Claremont Riding Academy Closes: An Manhattan Icon Gone

While this journal is devoted for prayers and support for critically injured or sick animals, and memorials for those who have gone to the Rainbow Bridge, I was deeply saddened to learn that Claremont Riding Academy, in Manhattan, had closed its doors forever.

As a young girl, I learned to ride at Claremont. My free time was spent hanging out at the barn, "working" for rides and lessons. I met some amazing folks there, and got to know some fabulous horses who taught me so much about them.

I received this notice this morning and wanted to share it here.  I was so pleased to learn that all the horses have been lovingly placed. I would expect nothing else from  Claremont owners and staff.

Claremont also had a Therapeutic Horseback Riding program for the handicapped at their facility. It is sad that the program had to close as well.

So please bear with me for posting this entry here, but this is a great personal loss to me, to learn about the  sad ending of a 115 year- old iconic tradition in New York City.

Paul Novograd, the owner, wrote this very touching article below: I am publishing it on my journal loving memory of Claremont Riding Academy.

It is with great regret we announce the closing of Claremont’s lesson and park rides, a 115 year old tradition.  Claremont has brought so much pleasure to riders over the years, and meant so much to so many people, it is truly heartbreaking to have to bring it to an end. 

Since the City condemned the property in 1961 as part of the 20-square-block West Side Urban Renewal Area, we have faced an increasingly difficult struggle to keep it going.  We fought to have the property listed on the National Register of Historic Sites to stave off the wrecker’s ball, and then to have it designated an official New York City Landmark.  We lived as month-to-month tenants for 37 years, sadly watching the building crumble around us, until we were finally successful in regaining title to the building in 1998, and only after fending off a baldly cynical attempt to give it to a political supporter of the Mayor at the time.

We spent over $2 million in a painstaking historic restoration - a source of great pride to us -- incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars of increased costs in debt service, real estate taxes, and property insurance.  We tried to cover these increased costs by leasing the vacant upper floors that used to house the carriages, and by creating an agency to broker animals for appearances in the media. 

But nothing we did was able to overcome the double whammy of the increased costs we had incurred, and the degradation of the Central Park Bridle Paths.  The magnificent Bridle Paths, whose deep cinder surface was once lovingly tended, was allowed to erode down to its bedrock sub-strata, making it impossible to canter or keep horses sound.  
Formerly restricted to horses only, the public was now allowed to stroll, jog, push their strollers, walk their dogs, throw Frisbees and so on all over the Bridle Path, making what had once been a beautiful experience more like a fearful running of the gauntlet.

Understandably, ridership declined. 


So sadly, after going deeper and deeper into debt to sustain these wonderful horses of ours, and to keep this remarkable establishment going with all the pleasure it brought to so many people, we finally had to admit that what we were doing was unsustainable

Our remarkable horses are all going to good homes.  Some are being retired to green pastures after many years of hard work. Some are being sold to their loving riders.  Some are being donated to the equestrian program at Yale University.  And most will move down to Potomac Horse Center, a wonderful 60 acre facility with three indoor arenas (no poles there) that we operate. Hopefully you’ll be able to pay them a visit.  For those of you that want a souvenir of Claremont, we have ordered some more T-shirts, and are taking orders at the desk. You may reach us by calling  (212) 724-5100.

Yes, it has been a struggle, but it has also been immensely satisfying to sustain these magnificent animals and to make the pleasures of riding and the camaraderie of this unique institution available to you.   Thank you for the opportunity, thank youfor your thanks and appreciation, and thank you for all the wonderful memories that we have shared.

Paul Novograd, Owner

Mr. Novograd continues his Equine Business at Potomic Riding Center, in Maryland, which has a wide variety of services for horse owners and enthusiasts.

Tags: Claremont Riding Academy, Horses, AnimalHubbub, Potomic Riding Center