Horse at the Richmond DMV

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Ashlee Owens' driver's license was suspended, but she told us, all her paperwork was in order. To protest, she rode her horse to the DMV on West Broad Street in Richmond. So what went wrong, and how did it get to this?

A triumphant trot to the DMV. It's not something you see every day on Broad Street. But this isn't horseplay. It's Ashlee's protest of what she calls a painful problem with the DMV.

"I've been trying for the past three days to get through to DMV. And between the answering service telling me it's too long of a wait and hanging up on me... and trying to talk to someone to get this straight, I don't feel like I should be in this predicament at all," said Ashlee.

Here's how we got here: the DMV says it had no proof of Ashlee's insurance. Ashlee says she sent it all through email and regular mail. But the DMV didn't see it, and her license was suspended. We asked if she thinks riding her horse, Sassy, will get her point across.

"I would hope so, but, with the people I've dealt with, I would guess not," she said.

It was illegal for her to drive all the way from her home in Amelia, to Richmond, so Ashlee had a friend drive her to Richmond with a horse trailer...and that's when Ashlee, Sassy and her dog, Tuff, had their protest parade.

Ashley left Sassy and Tuff, for a tough battle. $645 dollars in fees, just to get her license back. While she was inside, the DMV came outside. Drawing a crowd of people who said, now, they've seen everything at the DMV. And after two hours…victory.

"I went in. The lady that's the head of DMV came and found me and she asked me if I was the lady with the horse outside and said 'well come over here'. Took me to the side and she took all my paperwork upstairs and handled it immediately and sent me on my way," Ashlee said.

Ashlee's now riding off with her head held high. And she's saying you can lead a horse to the DMV, but you can't always promise a win like this.

A security guard says this is the first time he's ever seen a horse at the DMV. Ashlee says she recommends doing this if you have a trusted horse that can help you out.

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