The festive and peaceful air surrounding the Cedar Polka Fest parade was shattered by the sounds of a runaway horse team and wagon early Saturday afternoon.

Elmwood Township farmer Bill Hoxie brought a pair of Clydesdale draft horses, Rusty and Duke, and a red wagon as part of the informal parade. At some point prior to the start of the parade, however, Hoxie said the tongue bolt that connects the wagon to the apparatus that harnesses the horses broke.

“The tongue bolt broke. I don’t know how,” he said Tuesday morning. When a broken piece of wood slapped up against his legs, Duke became spooked and the team took off down the street. As the wagon surged forward, the momentum pushed Hoxie off the driver’s seat and into the wagon box where 10 people, all family members, were sitting.

According to Hoxie and county Sheriff Michael F. Oltersdorf, who was in the parade as part of his re-election campaign, Kayla Aprill, 26, of Maple City, passed out due to a pre-existing medical condition and was transported to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. She was treated and released that afternoon and, according to family members, is doing fine. Hoxie said he received a few cuts and bruises from his fall, but was otherwise OK.

The horse team and wagon were near the Solon Township Hall on the Cedar’s south end when the excitement started. The starting point for the parade is in the middle of a hill and when the horse team bolted, it had momentum going down the roadway.

Directly in front of the two Clydesdales was county treasurer candidate Chelly Roush, who is currently the head accountant for the county, and Jennifer Zywicki, a co-worker. Zywicki said they saw the team coming toward them and for a split-second she froze. “I didn’t know what to do. Then we came to our senses and got out of the way as quick as we could,” she said.

The horses raced down the west side of Kasson Street along the parade route, scattering parade watchers on that side of the street.

Oltersdorf said he wasn’t aware of what was occurring until he heard the noise. “I didn’t realize there was a problem until I heard this clattering. I looked back and it was like something out of an old western, a runaway horse team and wagon,” he said.

Oltersdorf was walking in front of a pick-up truck being driven by his wife, Vicky, when he moved to the other side of the vehicle to get out of the path of the horses. He said his wife grew up around horses and knew what to do.

“She saw the team coming down the side of the road. Vicky moved the truck over to the left (west) just enough to get into the horses’ line of sight,” he said. The horses were wearing blinders, which restricts their vision to only what’s in front of them. Once Rusty saw the vehicle moving in front of them, he reared up and Duke’s back legs became entangled in the straps and pieces of wood from the wagon tongue. Duke fell, and the team skidded to halt after he slid about 20 feet or so.

Oltersdorf said what happened next was just as “amazing” to him as seeing the out-of-control horse team running down the road.

“The people along the parade route were amazing. The wagon came to a stop and a group of people who knew what they were doing came out of the crowd,” he said. Two men – Oltersdorf said he didn’t get their names – came to the horses and kept them quiet and as still as possible. He then noticed Duke trying to get up.

“Those guys knew if the horse got back up it could have started all over again,” Oltersdorf said. At the same time, about 10 people came to the aid of the wagon passengers. None was seriously wounded, though all were shaken and scared.

The group then moved the broken wagon tongue off of Duke, and he was able to stand under the control of one of the men. Both horses were lad off behind Bunting’s Cedar Market.

“It was just amazing. People came out of the crowd and tended to the horses, took care of the people in the wagon. It speaks to the quality of folks who live and visit here,” Oltersdorf said.

Hoxie said both horses are doing well and Duke’s hind leg is mending.

Overall, Oltersdorf said the July 4 holiday weekend was fairly peaceful. “The Northport fireworks went off without a hitch. Last year we had some problems with people shooting illegal fireworks off in the crowd. We didn’t have that this year. The July 4 parades went well and were well attended,” he said.