THOMASVILLE — Carriage rides during the first night of the 21st annual Victorian Christmas came to a temporary halt Thursday after one of the horses died.

“As best as we can put together — I went down there right after it happened — a horse pulling a carriage made the turn on Monroe Street from the Big Oak, got very frisky and jumpy and started running,” Karen Smith, director of Downtown Thomasville Main Street, said Friday.

The horse and carriage came to a stop under the Big Oak, where the horse died.

Lanier Carriages of Pavo has participated in Victorian Christmas for 19 years. It was using Rambo, a horse owned by Debbie Guy.

“We don’t know exactly what happened, maybe he had a heart attack,” Winnie Lanier said Friday. “Rambo (a paint draft horse) has been with us eight years and has gone to Victorian Christmas and other events before.”

Guy said the horse had never given anyone problems.

“He was an incredible horse, but horses cannot tell you when they are in pain,” she said. “He had never had a health problem of any sort.”

Thomasville Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Ricky Singletary said Friday people seemed to be more upset the horse died than over the incident.

“We had to call a flat bed wrecker to tow him up on it,” Singletary said. “That’s how we got him out from under the Big Oak.”

Both Smith and Singletary said the Big Oak did not have any major damage (minor branch breakage). Carriage occupants — a driver, four adults and a child — sustained superficial injuries.

“There were cuts and scrapes on a couple of people and one lady did have a panic attack, but she was given oxygen and was fine,” Smith said. “Of course, they were frightened; I would have been, too. It’s bad this happened, but good that no one was really hurt.”

Smith and Lanier said carriage rides would continue Friday, the second and final night of Victorian Christmas.

“This is the first time this has happened,” Lanier said. “We’ve enjoyed being part of Victorian Christmas for 19 years and started with one horse and carriage that went up and down Broad Street. As the event grew, we added a wagon and two more carriages. We have a lot of repeat riders every year. We’re very sorry this happened and are glad no one was hurt.”