Shortly after 4:30 p.m. on August 19 at the West Tisbury fairgrounds, during the popular draft horse pull (the team that pulls the most weight wins), quick and expert action by veteran announcer, Paul (Zeke) Wilkins, saved lives — both people and horses.

He had just finished warning the audience to keep off the fences and be quiet during the pulling, when a team of horses broke loose, ran to the rear of the ring and smashed through a wood and metal fence. Two other horse teams followed the runaways, making six horses running through the fence near a crowd of people.

When the horses did not slow down, Mr. Wilkins, also a firefighter and EMT worker, took quick action, yelling for people to get out of the way, off the rail and to stay calm. Amazingly, no one was hurt. It was an example of one man’s cool professionalism, assisted by others, in averting a disaster at the Fair. Zeke Wilkins and the fair staff deserve our thanks.

Diana T. Murray
Chilmark and New York city