St. Landry Council To Debate Trail Ride Ordinance

A new trail ride ordinance is expected to be formally introduced by the St. Landry Parish Council at its July 20 meeting.

Trail rides, long a tradition in St. Landry Parish, have been going through an unprecedented boom in recent years.  Rides that used to attract hundreds are now drawing thousands from as far away as Oklahoma and Alabama.  Probably the largest of the local rides is the annual Step-N-Strut gathering that has in recent years been attracting up to 10,000 people for its three-day party.  Jessie Bellard, St. Landry Parish's director of administration, says one of the major changes in the ordinance includes dropping the maximum number of riders from 2,000 to 500 and requiring the sponsor of the ride be a parish resident.