Horse that went viral galloping on I-95, escaping Philadelphia stables, earns new name
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The viral horse that was captured on video galloping on I-95 early Tuesday morning now has a name that fits with the widely viewed moment on social media.
"I couldn't believe, 95," Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club Founder Ellis Ferrell said.
"How'd he get down there?" 15-year-old rider Aazim Ferrell asked.
After using the highway as his race track, the horse is back home at Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club in Strawberry Mansion where kids chose between the names '95 North' and 'Freeway.'
"We're going to let the kids decide with a horseshoe contest," Nicole Bryan with the riding club said.
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However, before the final decision was made everyone put in their guesses.
"I say Freeway," 16-year-old rider Tramain Garvin said.
"Me personally, I-95," Aazim Ferrell said.
"Everybody saying 95. I think I might say Freeway," 13-year-old rider Pud Greergillian said.
For the club's founder, Ferrell, who picked up the Dutch Harness horse after he was caught by police, only one name makes sense.
"I like 95 North," Ferrell said. "That's the way he was going, 95 North."
Once the votes were in, two young riders participated in a horseshoe-throwing competition in which the name 'Freeway' won.
It's a name that Garvin said fits him perfectly.
"We're all building a bond with the horse because he's a new horse," Garvin said. "And we want him to get used to people touching him, loving him, caring for him so he's a real fun guy."
Although those with the nonprofit aren't completely sure how Freeway was let out, they think vandalism could have played a role in it.
They're planning to put up security cameras so that a similar situation doesn't happen again.
"I was thankful that he didn't get hurt and I'm thankful he didn't cause no accidents," Ferrell said.
They're also thankful the whole situation is leading more people to know about the free riding opportunities for kids and the history of Black horsemen in Philly.
"This is our worst nightmare to have a horse on 95, but at the same time it's kind of been a blessing in bringing awareness to the work we're trying to do," Bryan said.