Carriage foes saddle up at protest

OPPONENTS WHO call horse-drawn carriages inhumane and dangerous seized on an accident this week to call for the carriage rides to be banned. About 30 protesters gathered Saturday at 59th St. and Fifth Ave., where carriages pick up riders to take them into Central Park, to denounce the industry.

A horse named Oreo bolted from his post Thursday after he was spooked and took the driver and two tourists on a wild ride. Oreo and his driver, Mehmet Dundar, suffered mi- nor injuries.

Mary Culpepper, vice president of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, noted three horses have died in accidents in recent years. “No one wants to see dead horses in the street,” she said.

She rejected the argument made by Mayor Bloomberg and others that the horse-drawn carriage rides are an iconic experience that draws tourists. “This is one of the greatest tourist destinations. People do not come to New York City to ride in a rickety horse and carriage,” Culpepper said.

Tourist Alison Long, 18, of Middletown, Conn., agreed. “I don’t like it. They are working them too hard,” she said.

Driver Colm McKeever, 42, argued with one of the protesters after she confronted him. “We’re dealing with fanatics here,” he told the Daily News. “They feel like the act of these horses pulling carriages is inhumane, which it’s not. It’s what these animals were bred for.”