In a wildly upsetting story out of Chicago – because it must be a day that ends in “y” – a man known to the community as the “Dreadhead Cowboy” rode his horse down the interstate as part of a protest until the animal began to bleed from its injuries, which may result in the horse having to be put down.
According to local reports, the popular horse-riding activist, whose real name is Adam Hollingsworth, rode a horse for eight miles down the Dan Ryan Expressway during rush hour on Monday as part of the #KidsLivesMatter movement, which aims to get Chicago residents to fill out the census to get more funding for their communities. Hollingsworth has been working with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to boost census participation in the city.
But experts say the horse wasn’t equipped with the proper shoes to ride such a long distance almost entirely at a gallop in the hot sun on the pavement, and that the ride resulted in serious injuries. Photos and videos from the scene show blood running down the animal's legs during the ride. Witnesses say they saw Hollingsworth kicking and whipping the horse after it slowed down, until it eventually collapsed.
After Hollinsgworth was arrested, animal experts say they treated the horse for extreme dehydration, overheating and lacerations to the legs that had been bleeding profusely. Only immediate medical attention saved the horse’s life after the run, and it still may need to be euthanized due to the severity of its wounds and the likelihood that it will remain crippled and in pain for the rest of its life.
The man appointed by Mayor Lightfoot to be Chicago’s “Census Cowboy” rode his horse until it bled to draw attention to a social justice cause. It didn’t have proper shoes for pavement and suffered extensive damage, galloping for miles. It will be put down. pic.twitter.com/Yp5z85Lmi0
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 25, 2020
Hollingsworth has since been charged with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to an animals along with misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, trespassing and other traffic offenses. He’s now being held on a $25,000 bond, of which he must pay $2,500 to be released from jail.
The overall point here, beyond the obvious "don't run your horse to death on the asphalt," is quite simple: yes, kids lives matter. But it doesn't help anyone to hurt the innocent in defense of your cause - a lesson most modern "activists" could stand to learn.