Bradenton drops horse ban effort

BRADENTON -- The Bradenton City Council on Wednesday dropped its effort to ban horseback riders on the Palma Sola Causeway after its attorney concluded the land is owned by the state.

“In the situation at hand, specifically concerning riding horses on the causeway, it is a state road and not a city street, so it falls under the sole jurisdiction of the FDOT (Florida Department of Transportation),” wrote William R. Lisch, city attorney, in a memo to council members.

“I therefore am of the opinion that the city of Bradenton may not enact an ordinance banning the riding of horses on Palma Sola Causeway, and that would include the riding of horses out into the waters that are within the city limits, since those waters are also part of the state road system.”

Council member Gene Gallo made a motion to withdraw his previous request of Lisch to draw up an ordinance banning horses on the Palma Sola Causeway. The motion passed unanimously.

Council members said they had been besieged by calls and emails about the subject.

Many callers supported horseback riders and horse surfers along the beach, but others complained about manure and urine, the water quality of the bay, and whether horse trailers comprised a safety issue along the roadway.

Horse surfing, which Timothy Mattox of Great World Adventures of Lakewood Ranch has said he invented in 2007, involves people trying to stand on the back of a horse while it walks in about four feet of water.

Mattox, who rents horses for rides along the beach through his adventure tourism business, charges $120 per person for a one-hour session that starts out with a ride along the beach and ends up with surfing.

“I am very pleased that the city decided not to pursue the horse ban on the Palma Sola Causeway,” Mattox said in an email to the Herald on Wednesday night. “It was a bad idea and based on entirely false and/or misleading complaints from a very small number of people.”

Gallo said he had met with Mattox, who agreed to work with a committee to address issues involving the horses on the beach.

“He has agreed to do something for safety,” Gallo said. “He also suggested he would put together a committee to work on different things on the causeway. I told him I would serve on the committee.”

One official who was delighted was David Teitelbaum, vice chairman of the county’s Tourist Development Council.

“I think that’s terrific news,” he said.

“I think the beach horse program is a benefit for Manatee County, and I was disappointed there was a movement to stop it for what did not seem to be legitimate reasons,” Teitelbaum said.

Bemis Smith, the sole councilman who voted against a motion to draw up an ordinance banning horse riders on the beach, said he did not think eight people complaining constituted a legitimate reason for government to get involved.

“My idea is the best government is the least government,” he said.

This story was originally published August 18, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton drops horse ban effort."