Horse Runs Wild Through Crowd at Reunion, Injures 10

Ten people were injured at the Nevada County Fairgrounds Saturday when a horse panicked and plowed into a crowd gathered for Nevada Union High School's first all-class reunion.

The horse, a 4-year-old stallion named "Pal," and his trainer had traveled from Paso Robles to participate in the Mother Lode Morgan Horse Show, an annual event occurring at the same time at the fairgrounds.

After charging down Treat Street, where the reunion was happening, the horse circled and fled back toward the barns, witnesses said.

The horse was zigzagging and going as fast as it could go, leaving people no time to get away, witnesses said.

"People were flipping like bowling pins," said Rick McFarland of Grass Valley, a 1980 graduate who was with his family near Treat Street at the time of the accident, a little after 4 p.m.

Sierra Corn Roaster stand owners Michael and Shannon Raymond also saw the horse fly by.

"I saw him going by, all wild-eyed, and then plow into a group of people," Michael Raymond said a few hours after the accident.

As of Sunday, eight victims treated at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital had been treated and released, hospital representatives said.

Two other victims, Nan Rayburn of Fresno and her younger brother, Dan, a Vancouver, Wash., general contractor, were transferred to other hospitals.

Nan Rayburn, a 48-year-old registered nurse, remained at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville on Sunday. Contacted in her hospital room by phone, Rayburn, a 1965 NU graduate, said she had sustained cracked ribs and did not know how much longer she would be hospitalized.

Dan Rayburn, a 45-year-old general contractor, was recuperating from surgery on his right wrist at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. His wife, Wendy Rayburn, who flew to Sacramento from Vancouver, said time will only tell how successful the surgery had been.

Others injured included Mark Paye, a 1964 NU graduate, who is a dentist in Grass Valley, and his daughter, Alison, a 1998 NU graduate.

Wendy Paye on Sunday said her husband suffered a gash on his leg, and Alison had injuries to her face. Both were recuperating at home, said Wendy Paye, a registered nurse.

The horse, who has a broken tail, was apparently spooked by something then lost his balance, pinning his longtime trainer underneath him, according to Lisa Ascencio, a friend of the trainer, Lauri Cummings of Paso Robles.

"He's never done this before," Ascencio said.

Ann Taylor, chairwoman of the Morgan horse show, apologized for the accident.

Taylor and others said they were impressed at the speed at which emergency services arrived to tend to the injured.

A Nevada County Consolidated Fire District rescue squad was on standby at the fairgrounds, Fire Chief Tim Fike said Sunday.

Off-duty nurses and firefighters were also at the reunion and rushed to help, said Fike, adding there were "lots of broken bones and lacerations." Fike said he had never seen so many injured at one time at the fairgrounds.

Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal referred calls about the incident to the fairgrounds administration. Calls to the fairgrounds office Sunday were not returned.

Sharon Tobiassen, chairwoman of the Nevada Union reunion, was standing near the corn stand and saw the horse plow into a group of people. She said. she was relieved the injuries had not been more severe.

"It could have been so much more disastrous," said Tobiassen.

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