BREAKFAST under the TREES

For the Coral Gables Equestrian Community.

By Karelia Martinez Carbonell, President of the Historic Preservation

Association

of Coral

Gables

One of the original dimensions of Coral Gables Founder George Merrick’s dream was the importance of horses in the social and sporting life of his new city. The Coral Gables Riding Academy brought the beauty of horses and the excitement of horse shows to Coral Gables residents. The Academy played an important role in the local equestrian community. Some horses at the Academy were well known. Silver, a pure white Arabian stallion, famous as the mount of the Lone Ranger in the movies, was the star at local events and parades.

The Academy had a permit allowing horse riding throughout the city. The median of Alhambra Circle, which ran along the back of the stable, was originally laid out with a bridle path. The 35-mile horse trails ran along Alhambra and Country Club Prado, around the Granada Golf Course, the Biltmore course, the campus of the University of Miami, and beside the waterways.

The median of Alhambra Circle, conveniently right below the rooftop terrace, was originally laid out with a bridle path. The 35-mile horse trails ran along Alhambra and Country Club Prado, around the Granada Golf Course, the Biltmore course, the campus of the University of Miami, and beside the waterways.

The Academy’s Sunday breakfast rides were a weekly social event during the 1930s and 1940s. The rides wound through the Gables’ trails. When the riders reached “open country” –now the Riviera section of Coral Gables—they ate breakfast under the trees.

Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables (HPACG) is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to promote the understanding and importance of historic resources and their preservation. For additional information or to become a member, please visit www. historiccoralgables.org