Horse Illustrated Magazine

Sergeant Otis Smith might have a second career option as a Hollywood stunt double after a daring maneuver to stop a runaway horse last weekend.

On Sunday, a horse harnessed to a buggy spooked, broke away from his owner, and took off on a ten-mile mad dash near the town of Wooster, Ohio.

Police officers attempted to stop the horse from the ground, but the panicked horse didn’t respond. So Sgt. Smith took it one step further. In a move straight out of an old western movie, the Marine veteran grabbed on to the buggy and jumped aboard. From there, he was able to grab the reins and bring the horse to a stop.

As the horse slowed, he stumbled and fell to the ground and didn’t immediately get back up which looks like a dire situation in a video of the incident. However, Fox 8 in Cleveland reports that a veterinarian examined the horse at the scene, and despite the 10-mile gallop on paved roads, he was doing just fine after he had a chance to catch his breath and get back on his feet.

Sgt. Smith told Fox 8 that he acted quickly to prevent the horse from potentially causing a serious accident.

The horse was later reunited with his owner, who explained that the horse was hitched up to take the family to church that morning when he was spooked by a loud noise and took off.

Leslie Potter is a writer and photographer based in Lexington, Kentucky. www.lesliepotterphoto.com