Overrun by Outlaws!

Frank and Jesse James, LeRoy’s team of Quarter horses, pulls the three-seat surrey at Topaz Mill’s 100-year anniversary. The neck yoke can be seen under the Outlaw’s necks. The neck yoke is a 42-inch long piece of wood that goes between the two horses. It has a ring in the center to hold the tongue and a ring on each end that is snapped to the harness. 

Photo by

  
Paula Walls  

Written by 
LeRoy Walls 
CEO 

It was Topaz Mill’s 100-year anniversary in 1995 and the Outlaws - Frank and Jessie were doing great giving rides in my three-seat surrey. The surrey was filled with 6 - 10 kids, on each quarter mile trip along the river.

After an hour and a half of hard work, I decided that Frank and Jessie needed a break so I left the crowd and took them over to my horse trailer for a little grain and rest.

After the Outlaws had eaten and I had the bridle back on Jessie, I untied him from the trailer. Frank had never been tied as he had been held by Jessie and the neck yoke. Untying Jessie turned out to be a big mistake.

It was while I was standing in front of the neck yoke getting Frank’s bridle back on him that it happened. Some bees started buzzing around Frank and while he is usually a calm horse, the bees caused him to begin dancing. This also brought Jessie and the empty surrey in motion before I could move from in front of the neck yoke to the outside.

With the neck yoke pushing me so I couldn’t plant my feet, I was definitely in no-man’s land. Before I could express a frustrated "s-h-e-e-a-t f-a-r-r" the Outlaws and I were breaking into a run. Frank to escape the bees, me to escape the Outlaws - Jessie and the surrey were just along for the ride.

I quickly took an inventory of the situation. First, we were running straight but would soon approach a fence. Second, in about two more strides the Outlaws would be in a full gallop, and third, on my best day I could never outrun them! From my viewpoint, I’d never seen two horsepower looking quite so powerful. So my decision to abandon ship took even less time than the inventory.

As I went down under the neck yoke, tongue and surrey I was thankful that a surrey is a lot taller than a Toyota. I was mighty grateful to emerge with all my body parts still pretty much intact.

I was back on my feet in time to see the surrey roll over as the Outlaws took a left turn before reaching the fence. It would take some serious work by my Amish friends before its next picnic!

I caught up to an exhausted Frank and Jessie where they tried to run down an oak tree with the neck yoke and found the tree to be much tougher than I had been.

There was no sight of the bees as the Outlaws and I headed out of the woods to collect the pieces. Incidentally, I took the neck yoke off before I walked between them on this much slower return trip.

12/31/1999