Horses injured
Animal rights activists suspected in release of rodeo livestock
By Cindy Schonholtz
In the early hours of August 9, 1999, the tranquility of the Washtenaw County
Fairgrounds in Saline, Michigan, was interrupted. Vandals cut a hole in an eight-foot
high chain link fence releasing 29 bucking horses belonging to the J Bar J Rodeo
Company. The horses wandered the streets before running through Travis Point
Golf Course, causing more than $10,000 in damage. They proceeded down Pleasant
Lake Road where they were holding up traffic. After apparently being spooked
by the lights of an oncoming Jeep Wrangler driven by Manchester Township resident
David Novess, the horses took off and trampled over the top of Novess' vehicle.
Luckily, Novess had seen the light reflecting from the horses' eyes and slowed
down considerably.
"It was like a wall of horses coming at me at a dead gallop," Novess later commented.
"Hitting deer is like Sister Sue's kiddie car ride compared to this. I'm surprised
the Jeep stayed upright - that's how much rocking and rolling was going on."
Luckily for Novess, who might have had a hard time explaining the damage to his
insurance agent, his agent serves on the Saline Rodeo Committee and was familiar
with the accident.
After trampling the Jeep, the horses proceeded across a corn and bean field causing
around $2500 damage to the fields soaked by more than five inches of rain. Six
horses then became stuck in a bog; four were able to free themselves, but two
horses remained buried in mud up to their backs. Rodeo personnel had to hold the
horses heads up to keep them from drowning while waiting for help. They rigged
a come-along type device to pull the horses to safety. The two horses, Skoal's
Depression and Copenhagen Jet Stream, are prized bucking horses that have received
the highest honor in rodeo by being chosen to buck at the National Finals Rodeo.
Only the top bucking horses in the nation are given that honor and National Finals
Rodeo bucking horses routinely sell for upwards of $10,000. Sergeant Roy Mays
of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department stated on a television news broadcast
he felt sure the animals rights activists were responsible.
"Letting them loose where they (the horses) mix with cars, that is not humane
at all," he said.
If apprehended, the perpetrators could face several criminal charges including
destruction of property and cruelty to animals. The rodeo was picketed on Saturday
and Sunday, but an organizer of the protest denied knowledge of the fence-cutting.
Maggie Zinser, an owner of J Bar J Rodeo Company, said that the protestors were
especially vocal and profane, yelling obscenities at rodeo personnel.
Although the horses were injured, they should heal and be fine, according to Zinser.
"They're tough. Rodeo animals don't give up under those circumstances," Zinser
said.
Rodeo announcer Cotton Yancey commented on the incident and on animal rights protesters.
"They can have their opinions," he said, "but don't mess with our animals."
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