many, if not most, of the residents to this area. And while the huge lots and mansions -- along with the beautiful and convenient location -- are attracting rich and famous types such as Oracle's Larry Ellison, the equestrian element is still going strong.

The neighborhood got its start as the huge Mountain Home Ranch and passed on to the hands of famous millionaires from the previous century, including the Folger family of coffee fame.

Fentress Hall has lived in the area for seven years, but had wanted to live there 25 years before that. She had always ridden her horse in nearby Wunderlich County Park and always wanted to live nearby. She finally found a 100-year-old cottage on a property with a barn and enough acreage to allow her to keep up to eight horses. The trail to Wunderlich goes right along her property.

"If you want to have horses at home, this is where you go," she says.

At least half the people in the neighborhood have horses, Ms. Hall estimates. She already knew many of them when she moved in and met the rest of the "horsey" folks on the trails thereafter. People are friendlier here than where she used to live in Atherton, she says.

Woodside, and especially Mountain Home, are so accommodating to equestrians, she wouldn't want to live anywhere else, she says.

"The horses are allowed to be themselves. The town council and staff are supportive of what it takes to have horses. Even people who aren't horsey, they're happy to go along," she adds.

But more people are moving in who don't have horses, says Kathleen Scutchfield, who's lived there for 25 years. "It is changing," she says. Some of the trails go across private property, so access is at the whim of the owners. "If the property (owner) wants to close them off, they can."

Ms. Scutchfield lives on a cul-de-sac off Mountain Home Road, where she knows all her neighbors. She's always loved the peacefulness of the place, but that's been changing, too: "For the last 15 years I've had constant construction," she says. Noisy machinery and pounding hammers are a way of life, but at the moment there seems to be a lull. "I'm really enjoying having my windows open," she adds.

Still, she wouldn't want to move herself or her three horses anywhere else. "The trail system goes right by my property. I can get on it and be at Wunderlich in 10 minutes. I feel really fortunate because I have in my backyard what people trailer their horses for."

-- Kathy Schrenk