Under normal circumstances Yasmine, like many tens of thousands of other Flemish schoolchildren, takes the bus to and from school. However, since the start of the new school year the bus between her home in Humbeek and her school around 5 kilometres away in Vilvoorde has failed to turn up. This has happened around 10 times so far.

Yasmine’s father Patrice Van Hauwermeiren told VRT Radio 2 Flemish Brabant that over the past few days it has become the order of the day. Thursday, Friday, Monday, Tuesday…It has made us wonder when there will be another bus”. So it was decided that Yasmine should travel to school on horseback.

"It is not our intention to carry on doing this. It is more a statement aimed at De Lijn (the Flemish public transport company). They leave children standing every morning and every evening too. For example, yesterday evening I had to go and collect Yasmine in Kapelle-op-den-Bos at 7pm. She had taken several busses in an attempt to get more or less home”, Mr Van Hauwermieren added.

It takes Yasmine around 40 minutes to get to school on horseback. Fortunately she can go along relatively quiet roads and as her school offers courses in caring for animals there are stables available for her horse.