Group against horse-drawn carriages posts fake “business closed” signs (AUDIO)

The year started off with a bit of ugliness for Tally Ho Carriage Tours – a company that offers horse-drawn carriage rides and operates out of downtown Victoria.

Established in 1903, Tally Ho has recently fallen under the scrutiny of the Victoria Horse Alliance – an organization that maintains that the tour horses have been treated unfairly.

The VHA normally sticks to protesting by carrying signs like “Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages” and “Horses Don’t Belong in the City”, but this year, they took things a step too far.

After discovering that the Tally Ho’s (renewable) business license expired on December 31st, 2017, members of Victoria Horse Alliance posted signs that read “Closed for Business Under Vehicle for Hire Bylaw” at the company’s operating location on the corner of Belleville and Menzies Streets.

But a subsequent radio interview embroiled the VHA in controversy.

Caught in the act

Talking to Adam Stirling of CFAX1070, the founder of the VHA, Jordan Reichert, explained his interpretation of a bylaw that states that Tally Ho’s rental agreement with the City of Victoria ran out on December 31st.

Reichert stated that the city confirmed to him that the company would not be able to operate past January 1st.

However, the owner and operator of Tally Ho, Donna Friedland, had told CFAX that the license was “due for renewal on January 1st, with the fees and documentation due by January 15th” – which meant that their operations could continue into the new year.

At the outset of the interview, Stirling had no idea that the ‘Closed for Business’ sign was placed on the hitching rails by Jordan Reichert himself – this was made clear when Kate Clarke, an employee of Tally Ho, called in to set the facts straight.

Since the sign had the appearance of being posted by the City (or an authority within the business itself), Stirling was shocked and frustrated to hear Reichert defend his actions, saying things like “I am making a statement that this company should be closed for business… I’m not lying about anything. I never implied in any way that I am the city.”

Caught in a lie…

But when asked how long the sign was left up for, Reichert indicated that it was up for the amount of time it took for him to take a picture of it.

What Reichert failed to mention was that there was a second sign with the exact same message which he neglected to take down – this was confirmed by Clarke: “I’m still holding one of the signs that was left up. Saying that it was taken down is actually a lie.”

Despite being caught in his lies, Reichert continued to defend himself, stating that he misspoke, but that everything he said was true – an obvious contradiction.

Tally Ho Responds

While peaceful protests against the horse-carriage industry have been going on for years, the “Closed for Business” signs crossed a line, attempting to dissuade potential customers through deception.

As a response to the Victoria Horse Alliance’s antics, Tally-Ho Carriage Tours has posted a call to action on their Facebook page.

Read the full post below:

Adam Stirling’s full interview of Jordan Reichert on CFAX1070