Although the subject has some possibilities, this Edison Company feature shows the limitations both of its time and of its technique. Although the camera field is well-chosen in some respects, the camera cannot adjust to the changing distances between it and its subject, which means that for most of the movie many potentially interesting details are not very clear. It also probably would have been more interesting with the use of a different camera angle.
As the title implies, the footage consists of a look at a couple of dozen New York City mounted police officers, as they charge towards the camera in Central Park. The officers are in full dress uniform, but due to the indistinct detail it looks a lot less impressive in this footage than it would have looked in person. The background and other details likewise are often barely visible. It may have been a somewhat hazy day, but in any case the action loses something without a clear and interesting background. The carriage moving in the opposite direction is about the only detail of interest that can be seen clearly.
The camera position works well in capturing the action from beginning to end. But the Edison film crew chose a head-on angle from which to film, and indeed this was often their method. This is one of many cases in which the Lumières' technique of using a diagonal angle would probably have made for more interesting and exciting footage. As it is, the ending (in particular) comes as something of an anticlimax. Like almost every movie of its era, it's worth seeing, but in this case merely as a historical example.