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High school seniors rely on a little-known law to pull an epic prank

The practical joke has the internet whinnying.
Courtesy Raymond DeBruycker
/ Source: TODAY

A group of high schoolers in Montana just pulled a hay-larious senior prank on their principal. 

On Monday, Raymond DeBruycker of Conrad High School, was sitting at his desk, wondering why so many members of the graduating class were late. Then his phone rang. 

“They said, ‘We need you to come outside,’” DeBruycker, 32, told TODAY Parents

The reason they were tardy? A dozen seniors decided to ride their horses to school. And they were under the responsibility of DeBruycker.

“Montana has this old transportation law that states if a student rides their horse to school, the principal needs to tend to the horse,” DeBruycker explained. “But it’s been voided in the last couple of years.”

Still, DeBruycker, who grew up on a nearby working ranch, was happy to play along. That morning he took pictures with students and watched them race each other around the football field. He also helped tie the horses up along a fence.

Principal Raymond DeBruycker tended to a horse.
Principal Raymond DeBruycker tended to a horse.Courtesy Raymond DeBruycker

“I was joking to my transportation director, that between fuel prices and the shortage of bus drivers, maybe we should start encouraging them to come to school on horseback,” DeBruycker said

The town of Conrad, Montana, has a population of 2,624 according to the United States Census Bureau. There are 28 students in the high school's senior class.

“We’re a tiny rural Montana town so it’s pretty cool that that this story is getting so much attention,” DeBruycker said.

Some students rode four miles to school.
Some students rode four miles to school.

Aside from the horse manure, Monday’s prank was easier to clean up than the last year’s. 

“They put 1000 cups of water through the hallways, and moved lunch tables to random places throughout the building. They covered up security cameras,” DeBruycker said. “It was a bit of a headache.”

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