Jessica Webb
editor@thesmokymountaintimes.com
A horse rescue in Deep Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently had an unexpected and nearly miraculous outcome with both horses walking out alive.
“This is really amazing given that typically a horse that is involved in this type of incident does not usually have a good outcome,” said Brandon Wiggins, Swain County Rescue Squad captain.
Brock and Jeremy Faust of Berry, Kentucky had wanted to trail ride in the Smokies for some time. The couple travels about once a month to camp and trail ride with their mare, Gypsy, 9, an Appaloosa, and their gelding, Creed, 4, a thoroughbred.
The unexpected happened 9 miles up on Indian Creek Trail when Brock was on horseback and Jeremy was on foot— her horse took off running and the second followed.
“When I jumped off it was before they went over the ledge,” Brock recalls. It turns out they had hit a yellow jacket’s nest.
“I’ve been riding for years. Sometimes you recognize when a situation is no longer controllable, especially on trails with zero margin for error. It was a last-ditch effort to save myself I guess,” she said of jumping from the horse.
At first, the horses were down the mountain about 100 feet against some trees. They were able to get the mare up, but when they went for the gelding, he made it halfway up then sat down and flipped backwards.
“That was truly the beginning of the nightmare, in my opinion,” Brock said. “There was a huge dead tree and he made one last roll and his feet slid underneath the tree. He was thrashing around and got himself unstuck he took three steps and started flipping again and rolled further down.”
Shortly after, they made the difficult decision to turn back for help as it was about 5 p.m.
“We knew if we had any hope of getting back, we knew we had to leave then,” she said. They weren’t hopeful that they would find Creed alive when they returned.
She had called for help to Deep Creek Campground and the owner had amassed help with National Park Service Rangers and Swain County Rescue Squad leading the rescue efforts.
They rode back up the mountain together, and the mare was exactly where they had left her, but there were no signs of the gelding. Rescue personnel helped clear the path and they returned back down the mountain around 2:30 a.m. The rescue effort resumed Saturday around noon.
While Creed wasn’t in the same spot they found him, they heard him whinnying when they reached the area.
“Not only was he alive, but he was standing up,” Brock said. “He had pinned himself against a tree almost to brace himself.”
The rescue effort continued over the next few hours as they devised a route and cleared the path, going down the mountain instead of trying to lead the horse back up the steep embankment.
“He was just exhausted he ended up collapsing about 30 feet from the trail,” Brock recalls. “The rescue guys were cheering him on. He got up, and Jeremy had a hold of the lead line from the trail. He made it up there and the walk back to the parking lot.”
He incurred several injuries, from a puncture in his stomach to a head injury. A nearby veterinarian was called and came out to the campground around 8 p.m. that night to treat him, according to Brock. Everyone is now safe and back home.
Brock said she was blown away by the efforts of the rescue squad volunteers, the campground and everyone who rallied behind them. Another rider even drove from 2 hours away to be there to help Saturday and they received an outpouring of support on social media, Brock said.
While it was a scary situation, it hasn’t deterred the Fausts from riding.
“You ride in nature, and you accept everything that comes along with it,” she said. “I wish it wouldn’t have happened, but riding horses is like any other sport you do that has challenges and dangers associated with it.”