Texas Pony Express Rider Accidentally Clotheslines Himself On A Highway Sign

Immediate concussion protocol.

There’s a developing story out of Harrison County, Texas (the Houston area) that requires your attention. I promise you that you won’t regret taking a couple of minutes to check out this video that’s now going viral on the internet. We don’t have a lot of information on what exactly went down… but we think we’ve strung together enough to know what’s going on.

The video below gives some context, though it’s not enough to explain everything that’s happening. The video shows Harrison Country Sheriff’s Department vehicles riding alongside a man on horseback, who was guiding his trusty steed on and near the shoulder of the road. Another vehicle passing by the cop cars got their phone out to capture the moment on video, and thank goodness they did.

Because the cowboy-hat-wearing-man on horseback ran smack dab into the U.S. Highway 290 sign.

It seems as though this man on horseback was actually an officer or a rider from a different organization participating in a Texas tradition known as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Pony Express. This annual relay calls for riders to hop onto horseback and travel from Houston to the capitol of Texas (Austin) to deliver invitations to the upcoming rodeo to state leaders. Of course, the event is reminiscent of the mail carrying Pony Express that functioned in the 1800s.

The rider in this footage was getting a police escort from Harris County officers when disaster struck. In theory, the cop cars are there to protect the Pony Express rider from being hit by a car. However, the Texas officers can’t really do much when it comes to preventing a crash between horseback rider and a roadside sign.

Because everything happens so fast (and things go so wrong), it’s hard to tell where the rider messed up. It maybe looks like the horse suddenly veered to the left of the sign, which made the rider quickly try to adjust… shortly before face planting into the sign. It’s a brutal hit, and the sound the impact makes can only be described as cartoonish.

Take a look:

@marty2841Block or Charge♬ Pony Express – Chubby Checker

I’ve simply never seen someone in real life get clotheslined off horseback like that.

But you can see why this video is quickly going viral, right? For some reason, people love to see other people in pain, especially if it results in a laugh. Here are just a few of the comments that are flooding the reply section of the post right now:

“Wide open fields in all directions and he hits a road sign.”

“Excellent camerawork. Oscar for cinematography, short film category.”

“Just a normal day in Texas.”

“Unnecessary roughness on the road sign.”

“Hope the horse is alright.”

“This feels like a Looney Tunes cartoon.”

“First video to make me laugh out loud in a long time.”

Same here. I was legitimately keeled over trying to catch my breath from laughing so hard. I think it’s the sound that the sign makes that’s so funny? It’s just wonderful to see a viral video in its early stages like this, and we certainly hope the man who hit the sign that came out of nowhere is alright…

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