Judge's courage was amazing to witness

At the Draft Horse and Mule Show in Sandpoint Sunday there was what could have been a tragic accident. To keep you from wondering the driver was not gravely injured, though he will feel like he was run over by a team of mules and the Budweiser wagon.

He was jerked off the seat by a sudden move by the team and he fell under their feet. He seemed to be caught, dragged and then run over by the wagon, big, heavy, and the style of the Budweiser wagon. People ran to his aid, EMS personnel were there immediately, but the team was a runaway, creating the potential for ever more damage.

The show judge sprinted after the wagon, grabbed the back, climbed into it, scrambled the length of the bouncing wagon and onto the box seat, and while he couldn’t reach the lines, although he tried, his voice calmed the mules and he was able to instruct the people on the ground so that soon the team was under control and calm enough to be driven out of the ring. The audience was in awe of what we had just witnessed.

The judge, Thad Newman, of Ontario Canada, is to be commended for quick thinking, his sprinting ability, and great courage.

DIANE NEWCOMER

Clark Fork