How do fairs ensure safety? Video shows ride malfunction at Jefferson County Fair

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — After a mother posted a video showing a ride malfunction at Jefferson County Fair, the ride is back up and running.

In the video posted to Facebook , she can be seen holding her son on a carousel when the pole his horse is attached to disconnects. Neither were hurt in the incident.

According to the ride owner, there will always be a risk when using heavy machinery.

“It can happen, we don’t want to say it’s not going to happen, but it’s very unlikely to happen,” said Pope’s Concessions and Rides, James Pope.  “It’s no different than a tractor on your farm or your car that you get in every morning. You know, you hope and pray that nothing happens, but occasionally you can have a flat tire, or something can happen.”

As someone in the traveling carnival business, he said rides are always inspected.

“We inspect our rides daily, a visual inspection. But the good thing about when you take one completely apart, you can see what parts are worn, see what parts are needed, and you see this every week,” he said.

In the state of Tennessee, ride companies are required to hire a third-party inspector to check rides before they open, and monitor them as the fair goes on.

Pope told 6 News what happened on the carousel was a “freak accident.”

“We have what we call a telescope that holds the horse in place, and the horse and the pole move up and down together,” he said.  “We think with the outward pressure maybe of the guardian, the whoever was with the child, maybe leaning on it was just enough for it to come loose. The horse did not come off, it did not fall on the child at all. As long as the child was hanging on, just like in a normal ride, the child was never in any danger at all.”

He said the operator stopped the ride and they took the horses off to be inspected. As an owner of a family business, and as someone who lets his grandchildren on his rides, Pope said safety is their top priority.

“We’re extremely sorry that these people had an incident. We’re sorry that, you know, if there’s any trauma involved or whatever. But with the ride did what it was supposed to do,” said Pope.

The ride is up and running and he said they plan to extend the telescopes on the horses they removed.

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