Urban COWBOY vows he won’t be CORRALLED
QUEBECER FIGHTS FOR ‘NOBLE CAUSE’ TO SADDLE UP DOWNTOWN
Once best known as the home of a famous hockey stick, Victoriaville, Que., has more recently established a reputation as a growing entrepreneurial hub. It is the “economic engine” of the centre of Quebec, a “dynamic and welcoming community,” the city of 46,000 says on its website.
And, frankly, it could do without people on horseback clogging the roads.
After a long battle that led the city to rewrite its bylaws, the city last month won a court victory against Jean Roy, the man known as Victoriaville’s urban cowboy.
Roy was hit with more than $8,000 in fines for a variety of infractions, including having his horse in a public place and failing to clean up its excrement.
In an interview last week, Roy was defiant, saying he has no inten- tion of stopping his regular trips into town astride his horse, Dandy Blue Pine.
“They won’t intimidate me when I know my cause is a noble one,” he said, saying horses have a place in the city. “In Montreal, the mounted police ride around the city on horseback.”
Recently Victoriaville’s horse problem drew unwanted attention when a video was posted online showing a skirmish on a city street between Roy and cursing bar patrons who yelled at him that his horse did not belong downtown.
Roy said the altercation happened two weeks ago outside Bar Le West at about 1 a.m. He said most people love seeing a horse ride down the street, but this particular group took offence.
He was told he looked like “a damn idiot” on his horse, was yelled at to “take your horse somewhere else to s---” and asked if he wanted to go line dance with his horse.
It is not the first time Roy, 55, has felt targeted for his equestrian passion. He said he began riding in the city about four years ago and tries to do it once or twice a week. He said he always carries a bag to clean up after Dandy.
But he accuses city offi cials of “harassment,” seeking conflict instead of recognizing horses’ ability to bring joy into people’s lives.
“When I go into town with my horse, people will come up to me and say, ‘ Oh. He’s beautiful. Can I pat your horse?’ ” he said. “I’d say 80 per cent of the population are on my side. I’m not the only urban cowboy.”
After failing to win a conviction against Roy in municipal court because its animal bylaw said nothing about horses, Victoriaville decided to act last summer. In August, an exasperated city councillor, Patrick Paulin, posted a photo on Facebook showing horse droppings on the sidewalk outside the city’s work placement centre.
In September, the bylaw was rewritten to specify that horses not be allowed in parks, public squares and playgrounds, on sidewalks or bicycle paths or at any large public gathering.
I’D SAY 80 PER CENT ... ARE ON MY SIDE. I’M NOT THE ONLY URBAN COWBOY.
It does not prohibit Roy from riding on the street, but Roy has said he plans to challenge the bylaw.
Nobody from the city was available for comment Friday. City lawyer Rosane Roy told the Journal de Montreal that the bylaw was needed to protect the public, particularly during the festivals where Roy liked to appear with his horse.
“Several people expressed their fear of the horse and up until then no bylaw prevented horsemen from riding in parks or other places during gatherings,” she said.
FrançoisHé bert, a friend of Roy, said he also enjoys riding in the city, saying it is a reminder of his father’s era when milk was delivered in a horsedrawn wagon.
“The public is usually sympathetic,” he said. “If they’re afraid, it’s because they don’t know horses.”