Griffith park pony ride closes after 74 years. 😞

Good or bad this parks pony ride is now to close. For me as a child it was a memorial and iconic place. I won't make a judgement as to whether this is a good or bad thing. I simply can not make a judgement. Plus of course I'm totally biased...

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/griffith-park-pony-rides-to-cease-operations-owner-says/

An iconic attraction at Griffith Park will be shuttering for good by the end of the year.

The Griffith Park Pony Rides, which have been in operation for more than 70 years, will be closing permanently on Dec. 21, owner Steve Weeks announced Sunday.

Weeks made the announcement on Facebook and said the decision was made by the City of Los Angeles to not renew the business’s contract.

“After 74 years serving the children and parents of Los Angeles, this iconic institution will be closed forever by order of the City. You have all followed our fight against these few radical animal rights activists. Despite our year long fight to answer the untrue statements of these individuals, our efforts were not heard,” Weeks wrote.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

PoetryNEmotion · F

Wow, my friend, I didn't know parks had pony rides anymore. I thought they were a thing of the past. Sometimes amusement parks or the like have them. Why, the Toronto Zoo has camel rides! Can you imagine all the children who spent their moments riding these sweet creatures and were so delighted. Even I remember pony rides as a child. Come to think of it, Centre Island amusement park in Toronto still had pony rides and horse rides. Don't know if they still do. The animal rights people have good intentions and they often waste their time on harassing good people instead of the ones who truly abuse animals. Thank you so much for reminding me about pony rides. Why I even have black and white photos of me on ponies as well as my son too (his are coloured photos). What a delight! Please write more postings like this one. I do so enjoy horseback riding even now. I bet you really enjoyed your pony rides. *leaves smiling*

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion when the carnival came into town all kinds of animals where ridden by kids like myself. And I lived right next to Disneyland.

I rode ponies of course, yet single a humped Camel, an elephant as well a giraffe.

A bit later the girl next to me that image taught me to ride horses. Which lead to me taking care of the horses on an Indian reservation in the early 90s after my father passed away.

So, so many things in my life revolve around that first pony ride. 😞

PoetryNEmotion · F

@DeWayfarer Carnivals had all kinds of animal rides? The ones here never did. Ponies were the only rides. Remember the spoked areas faintly. The ones the ponies were tied to. Several at a time. So one adult could monitor as the ponies moved in a circle. I prefer horses. A giraffe? What was that like? They lope when they run. Is it a smooth ride? Course you wouldn't ride a running giraffe! An Indian reservation and horses. You must tell me more about that! Do you have a story you could post here. I am very interested. There is a reserve near me. The whole Indian philosophy is fascinating. Their ways of life. Their stories of their gods. I hear you. What a wonderful posting! You have added so much joy to my day. I am recalling a photo of my son on a pony. His blond hair. A smile from ear to ear. I am so happy to remember this!

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion the small ones did, not the huge ones. As I mentioned below a small one was held yearly in a department store parking lot.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion

So one adult could monitor as the ponies moved in a circle. I prefer horses. A giraffe? What was that like? They lope when they run. Is it a smooth ride? Course you wouldn't ride a running giraffe!

The bigger animals required more handlers. The Camel ride was jerky compared to the elephant. The giraffe was pretty much like the elephant. A handlers just walk the animals in a small enclosure they had set-up. So no running at all in fact only the handlers held the reigns.

PoetryNEmotion · F

@DeWayfarer Very interesting. I now recall little country fairs still have pony rides. Even small horses. The most gentle ones. You paint a clear picture for me. I am thankful.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion

The whole Indian philosophy is fascinating. Their ways of lie. Their stories of their gods. I hear you. What a wonderful posting! You have added so much joy to my day

You wouldn't like the story. I have replied about it somewhere on here. It wasn't a good experience.

Though I must say somewhere I believe in my photo album I wrote about Chief Sunrise of the Hopi. Sunrise was my father's real friend.

PoetryNEmotion · F

@DeWayfarer I cannot remember much about it except it wasn't good. Thank you.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion

@cherokeepatti

I believe you were in that post if I remember correctly.

PoetryNEmotion · F

@DeWayfarer Perhaps you could find it? I don't know about links either. It was long ago. Details sometimes smudge.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion give me a moment, it might be in my "personal" collection on my profile.

DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

@PoetryNEmotion found the post and yes
@cherokeepatti was on that post as well as @Peaches

See both replies and post.

https://similarworlds.com/self/4212389-Personal-Have-you-ever-lived-on-an-American-Indian