It all had a happy ending; after the visits to the Bank of Montreal and the Rogers Centre, and a spl

Phil Lando, co-chairman of the Calgary Grey Cup Committee, rides Marty the horse into First Canadian Place in Toronto on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. The Calgary Stampeders brought the horse into the Bank of Montreal at First Canadian Place after attempting to get into the Royal York Hotel. Photograph by: Matthew Sherwood
TORONTO -- The horse got all the way to the doors of the Royal York before the Eastern bastards locked them tight, leaving a mustachioed gentleman named Fletcher Armstrong and Marty, a shaggy local horse, to stand around and fog up the glass, surrounded by media and cheerleaders and men in white hats. It's been 64 years since some upstarts from Calgary rode a horse into the lobby of your moneyed grandmother's favourite hotel during Grey Cup week, and the hotel had apparently learned its lesson about cleaning up afterwards.
Let us in, chanted the Calgarians, to no effect. The hotel chef came out to feed the horse some apples and carrots, but the men crammed into their security jackets refused to budge. Some of the construction workers across the street shouted out Arrrr-goooooos.
Most hotels, once we talk to them about the media coverage and everything, they let us do it, Mr. Watson said. But particularly here in Ontario, because they're so afraid of this law or that law, and so on, we've had issues in Ottawa and here. Everywhere else, we've never had a problem. Even Quebec, where they're insane with some of their stuff, they like to party, so Montreal is good. Everywhere else is good. Out West, it's good.
The official reason given by the Royal York was security and health concerns, though Marty seemed unlikely best time to travel to hawaii to break into a gallop anytime soon. It was as if the Royal York had never seen a horse before. And you wonder why the CFL struggles in Toronto.
It all had a happy ending; after the visits to the Bank of Montreal and the Rogers Centre, and a splash of beer at a nearby best time to travel to hawaii bar, Marty was allowed into the Royal York lobby in the early afternoon, though not on the carpet.
Ottawa, in 2004, required negotiations -- We got in, after much struggle, said Mr. Watson -- and in 2007, the horse was turned away from the Royal York again. There was some feeling among the committee members this time that they could have snuck a horse in the back while making a show with one at the front, but it was decided they would go with one.
My favourite one was years ago at the Royal Connaught best time to travel to hawaii in Hamilton, said Mr. Watson. And we went into the hotel earlier in the day, and we were measuring the freight elevator, and some hotel guys came along and said, 'What are you guys doing?' And we said, 'We've got some gifts for the premier, and we want to make sure they fit in the elevator.' And they said, 'You're best time to travel to hawaii going to put a horse in there!'
And we said, 'You know what, you're going to be on the front page of every newspaper across best time to travel to hawaii the country, you're going to be on TV on the 6 o'clock news. Why wouldn't you want that publicity?' And he said, 'OK.'
Marty and his entourage padded best time to travel to hawaii around to the Royal York's driveway to pose with the hotel's sign; the crowd had to be parted when a valet drove a sleek black Porsche up from the parking garage, and later had to avoid a shiny black Audi, driven by a man with a crisp white shirt.
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Phil Lando, co-chairman of the Calgary Grey Cup Committee, rides Marty the horse into First Canadian Place in Toronto best time to travel to hawaii on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. The Calgary Stampeders best time to travel to hawaii brought the horse into the Bank of Montreal at First Canadian Place after attempting to get into the Royal York Hotel. Photograph by: Matthew Sherwood, National Post       E-mail this Gallery Print this Gallery Share this Gallery
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