KENSINGTON, Brooklyn
Prospect Park Stable is the last remaining horseback riding barn in Brooklyn, and it plays a role in neighborhood life. “We had the littlest pony, Chocolate Chip, come to my son’s fourth birthday party and walk up and down our alley on Caton Ave! What a thrill for the kids! Especially when he pooped!” said Amney Fresh. Like hers, many local families hire ponies for birthday parties, but the stable is so much more than just a petting zoo.
Since 1930, horse enthusiasts have ridden horses out of the stable and onto a quiet stretch of Caton Place between the parade grounds and the park’s 3.5-mile bridle path. It offers both English and Western-style riding lessons, guided trail rides, a therapeutic riding program for riders with disabilities, and a unique barter system in which students trade barn chores for lesson vouchers.
Longtime Kensington resident, Nubia Ruiz, has seen the footprint of the stables shrink as new buildings went up. “I remember in the nineties when Kensington Stables also occupied the two other corners across the street. There were two open spaces for the horses to walk around in. They also had two goats.”
New luxury high rises dwarf the stable, and new construction has disrupted the horses, the riders, and the owners. As a result, owner John Quadrozz filed a lawsuit against the developer of the building next door, and the city, alleging repeated violations of construction noise and safety codes,and overall negligence. He claims the construction has cost the stables tens of thousands of dollars in veterinary bills and lost revenue. As of December 2025 the case is heading to a January hearing.
Prospect Park Stable, in the shadow of development
The neighborhood feels protective of the stable, an important symbol of quiet Brooklyn life.
On Facebook, Margaret Kelly Kenefic said, “My fondest memories are the excitement when one of the horses broke loose and escaped. We were fortunate to know many of the stable workers as my uncle Richie Morrissey worked there at one time.” But just like the people working inside the stables have changed over the years, so has the physical footprint of the stable, having already shrunk since its,no pun intended, heyday.
Development and new high rises remain an issue throughout the city. Here in this quiet part of Brooklyn, neighbors worry about how Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will treat development and treasures like the Prospect Park Stable while fulfilling his promise to build “200,000 new affordable homes over 10 years for low-income households, seniors, and working families.”
Even in the snow, volunteers walk the horses throughout the neighborhood for exercise
Series: Community
