Tuesday - August 5, 1986 page 3
Everyone thought (hoped) that the horses would go a short way and stop. It was just
after 9:00 as everyone headed down the road after them, but Dena went back right away
to saddle up one of the tied horses. She soon came galloping passed on Snickers. When
it appeared that the horses were not stopping, Pam went back to watch the camp and Kiki
also returned to camp to fetch another horse. Kesi and Debie continued on foot and Kiki
soon passed them, riding bareback on Penny.
Each corner wass approached with hopes that the horses would be just on the other side.
After about three miles, Kiki returned to walk back for April, so she gave Penny to Kesi.
She said she had caught up with Dena, but the only sighting had been Jennie, as Dena
caught a glimpse of a tail end rounding a distant corner.
The only assurance that the horses were ahead of them was an occasional manure pile and
shoe scuffs in the gravel. The sun was very hot and at each possible water hole were the
tracks of the persons before them, it didn’t appear as though the loose horses had
stopped for water. The distance between hoof scuffs was fairly large, thus leading the
searchers to assume that the horses were still running; in some places the horses could
be identified by the difference in scuff marks.
The only movements were black butterflies that gathered on the horse manure, only to
flutter away as a shadow of a searcher broke across them. Kesi, used to riding a round
horse, got very sore riding a bony Penny and she soon dismounted to walk awhile. Debie
even attempted to jog some of the distance and it was just enough to keep her at the same
pace as Kesi and Penny.
In the lead, Snickers was getting tired so Dena got off and walked her down the road for
a break. The road that the runaway horses followed had mileage markers and everyone watched
them, counting down, knowing as the numbers got closer to zero that the horses were getting
closer and closer to something, possibly a main road. Not knowing if the horses would stop
or turn off into the woods was something to worry about, as it was definitely easier to
track on the gravel than in the woods. But they stuck to the main road even though there
were several well traveled side roads, and even the place were the trail had crossed the
day before.
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