Colt and His Horse Gus Need Your Support!

Hi my name is Brian Thompson and I was with Colt and Gus (Colt’s horse) when we were involved in a horrible vehicle accident; where our truck and horse trailer was crushed between two tractor-trailers on Interstate 70E in Illinois while driving back from our Vietnam veterans benefit ride in TX for Expedition Orange. Traffic came to a pretty quick halt in a construction zone and the tractor-trailer behind us lost control of his truck and plowed into the back of our trailer sending us into a small car which caused the small car and us to be crushed between two tractor-trailers. Before we knew what happed really, Colt and I jumped out of the truck, we saw the catastrophic damage to the trailer and I heard Colt say “I have a dead horse” Colt truly believed Gus was either dead or he would need to put him down on the side of the road. (I can’t help but get emotional when I think of Colt saying those words about his best friend) Colt ran to the small car that was crushed to see if the woman behind the wheel was ok, she was hysterical and likely banged up but she nodded she was ok while crying. I ran back and saw Gus was, in fact, still standing but was pinned between an interior trailer gate and the side of the trailer. I saw his face was pretty cut up but again, he was alive! I yelled for Colt and said Gus was standing. In all my life, I’ve never seen anyone care so much for an animal. Colt squeezed himself through the wreckage of the trailer and back into where Gus was. He began to talk to him to keep him calm and I saw the bond these two had first hand. I ask Colt what he needed and he started to direct me. I began to clear out the front box stall we had our gear in so Colt could somehow force the interior gate open and get Gus up front. Soon after I started to clear the front box stall the Illinois State Police and local Fire Dept. from two cities arrived. Colt quarterbacked the entire process of freeing Gus and these wonderful first responders did their job to the finest degree. They let this horseman do what he does best, keep his horse safe. With the help of police and fire officers, they were able to get the interior gate closed and Colt was able to get Gus through the small access door into the front box area. Colt was calling out injuries as he saw them, a former police officer and Iraq veteran, I saw his training take over. The firefighters where able to cut the back of the trailer off with the “jaws of life” and get the door open, but it took them all to force it. Colt backed Gus over the mangled floor and out of that nightmare and led him across the freeway to some grass and safety.

Most don’t know, but Colt and his wife fund most of Expedition Orange on their own. They do it because Colt’s dad died from Agent Orange exposure and he promised his dad he would not quite until he helped as many Vietnam veterans as he could. I’ve known Colt since he was 14 years old and if the world only knew how much Colt gives to others without anything in return, their jaws would drop. The financial burden of not only replacing their totaled truck and trailer (face it, insurance companies are going to drag this out as long as possible) but also the veterinarian bills coming down to make and keep Gus healthy in the weeks and months ahead is going to be staggering. If anyone on this earth deserves assistance, Colt and his wife do. The sacrifices they make for others on a daily basis, as I said before, are mind-boggling. As a close friend, brother if you will, I’m asking you to please help make Colt and his family, including Gus, whole.

Thank you for your time.

-Brian