Koko Crater Stables: Gunfight At The Not-So-OK Corral….After a four-year contest between battling horsewomen, the city has awarded the contract for the Koko Crater Stables to a new bidder.
Death threats. Bullying on social media. Allegations of elitism, animal cruelty and improper conflicts of interest.
The ferocious four-year tug of war over a publicly owned horse stable in Hawaii Kai is coming to a close.
Given to the city by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, it is Oahu’s last remaining municipal equestrian facility, in a state with a rich paniolo tradition that horse-lovers fear is slipping away.
The Honolulu Department of Enterprise Services has awarded the operating concession for the 10-acre site to Waimanalo-based Aloha Riding Lessons. Its intensely competitive competitor, Horse Haven, the previous concessionaire, will vacate the premises by early next year.
“The contract for Aloha Riding Lessons LLC has been executed,” said Tracy Kubota, the department’s spokeswoman.
