Our story today is one of heroic ends. This is one of those heartwarming stories of bravery that is worth retelling. Cameron Martin, at mere 13 years old, lives in an area called Lowestoft in New Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It was a normal summer day in August 2020 and Cameron wanted to pay a visit to his pony on the Burgh Castle’s Midspirit Equestrian farm.
The pony was kept in a paddock along with the farm owner’s horse. Cameron Martin was no ordinary little 13 year old, he is far braver for doing what he did. Many grown adults would not be able to risk their own safety to save an animal, yet there is a horse named Domino who is still alive today, thanks to Cameron.
Smart kid saves horse
“I was coming up to my field to check on my pony when I noticed one of the owner’s ponies wasn’t where it was supposed to be,” Said Cameron to reporters, eager to tell his inspiring story. He had been walking across the fields, and where he usually saw the farm owner’s horse, named Domino, but there was no horse to be seen. This puzzled the boy, the horse did not usually miss a chance to get a nose tickle from him.
Cameron reported that the first thing he could think of was checking the dyke that was nearby, maybe the horse had wandered off there. He said that this was a bit alarming for him because the horse is never away from its station.
“I panicked, and then my first thought was to check the dyke. Then I saw it in the water trying to force itself under. I just did what I had to do.” Said Cameron. The horse had obviously tried to cross the dyke, and slipped. This was especially dangerous because the horse could easily drown itself. The very compassionate Cameron jumped right into the freezing cold water and held onto the horse’s head trying to keep it from going underwater.
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Cameron to the rescue
Cameron Martin was being cared for by a woman named Tanya Docwra-Smith. She told the reporters that it was not unusual for Cameron to go wandering about by himself, but he was only out for half an hour before he came back. This time was different, he had been gone for about an hour. Eventually, they noticed him jumping in and out of the water near the dyke. From that distance, they could not make out Domino who was still fighting for his life with Cameron’s help.
“We’d seen Cameron gesticulating on the side of the dyke from afar but honestly had no idea what he was doing,” said Tanya.
As we got closer we suddenly realized that Cameron was jumping in and out of the water in order to signal to us that he needed help, then he would jump back in to hold Domino’s head above the water so the horse could catch a breath.
“He kept jumping back in the water and out again. It was all very scary. It turned out he was literally keeping Domino’s head out of the water to stop him from drowning.” Thankfully, Cameron Martin had grown up around horses, so he was quite familiar with them. Tanya reported.
“Cameron knows how to handle horses so well he’d had the sense to get on to the side of the dyke every so often to jump around and wave his hands in an effort to get our attention. He knew leaving the horse for a second would have led to its death.”
A local hero
This must have been a terrifying ordeal for young Cameron. He was risking his own life while trying to save an animal. When help finally arrived, Cameron was able to get out of the freezing water and adults jumped in to take his place holding Domino’s head out of the water. They called upon an excavator machine which eventually pulled Domino from the water. “Cameron was freezing and distraught, but he was adamant that we save the horse’s life.”
Domino’s owner, a man named Paul Williams, said that he could not have been more grateful to Cameron Martin. He named him the local “Little Hero”. If it were not for this 13-year-old boy, Domino would be no more. This just goes to show that bravery can come in all shapes and sizes.
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