Sloane Coles thought she’d already had a great day when she loaded Autumn Rhythm onto her two-horse trailer for the long ride home from the National Horse Show in Lexington, Ky., to her farm in The Plains, Va. Little did she know just how she’d define that great day 12 hours later.

She and barn manager Chelsea Wilk had packed up their trophies and ribbons after Autumn Rhythm and Coles won the first year green hunter stake class and the division reserve championship. They set out for the eight-hour drive east on I-64 at about noon on Oct. 29. But as they headed down the mountains after passing Beckley, W.V., disaster struck.

“I was trying to be careful because those mountains are really steep. I felt the trailer brakes lock up,” Coles said. “I looked at the runaway ramp, but the turn to it was so acute I didn’t think we could make it with the trailer. Thank God I had Chelsea with me; she was like, ‘OK, put it in first gear.’ We were probably only going 40, but it felt like we were going so fast. Luckily I had a little bit of brakes, so I was able to get it stopped on the side of the road at the base of the mountain. We were in the middle of nowhere and cars and semi-trucks were just flying past us.”

Coles called AAA, but they weren’t able to help because she was hauling a horse. Luckily, one of the police officers who showed up had a solution.

“He was great. He called his friends and they came with a cattle truck. The police officers blocked the road and the guys backed the cattle truck all the way up to the back of my trailer,” Coles said. “We put the ramp down like a bridge across the trailers, so Autumn Rhythm was able to walk right into the cattle trailer without being on the road. I think it was an experience for him, too! We were just happy to get off the side of the road,” she said.

Local cattle farmers John Miller Richmond and his friend Travis were their saviors. Coles and Wilk grabbed their purses from her truck and hopped into Richmond’s truck. “They asked ‘Where are you going?’ We asked, “Can you take us to Lexington, Va.?’ And they said, ‘Sure thing! Let’s go!’” Coles said. 

Richmond drove Autumn Rhythm the 100 miles from where Coles broke down just outside Beckley to the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Va., where Coles’ father, John, met them with another truck and trailer. “We stopped at Wendy’s for dinner and everything,” Coles said. “They raise cattle; we learned a lot about cattle! They had their cattle dog in the bed of the truck. We couldn’t have been luckier. They were the nicest guys. They knew horses. John had competed in rodeo and he must have been pretty good because he had a belt buckle that said national champion of something. 

“As we were driving, [the Chronicle] article came out, so we showed it to them. They couldn’t believe the article. I showed them the pictures and said, ‘That’s the horse we have in the back,’ and they were impressed. They were so nice.”

Richmond pulled into the Virginia Horse Center at about 7:30 p.m., but he wouldn’t leave Coles and Wilk until Coles’ father arrived to pick them up. Coles and Wilk finally arrived home in The Plains by midnight.

“We were so grateful. They made our day. It was exciting winning and all that, but this was a real taste of reality and showed us just how great and nice people can be. Chelsea and I were in the back seat of the truck and we couldn’t stop smiling,” Coles said.