Not again ...
carriage horse goes berserk in Central Park; when will enough really be enough
A frightened, young carriage horse spooked and bolted on Monday, September 1st - almost three weeks after the death of Lady, and two weeks after the Central Park Conservancy said “enough is enough - we support a ban.” See the Tenant from Hell.
The horse, named Bambi, was new to the business and owned by Frank Riccobono. This is a strange coincidence since the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages formed as a result of the January 2, 2006, tragic death of Spotty, a carriage horse who also spooked and bolted, running into a station wagon at 50th St. and 9th Avenue, breaking his leg. Spotty, only five years old, was euthanized. He was owned by the Riccobono family.
After working on this issue for decades, I will be overjoyed if Bambi becomes the proverbial straw. From Riccobono to Riccobono.
One of the most dangerous things a carriage driver can do is to get down off the box seat and drop the reins. The horse and carriage are no longer under control, which can cause a serious accident. If the horse becomes frightened, he may spook and bolt, which is what happened on Monday. It is clear in the video that no one was “driving” the carriage.
Runaway Central Park Carriage Horse Escapes Handler as Passengers Jump to Safety: See Video
September 1, 2025 | 2:18 PM - Updated on September 2, 2025 | 11:04 AM
in Favorite WSR Stories, NEWS, OUTDOORS
By West Side Rag
A horse pulling a carriage escaped its handler Monday in Central Park, knocking down a traffic sign and forcing passengers to jump out of the vehicle to escape, dramatic video of the event shows.
The runaway horse got loose on Labor Day near the Central Park Dairy building, close to the 65th Street Transverse Road, according to video posted on the Stopping NYC Horse Abuse Instagram page.
Video shows the horse pulling a carriage with no driver; the horse runs over a crosswalk sign before continuing down the road as passengers jump out of the back, and a man, presumably the horse’s handler, runs behind the cart yelling out.
“Call 911,” an eyewitness says.
The video shows the terrified horse galloping through Central Park — without a driver. Things falling out of the carriage; passengers jumping out of the carriage to save themselves; parkgoers frightened of being trampled by the spooked horse jumping out of the way to safety. Word has it that a driver was being trained, which means that there were two drivers - neither of whom was in the box seat. New horse; new driver; no control; incompetence. When horses spook, they are usually removed from the business because they might do it again.
What’s happening with the “no relation Adams?” Speaker Adrienne Adams can hold a hearing on the proposed legislation and advocate for a ban. Mayor Eric Adams can enact a ban by signing the legislation into law.
I suspect both are running out the clock. Speaker Adams is out of office by the end of the year. Mayor Adams is running last in the polls for reelection.
Please call Speaker Adams’ office and ask that she hold a hearing of Intro 967 - the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. She needs to know that this issue is important to the public.
Telephone: 718-206-2068
Telephone: 718-307-5759
DENY THE USE OF HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES, IMMEDIATELY!
IT PUTS THE HORSES; THE CARRIAGE DRIVER; THE RIDERS ON THE CARRIAGE AND
THE GENERAL PUBLIC, IN GRAVE DANGER.
AND USUALLY, THE HORSES PAY THE UTMOST COST, WITH THEIR LIVES.
IF PEOPLE WANT TO RIDE IN A CARRIAGE, RENT AN ELECTRIC, OR GAS VERSION!
WAKE UP TO HUMANE TREATMENT OF SENTIENT CREATURES, NOW!
It goes on and on. The ban should have happened long ago. More people need to contact their Council Members and demand a ban, so the bill could pass, I made the call to Adrienne Adams, and I put her phone number up on a Westside blog, that was about the horse carriage ban.