Crime & Safety

Lakewood Horses Rescued From Flooded Camp Coleman

Five horses from West Hempstead stable came close to drowning at a Merrick day camp during Sunday's torrential rainstorm.

Five horses from the Lakewood Stables in West Hempstead nearly drowned at a Merrick day camp during Sunday's rainstorm.

The torrential rains that started Saturday night flooded Coleman Country Day Camp in Merrick, which had been renting the horses for the summer. By Sunday morning, the water level had risen more than three feet in the section of the camp where the animals had been staying, close to a creek and a lake that had overflowed.

"You couldn't tell where the creek ended and the lake began," said Alex Jacobson, the owner of the Lakewood Stables, who rushed to the scene upon learning his horses were in danger.

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Jacobson received a call from Ross Coleman, the camp's director and co-owner of the family-run business, who told him that a maintenance worker had discovered the scary situation that morning.

"We didn't want to move the horses if we didn't have to without having trained people, especially during a time they could be easily spooked," Coleman said. "We had a little bit of time but not a lot of time."

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When Jacobson arrived at the site, the water had risen to the chest level of four of the horses and he could only see the head of the smallest pony.

"The pony was a foot from drowning," Jacobson said.

Jacobson, Coleman and some maintenance crew members walked the pony out first and then two-by-two led the rest of the horses to safety.

"The bridges had moved so we had to go a long way with some tricky terrain...but the horses were terrific," Coleman said.

Jacobson was on the scene for two hours, along with staff from Coleman and Lakewood, and emergency crews from nearby Freeport and Uniondale.

"Ross Coleman and his staff..and my staff were a great help," Jacobson said.

By Sunday afternoon, three of the horses were on their way back to Lakewood Stables, while the rest received medical attention but are expected to fully recover.

"They are all doing okay," Jacobson said. "It was a traumatic experience but it ended happily."

As for the camp, the water only damaged some of its supplies and it opened Monday after a two-hour delayed start.

"We're having a great day," Coleman added. "It was scary but thankfully we all made it through safely."


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