Detroit man walks 2 horses onto a city bus at a stop on 7 Mile. Then he says it isn’t the first time: ‘We’ve been on the Jefferson’
A man led two horses onto a Detroit Department of Transportation bus at a stop on 7 Mile and Strasburg Street over the weekend. The video spread online as the horses boarded the vehicle and then walked back off. City officials confirmed the video is real and said the behavior violates official policy, according to WXYZ.
Jordan Williams, co-founder of Urban City Cowboys, said he was in the city to help with a fundraiser and offer horseback rides to children. He decided to record a video when he noticed the bus approaching the stop. Williams said the driver seemed surprised, and the two spoke through the bus door before he led the horses on.
Williams claims he has brought his horses onto city buses many times before. “We’ve been on the Jefferson, we’ve been on the Chalmers, we’ve been on the Conners and now on the 7 Mile,” Williams said. He joked that the buses are a lot smaller than they used to be, or that he may have gotten a little bigger.
He says the whole point was showing Detroit that Black cowboys exist
This is not the first time his work with horses has received public attention. Williams told the outlet 14 years ago that he got involved after seeing youth programs and recreation centers close across Detroit. His goal is to draw attention to the presence of Black cowboys within the city, Williams said.
Williams said he wasn’t tracking down the bus and that the point was to show that some cowboys look like him. “I hope DDOT looks at it like a joke like everyone else, and hopefully they come out to a rodeo,” Williams said.
Ellessia Drew was driving nearby when she pulled out her phone to record the scene. “What if the horse used the bathroom on the bus? Like, what’s going on?” Drew said. Detroit resident Alan Houser seemed less surprised, saying there is no telling what will turn up in the city.
The city transportation department said horses are not permitted on its buses. Service animals are allowed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, they must be individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability and remain under control on the floor or the person’s lap.
DDOT said it is taking appropriate steps, as the incident is inconsistent with its policy and could create an unsafe and uncomfortable ride for passengers. Surveillance footage later released by the city appears to show the driver lowering the wheelchair ramp, and he can be heard saying, “It’s a service animal.”
Federal disability rules only name one kind of horse, and it’s a lot smaller than these
Federal transit rules allow any animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, per National RTAP. Separate Justice Department rules single out miniature horses, which can qualify when trained for that kind of work. However, DDOT said these horses appear to have been brought on board for other reasons.
Williams’ push to spotlight Black cowboys draws on a long history, as Britannica estimates Black men made up nearly a quarter of cattle workers in the American West during the late 1800s. Those riders were almost entirely left out of the mythology of the American cowboy, the encyclopedia notes.
DDOT said it plans to retrain all of its bus operators following the incident, and the department confirmed the driver involved has been spoken to.
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