Pony Rides Won’t Return to the Zoo

Milwaukee County Zoo pony ride facility. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Pony rides are, unfortunately, not returning to the Milwaukee County Zoo this summer.

Initially, the zoo planned to bring the rides back this year and even began looking for a pony ride provider. In May, the zoo brought a contract to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to bring rides back with the help of New Beginnings Ranch, based out of East Troy.

Pony rides were expected to begin June 1. On June 5, a spokesperson for the zoo told Urban Milwaukee pony rides would not be returning this summer.

Tabatha Cruz, co-owner of New Beginnings Ranch, told Urban Milwaukee they couldn’t move forward with pony rides because they wouldn’t have had enough staff to manage the operation. “This year, it just wasn’t in the cards,” she said.

The zoo stopped offering pony rides in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Afterwards the zoo sought to resurrect them, but faced repeated obstacles.

Initially, a public solicitation for pony ride operators was released. No one bid on the contract. Next, procurement staff began reaching out to vendors throughout the state looking for someone to operate the service. Eventually, New Beginnings Ranch reached out to the zoo after hearing about the pony rides through a zoo keeper, said Andrew Stockol, zoo director of operations, at a meeting of the county board’s Finance Committee in May.

The zoo expected the pony rides would bring in approximately $125,000 in revenue this year, with 80% of that going to the vendor.

The 192-acre facility welcomes more than 1 million visitors each year. It is home to more than 2,000 animals and more than 300 species. In recent years, the institution has spent millions developing the new Adventure Africa Exhibit. The zoo broke ground on the final phase of the project this year, which will create a new rhinoceros habitat and allow the zoo to return endangered Eastern Black Rhinos to Milwaukee for the first time in years.