OK, where I come from cow tipping is heard of—it’s not exactly the thing to do on Friday night, but occasionally you get a couple of morons bragging about doing it at school (whether they actually did it or not is another story). But I had never heard of horse tripping until I read this story.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is outlawing the bizarre so-called “sport,” in which participants chase a running horse and trip it. “Few horses survive, and it usually results in broken legs, internal damage, and death,” according to Councilwoman Thelda Williams. If outlawed, horse abusers caught would be fined $1,000, be charged with a Class One misdemeanor, and even spend two nights in jail.

What they won’t experience is what the horses they harm go through. In Defense of Animals USA reports that “horses break legs, necks and teeth. They fracture their shoulders and batter their knees and hocks. You can see deep gashes on their faces, shoulders, hips, legs and heels. The ropes often burn their flesh down to the bone.”

What’s even more bizarre is that there are yokels out there who not only consider it harmless, but advocate legalizing it. One particular Mensa candidate, a Mr. Randy Janssen, even runs a site, LegalizeHorseTripping.com, where he maintains that “very, very, very few horses are injured” and that it’s no different than any other equine activity.

Um, yeah... Let’s take tripping horses—akin to goofball jocks (with just a hint of malice, mind you) tripping new freshmen in the hallway “for kicks”—and make it into a sport. Doesn’t the utter brilliance of it all simply astound you, ladies and gentleman? Let’s try and make donkey basketball an everyday sport in schools while we’re at it—or add dog fighting or cockfighting, which this guy probably also supports, as national pastimes.

If this is a sport, as the so-called “cowboys” who do it claim it is, then so is drinking beer, catcalling at women, and giving young men who wear glasses “swirlies.”

I applaud Arizona and hope that other states stand up to put an end to animal cruelties like this as well. Perhaps they can buff up their education systems while they’re at it to produce more socially conscious citizens, too.

And if the law doesn’t go into effect, maybe they could at least pass a bill allowing people to wrassle up some cowboys while they’re, I don’t know, on the treadmill or running out after a possum for dinner or whatever it is they’re doing, and see how they like being tripped.