EVANGELINE PARISH — Trail rides are a long-standing tradition in Louisiana’s southern culture — but in Evangeline Parish, they’ll now come with new rules. On Monday night, the Evangeline Parish Police Jury passed an ordinance aimed at regulating trail rides throughout the parish.
The ordinance, which has been in the works for the past eight months, sets specific guidelines for trail ride organizers. Dirk Deville, secretary-treasurer for the police jury, said the discussion began after residents raised concerns about safety and structure at large-scale trail ride events.
“About eight months ago, someone asked if we had a trail ride ordinance — and that’s when we started looking into it,” Deville said.
The ordinance defines a trail ride as a gathering of no fewer than 50 and no more than 1,000 horseback riders, or any paid, organized-for-profit group that follows a planned route on horseback.
Under the new ordinance, trail rides in Evangeline Parish must meet several requirements, including:
-A maximum of 1,000 horseback riders per event
-Approval from Louisiana State Police if the ride includes state highways
-At least two sheriff’s deputies per 100 riders
-Liability insurance for organizing groups
Deville said the goal is to provide safety for both participants and organizers.
“But basically, that’s what it’s going to do,” he said. “It’s going to not only protect the trail ride participants, but also the organizations — so they’re covered if anything should happen.”
For Jamal Brown, who runs the group Why Play Riders in neighboring St. Landry Parish, the new rules make sense.
“I’ve been doing this half my life, and I’m 31 years old,” Brown said. “Just off of last year’s numbers, we probably had maybe 25 officers — and some more came that night just in case we needed them.”
He supports the added structure and says it reflects the changing nature of trail rides.
“In my opinion, it’s needed,” Brown said. “The permits, the security — people say trail rides aren’t the same anymore, so this is what we have to do to adapt. Security is major.”
While some speculated whether the ordinance was a response to the Mamou Mardi Gras trail ride shooting in February, Deville confirmed the timing is coincidental. “This ordinance was already in the works well before that incident,” he said.
With Monday’s vote, Evangeline Parish officially joins other parishes like St. Landry in adopting formal guidelines for trail rides — aiming to preserve the tradition while prioritizing public safety.
Organizers who violate the ordinance could risk having their permits revoked.
KATC is working to obtain an electronic copy of the ordinance and will publish it here once available. Deville says the ordinance closely mirrors the trail ride ordinance in St. Landry Parish, which you can read here
