Watch as helicopter plucks runaway horse from mud after it got stuck near Santa Ana River

A horse and its rider were rescued from the banks of the Santa Ana River in Southern California after the animal got stuck in the mud, authorities said Sunday.

Riverside County Fire Department, in a post on X, said that firefighters responded to reports of a horse in the river a little after 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Rescue teams, including an animal rescue team and a helicopter, were dispatched to locate the horse and its rider and rescue them.

Shortly before 4:30 p.m. Sunday, the fire department announced that the horse's rider, whose name has not been made public, was located "unharmed," while the rescue team "entered the wash" to extricate the horse from the mud.

Horse bucked rider before getting stuck in mud

The horse was finally retrieved several hours later, at about 7:00 p.m. It was "hoisted by [a] helicopter from the riverbed," said the Riverside County Fire Department.

Video footage from the rescue shows the horse blindfolded as it is harnessed and airlifted from the riverbank and transported to a pen, where it appears to be doing fine.

A spokesperson for the Riverside County Fire Department told USA TODAY that the rider was "bucked from the horse" Saturday after which the animal got spooked and ran away. It was eventually found stuck in mud on Sunday and reported to authorities.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.