CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Horses run on interstate after escaping rodeo

EAGLE, Colo. (KCNC) - It was horsepower on the highway for drivers on Interstate 70 in Colorado after a group of horses escaped from a nearby rodeo.

Parts of the incident were caught on video.

“I wouldn’t say it was a typical day in Eagle County,” State Trooper Jake Best said.

Friday night after the Eagle County rodeo, it took only one horse spooked by an electric fence to get the group running.

The horses took off down a fairgrounds road and right onto the interstate.

State patrol blocked traffic on the east and west ends and, along with the Gypsum Fire Department, did everything they could to get them to slow.

“We even saw a cowboy riding down the interstate, trying to catch up to them, to rope them and stop that lead horse,” Best said. “So, my goal was to try and get in front of them and slow them down.”

The trooper’s tactics worked.

The horses eventually slowed, coming to a stop at a grassy field, where community members were waiting to assist.

“We were lucky there was enough cowboys in town,” Best said. “Otherwise, we would’ve had a much larger mess.”

None of the horses were injured during the escape.

Copyright 2021 KCNC via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.