We’ve all been there – sitting in our car, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It’s frustrating and a major time-kill. And if you’re running late, or the traffic is so bad it’s going to make you late for an important event – say a horse show – what’s a rider to do?

If you’re calf roper Marty Yates stuck on a Houston, Texas highway en route to a major competition, you take matters into your own hands. Yates was travelling along a Texas interstate headed to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo when the cars stopped moving. He knew his event was the first at the show, and he was to be the second rider in the ring, so he unloaded his horse right there on the highway and rode to the stadium! His wife, Loni Kay Yates, a barrel racer and new mom, filmed her hubby as he was starting off, galloping past the cars stuck in the traffic jam. Watch the video here.

It proved to be the right decision, as not only did Yates make it on time, but he also won his semifinal set and ended up third overall. That’s one resilient cowboy, to be sure.

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