Jennifer Vazquez

Yee-Haw!: Video Captures Rescue of Rogue Horse Trotting Down New York Highway

What to Know

  • It was quite a sight for commuters Monday morning on the Sunrise Highway – as a thoroughbred horse was trotting along median of busy traffic
  • A Suffolk County police officer and deputy sheriff managed to rescue the horse, which had escaped from a Brookhaven farm
  • After having quite the adventurous morning, the horse's caretaker and an officer walked 30-year-old Oppie back to the farm, police say

It was quite a wild sight for commuters Monday morning on the Sunrise Highway – a sight reminiscent of the wild, wild West as a rogue thoroughbred horse was found trotting along the median of busy traffic lanes.

Thankfully, a Suffolk County  deputy sheriff and a police officer managed to rescue the horse, which had escaped moments earlier from a Brookhaven farm.

Highway Patrol Officer Matthew Siesto responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a horse running on westbound on Sunrise Highway between exits 57 and 56 in Brookhaven shortly before 7:30 a.m., Suffolk police say.

The horse apparently escaped from Rockaby Farms in Brookhaven after a tree fell and damaged the horse’s pen.

Siesto was flagged down by the horse’s caretaker, Erin Easop, who got into the patrol vehicle, according to police.

Suffolk County Deputy Sheriff Patrice Silvestri was on the eastbound side median and was able to grab the horse shortly after 7:30 a.m., police say.

After having quite the adventurous morning,  Easop and Siesto walked the 30-year-old thoroughbred named Oppie back to the farm, police say.

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