Ponies in Peril : Insurance Woes Threaten Griffith Park Ride

Like the Los Angeles Metro Rail project, the Griffith Park Pony Ride is in danger.

The ride’s owner, Hank Bronk, had his liability coverage canceled by his insurance company, effective Feb. 20, and he has been unable to find another carrier.

The future of the 40-year-old attraction will probably be decided Friday, when the board of commissioners of the city Department of Recreation and Parks votes on an interim plan, under which the city would temporarily assume liability coverage for a monthly premium of $1,000, slightly more than Bronk has been paying.

“Otherwise, I’ll have to close down and sell my horses,” said Bronk, who has been associated with the pony ride for 26 years, the last six as owner.

His 100 Shetland and Welsh ponies aren’t the only people carriers faced with unemployment in the park.

Camels, elephants, ponies and Clydesdale horses at the Los Angeles Zoo are no longer giving rides because of insurance cancellations. The zoo is still searching for another insurance company--as are many other proprietors of such enterprises across the nation who run more than an average risk of liability suits.

A representative of Scottsdale Insurance Co., Bronk’s carrier until the 20th, declined to comment on the matter.

Shirley Darwick, concession analyst for Recreation and Parks, said Bronk “has only had about 15 (insurance) claims against him since he took over ownership. And those were mostly nuisance claims.”

“This is one of the few places that working people can go for inexpensive entertainment, one dollar for two laps,” Bronk said. “And the rides are very safe. The kids are strapped into their seats. The only problem we ever have is with adults. Sometimes a parent will kick a pony that’s trained to walk to make it go faster. I’ve even seen parents hit a pony with a camera.”

Pointing to a sign that said, “Please Do Not Hit or Kick Ponies,” Bronk explained: “That’s up there for parents, not the kids.”

On Monday, the two dozen or so pint-sized jockeys on the one-eighth-mile track were blissfully unaware of the ride’s legal problems as they tackled lanes marked “Slow,” “Medium” and “Big.” Most were shrieking or laughing, but not one little girl who had a pacifier in her mouth.

‘Kids Have No Barriers’

After his son, Christopher, 1 1/2, had finished a workout on the track, Jaime Solorzano reflected: “You see all kinds of nationalities here, Chicano, Chinese. . . . And the kids all get along great because kids have no barriers. It reminds you that we’re all one people on earth.”

John Sadd, who has brought two generations of children to the pony ride, spotted Bronk and said:

“You can’t close up now--my grandson Louie just moved up to ‘Medium.’ ” Louie, 3, a veteran in his second year at the track, was asked to name his favorite mount. “Medium Peaches,” he said, combining classification and name.

Doll Along for Ride

Some of the jockeys making their debuts Monday weren’t quite so nonchalant.

Galit Prince, age 20 months, insisted upon taking her doll with her and whimpered as she broke out of the starting gate at a slow walk. But she was smiling as she neared the finish line, at which time her mount stopped to answer a call of nature.

“Pee-pee,” Galit explained to her mother.