By Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER WEST SIDE — The clip-clop of hoofbeats could soon return to Central Park.
Four years after the famed Claremont Riding Academy closed its doors, the city is looking for someone to bring horseback riding back to Central Park.
The Parks Department announced Tuesday that it's accepting proposals for a horseback riding business at the North Meadow Recreation Center in the middle of the park just off the 96th Street transverse.
"Central Park's six miles of bridle trails provide a unique opportunity for park visitors to sway in a saddle beneath leafy canopies, taking in majestic views on horseback that are otherwise unavailable to joggers and pedestrians," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe in a statement.
The Parks Department wants a horseback business that will provide a range of equestrian activities including riding lessons, guided rides, school programs, community programs, and therapeutic riding, according to the department's request for proposals.
The concessionaire can also sell horseback riding related merchandise at a kiosk.
While Central Park's horsedrawn carriages have drawn ire from animal rights activists, horseback riding has been a popular pursuit.
The park wasn't originally designed with recreational horseback riding in mind, but by 1863 it was home to six miles of bridle paths, according to the Parks Department.
"Park Rules published in 1873 specifically allowed horseback riding 'with a free hand and a rapid rate of speed,' something that was prohibited everywhere else in New York City at that time," the RFP states.
