Richmond, Virginia area resident Ashlee Owens rode her horse, “Sassy,” to the Richmond, Virginia DMV on Wednesday, in protest of having her driver’s license suspended. Owens claimed she had sent her insurance information via email and snail mail, though the department claimed it never got it.
“I’ve been trying for the past three days to get through to DMV. And between the answering service telling me it’s too long of a wait and hanging up on me… and trying to talk to someone to get this straight, I don’t feel like I should be in this predicament at all,” said Ashlee.
Due to the overlooked proof of insurance, the 26-years-old equestrian’s license was suspended, which costs $645 to be reinstated. When asked if riding Sassy to the DMV might help her cause, Owens stated, “I would hope so, but, with the people I’ve dealt with, I would guess not.” Owens brought along her dog “Tuff” for reinforcement.
Riding a horse around town with one’s dog appears to be catching on in the U.S. A Colorado man was recently arrested for riding his horse “Dillon,” while under the influence in downtown Boulder. Police found a small handgun and several beer cans in the saddle bag of Patrick Schumacher, as well as a pug named “Bufford” in his backpack. The canine sidekick makes the look.
In the Richmond case, it would’ve been a crime for Owens to drive to the DMV herself, so she had a friend give her a lift from her home in Amelia, along with Sassy’s trailer, for her protest.
After Owens went in to try to sort things out, staff members of the DMV came out, meeting a small crowd that formed to take in the spectacle. After about 2 hours, the issue was resolved. “I went in. The lady that’s the head of DMV came and found me and she asked me if I was the lady with the horse outside and said ‘well come over here’. Took me to the side and she took all my paperwork upstairs and handled it immediately and sent me on my way,” Ashlee said.
Ashlee rode off with pride, though pointed out that while one can lead a horse to the DMV, one can’t always promise a win. A DMV security guard said he’d never before seen a horse at his post. Ashlee added that one can always count on their trusted horse.
Image via YouTube.