Arthur Byrd Phillips, Jr., 16, schoolboy, rescued Neal J. Reed, 16, schoolboy, from a runaway, Sterling City, Texas, July 14, 1943. Reed and Phillips on horseback were roping sheep and treating them in a pasture in which were many cedar bushes about 10 feet high. Between the bushes the ground was bare except for scattered tufts of grass and cacti. Neal, who had dismounted after roping a sheep, inadvertently stepped in loops of his lariat lying on the ground. His horse took fright, the loops tightened around Neal’s legs, and he was dragged as the horse broke into a run. Arthur, his lariat dragging at full length from his saddle, rode a short distance close to Neal’s horse and reached for the reins, but the horse veered, and he did not get hold. Arthur raced his mount with Neal’s, making several attempts to get hold of the reins. After running 250 feet Neal’s horse again veered and continued to run, dragging Neal over a pile of jagged rocks. Arthur got his mount within four feet of Neal’s horse; and when the horses were running at a speed of 20 m.p.h., he released his reins and sprang from his stirrups toward Neal’s horse. His left arm encircled its neck, and his weight pulled the horse’s head down. It ran through a large bush, Arthur hanging at the side of its neck; and it stopped 35 feet beyond the point Arthur had jumped. Neal suffered lacerations and bruises, and Arthur received only minor scratches. 40014-3374
40014 – 3374
40014-3374