The Greater Houston Horse Council has been very concerned about the city's new ordinance preventing people from riding horses on city medians or esplanades. The group held a meeting tonight with a representative from Mayor White's office to air their concerns. Here is the letter GHHC sent to Mayor White:

Dear Mayor White: On behalf of the owners of Greater Houston's 200,000 horses, I am inviting you to attend the next meeting of the Greater Houston Horse Council. We are an umbrella organization of horse owners whose goal is to improve and enhance our city's equine experience and rich history of horsemanship.

Our city council recently passed a well meaning ordinance which inadvertently turns tens of thousands of Houston horsemen and women into criminals. As you know, the ordinance bans horseback riding on the city's thousands of acres of esplanades and imposes a fine of up to $500 for doing so. Since the city's founding, our horse owners have had unfettered access to our streets and byways, including the medians.

Houston is a city of backyard horse owners. In many neighborhoods, the esplanade is the safest place to ride - much safer than on the street itself.

We desperately need your help in getting the ordinance modified. We are certain all of Houston's responsible horse owners support the portions of the ordinance that protect city infrastructure such as irrigation equipment and landscaping. However, this takes up only a tiny portion of our esplanades.

Our meeting will be held at 7:30 PM at the Carriage House Cafe, 7955 Fallbrook on Monday, January 16th. I sincerely hope you can join us.

Sincerely,
Carol Hollaway, President
The Greater Houston Horse Council

If someone reading this has a follow up of what happened, email me at lforonda@khou.com and let me know what happened!