Spooked horse causes stir during Flag Day parade

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MEDORA — A spooked horse pulling a float caused a stir Monday at the annual All Horse Flag Day parade here.

An ambulance was called because someone riding the float had a panic attack and a parked car was damaged but otherwise there were no injuries — including to the horses.

The bridle on one of two horses pulling the float which carried Medora Musical cast members was broken. When the horse got close to the announcers’ stand he got spooked and with no bridle in place was uncontrollable. The horses went galloping through town with the float, which held about a dozen people, said Dale Given, Medora Musical host.

The bridle was broken before the parade started and Given led the horse with a lead line for the two blocks it was to ride.

“No one could have guessed that the horse would have been spooked,” he said. He was able to slow the horses down after they lost control.

The horses and float stopped when they crashed into a parked car belonging to a tourist from Washington, Medora Police Chief John Bey said. “The ambulance was called because one of the riders on the float had a panic attack after the incident,” he added.

“All in all everybody from the bystanders to the cast members riding the float were very lucky today,” cast member Emily Walter said. Walter was also riding on the float.

“Things could have gone quite differently with this situation but it was all handled very well in the heat of the moment,” she said. “Dale Given, who is not a professional horse wrangler and the driver of the float, did an amazing job getting the horses and float away from the spectators and keeping the people on the float safe.”

Tags: news, parade, medora