Roe-Dee-Oh :: Chaos and Confusion

Sunday, August 21st - - The final event of the day was something called a Wild Horse Race. There were seven or eight teams, which made for a wild melee. The premise was to release the horses from the gate with a long rope about their necks. The teams then had to saddle the wild horse and one rider had to mount it and ride it across the arena and back to the gate.

Sounds simple enough but the execution was nearly impossible. From the git-go the horses were in command - as soon as the gates opened they were dragging men on the ground at the end of their ropes, running every which way. Some were able to get the saddles on right away but as soon as a rider mounted he was thrown off. Some never got their horse saddled. There were a few riders who got on but they didn't stay on very long. Unlike Marlboro Man's Team, no one was able to ride their horse across the arena although one fellow did manage to ride along the perimeter for some distance before being tossed off!

Near the end, the Wild Horses ran around riderless for a few minutes, with riders and teammates chasing them, then the announcer said it was all over. I think we were all a bit relieved, participants and audience members alike!

There were some injuries, hopefully none were serious, but the EMT's were out on the field attending to the fallen riders as we left the arena.