Many, many years ago I lived in western Wyoming. There was a small town north of where I lived called Pinedale. One Friday night a ranch hand rode his horse into town and stopped at the local bar to hoist a few beers. He hoisted quite a few beers and was observed to be intoxicated as he rode his horse home later that night. The local sheriff arrested him for DWI (California man arrested for allegedly riding horse while under the influence, 14 September).
At his hearing, the ranch hand admitted he was drunk; he further said: “I was drunk, your honour, but the horse wasn’t and he knows the way home.” The judge dismissed the case, saying it was not against the law for a passenger to be intoxicated.
Bruce Higgins
San Diego, US
