PHOTOS BY VIKTOR BUDNIK

Ronald Reagan may be the archetypal Hollywood-actor- turned-real-life rancher, but he’s neither the first nor the last thespian to buy a horse ranch in Southern California. Both Robert Wagner and the late Richard Widmark owned adjacent ranches in Hidden Valley, a scenic equestrian ranch community near Thousand Oaks, and it was the opportunity to combine these properties that first attracted the attention of the then–Los Angeles-based Gonda family. Actor and producer Kelly Gonda, with her spouse, businessperson Lou Gonda, bought the ranches in 1998, using them initially as a training base for competitive equestrians, including their own daughter, and, from 2010, as their full-time home and diversified family farm.

The property continues its equestrian legacy through El Campeon Farms, which focuses on Working Equitation—an inclusive discipline that emerged as a competitive sport in the 1990s, combining multiple aspects of horsemanship from dressage to cattle handling. The farm also plays a leading role in stewarding Santa Cruz Island horses, a California Heritage rare breed used on the island for agricultural and ranching purposes starting in the 18th century. Lately, though, a different kind of four-legged creature has been taking center stage, as Nubian goats have become the heart of the on-site dairy and Fenwick Farms Foods, a new family-run venture on the Windy Hill Ranch side of the property.

Kelly Gonda’s desire to give opportunity for their Latina employees to create and bring to market products inspired by their culture— encouraged her interest in goat farming. “We always wanted to add livestock to the farm,” Kelly says. “Goats are a gentle and caring animal that inspire a sense of calm on the farm.”

The inspiration found its perfect expression through Lidia Rivas, who has worked for the Gondas for over 30 years, helping to raise their children and grandchildren. Lidia developed the signature Fenwick Farms Foods product: Tia’s Cajeta, a goat-milk caramel. Tia, the Spanish word for “aunt,” is what the Gonda grandchildren call Lidia, making the name a natural fit for a family-run company where bonds extend beyond biology to encompass chosen family.

While Christy Reich takes pride in their recent dairy certification, she’s also wistful about the fact that no other dairies remain in the county, recalling childhood visits to local farms that no longer exist. “One of our missions is getting people back in touch with their food and where it’s coming from,” she explains.

This chosen family includes not just Lidia, but also her daughter Esmeralda, who manages the Windy Hill Ranch creamery and, along with her mother, lives on the farm. “Creating the cajeta with my mother here at Windy Hill Ranch has been a true delight, giving my mother and me the opportunity to elaborate on her recipe and share it with people of all cultures,” Esmeralda says.

Along with the creamery’s cheese and cajeta maker Kimberly Chamale, Esmeralda has drawn on continuing education from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s venerated dairy science program to develop an expanding range of goat-cheese products that go beyond traditional recipes. Fenwick Farms Foods also now produces chevre, kefir (a fermented milk similar to yogurt)— both plain and swirled with cajeta—cajeta lollipops, queso fresco and soap. In late 2024, they achieved their California Department of Food and Agriculture dairy certification—the only one in all of Ventura County.

Christy Reich, who has known the Gondas since she was 16, serves as director of operations for Fenwick Farms Foods while also managing the equestrian side of the business. Kelly Gonda describes Reich’s official title as “ranch manager, guardian angel of all creatures on the farm and the brains.” While Reich takes pride in their recent dairy certification, she’s also wistful about the fact that no other dairies remain in the county, recalling childhood visits to local farms that no longer exist.

“One of our missions is getting people back in touch with their food and where it’s coming from,” she explains. Their by-appointment tours of the now-certified dairy and farm, plus future plans for on-site pickups of Fenwick Farms Foods products, help further that reconnection.

Currently, Fenwick Farms Foods products are sold on their website, and in June they had a soft launch at a stand at the Working Equitation competition hosted by El Campeon Farms—a full-circle moment for Reich since she works on both sides of the business. Plans are underway to bring their products to Ladyface Marketplace, a relatively new Agoura Hills Thursday night market, and the Topanga Farmers Market. They’re also hoping to find their way into select local restaurants and eventually establish a farm stand.

The ranch’s menagerie extends well beyond horses and goats. Visitors might encounter emus, camels, alpacas and a zedonk (a cross between a donkey and a zebra). The Maremma Livestock Guardian dogs, which Reich describes as gentle giants that look like polar bears, are particular favorites among senior citizen visitors. There’s also a whimsical “Chicken Village” complete with the Thousand Yolks Town Hall, and a library, gym and beauty salon, brimming with puns and poultry alike—Kelly’s sense of humor and heart on full display.

“I want this to succeed commercially. I want this to carry on generation after generation,” Kelly Gonda reflects. “I really believe in my heart, that it needs to be shared.”

On a property that has evolved from Hollywood glamour to equestrian excellence to agricultural revival, it’s clear that sharing—of culture, of knowledge, of family bonds both biological and chosen—has been the thread connecting each chapter of this ranch’s story. And in a county where dairy farms have all but disappeared, Fenwick Farms Foods represents something both nostalgic and forward-looking: a return to knowing where our food comes from, wrapped in a family enterprise built with an eye for sustaining generations to come.