Griffith Park Horse Rental To Close After 50 Years

LOS ANGELES, CA — Julie Schad, the owner of Griffith Park Horse Rentals, said in remarks reported Tuesday that the stables will close down in June after more than 50 years of operation.

Tucked away at the north end of the Griffith Park, the stables offer guided horseback rides through the chaparral-covered canyons and manzanita forests of the 4000-acre urban wilderness area.

But Schad said her sublease with the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Griffith Park expires at the end of May and that she and her horses will be forced to move out, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

"We are the only spot in the equestrian center for regular people who want to be around a horse to experience the majesty ... of a horse," she said.

Schad took over the horse rental business in 2003 and expanded the facility to board as many as 75 horses. The stables are located on the equestrian center grounds and open to everyone. Schad charges $30 per hour for a rental.

Although she's being forced to leave Griffith Park, Schad remains optimistic that she'll find a new space to re-open her horse rental business in L.A. County.

"We're actually looking forward to leaving," she said, according to the Daily news. "We have high hopes."

City News Service (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)