An advertised trail ride on property in north Panola County set for this weekend will be shut down if the organizers attempt to have the event without a permit from the Land Commission.

The Board of Supervisors, at its regular meeting Monday, unanimously agreed the Panola County 1st Annual Trail Ride was not an authorized event because organizers had not requested a permit from the Land Commission. 

Trail rides are popular weekend gatherings that often draw hundreds of people to rural properties where they ride four-wheelers and other off road vehicles. The events are often accompanied by music, food, and other vendors.

This weekend’s Panola trail ride was promoted as the county’s largest ever, and would have included an adult field day, a 90s themed cookout, and powered by DJ Durty & Friends. The address at 1448 Sanders Road has 74 acres, according to county land maps.

Supervisors agreed the sticking point of the trail ride was the $20 entry fee, which violates the county’s Land Use and Development Ordinance without a permit.

“I’m all for landowners using their private property as they see fit, but if you are going to be charging and having an event then they need to follow suite just like everybody else has,” said supervisor Chad Weaver.

Chad Meek, who heads the Land Commission office, told supervisors he only learned of the event over the weekend and had not been contacted for permit procedure. In Panola, any event that has an admission price, or will have potential commerce, needs a permit that is available only by appearing before the Land Commission board for explanation.

Meek said the next meeting will be the second week of May and he will contact the organizers to ask if they want to be on that agenda and make an official request.

Supervisors also briefly discussed the videos and social media posts after similar trail rides in neighboring counties, agreeing that security and safety for attendees and residents of adjoining properties should be considered with any permit requests.

Sheriff Shane Phelps told board members his department had answered some calls in the extreme northern parts of Panola last Saturday after a trail ride event in Tate County.

“I talked to the (Tate Co.) sheriff and he said there were some fights, guns being pulled, and that kind of stuff,” Phelps said. “He said they stayed out there a good bit and we had some calls that night about four wheelers riding back and forth on our county roads.”

Phelps said he knows some of the organizers and will also be in contact with them to ask about the security plans for any events that are permitted in the future.