ST. LANDRY PARISH, LA. (KLFY) — A trail riding event at the Yambilee building in Opelousas this past weekend attracted a larger crowd than expected, leading to security concerns after fights broke out outside the venue.

Jessie Bellard, St. Landry Parish President addressed how the event saw issues arise from younger individuals not associated with the trail ride itself. These incidents have prompted St. Landry Parish officials to reconsider security measures for future events.

“The trail ride went like always, and it wasn’t the trail ride people that was causing the trouble,” Bellard said.

Bellard noted that the fights involved younger people, suggesting age restrictions for future events to prevent similar issues.

“My first suggestion is 25 years and over. And the reason being this week the fights that they had, which wasn’t many, but they did have some fights, was the younger generation was the 20, 21, 22, 19.” Bellard said.

In addition to age restrictions, Bellard plans to enforce rules requiring attendees to remain inside the venue or leave the premises to prevent loitering and potential conflicts outside. Parking overflow was another issue during the event, which Bellard acknowledged would need addressing in the future to improve overall event management. To enhance security, Bellard is considering hiring a private security agency from Texas to ensure safety at these events moving forward.

Bellard said these measures will be taken to ensure those with the right intentions can continue to enjoy events like the trail ride without worry.

“You know, you don’t just cut out something because you had a weekend where you had a lot of people come in.” Bellard said. “If they have a large event going on, guess what you’re going to have? Crowd control. You’re going to have traffic problems. People have all that. It comes with it. So now we figure out a way to help with that problem.”

For future events in St. Landry Parish officials said they will continue to create solutions to maintain safety during community gatherings.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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