Firefighter Saves Woman Caught On Runaway Horse

An incident involving a runaway horse could have ended much worse if it weren't for the quick thinking of a Tennessee firefighter.

On September 19, 21-year-old Hailey Dotson was competing in a barrel racing event at the Tennessee City riding arena in Dickson when her horse's bit broke. The horse, named Red, ran out of the arena and toward Highway 70, taking Dotson along with it. Her foot was caught in the stirrups and she couldn't get off.

Dotson told The Tennessean she thought she was going to die when Red crossed the highway because cars weren't able to see them in the darkness. About 15 minutes later, Shannon Yates, a firefighter with Dickson County EMS, saw the two going back to the highway.

"When (the horse) came back out on the road, I reached out and grabbed her," said Yates. "(Dotson) said, 'Don't let me go.' I said, 'I am not letting you go. I am not letting this horse go until you are off it.'"

Getting control of Red was no easy task, with Yates joking that his arm is six inches longer than it was after trying to hold on the horse.

Not one to give up, Dotson, a dental assistant at Dickson Pediatric Dentistry, put a new bit on Red and went back to complete her race.

Photo: Getty Images