Texas Town Helps Stranded Circus

Members of a Russian equestrian troupe that found themselves stranded outside of Dallas with only the horses they rode in on were recently given a temporary home in a small Texas town.

Performers for the Artania horse circus were reportedly abandoned by the promoter of the show last month.

At the time, show producer John Finlay said visa and vendor problems had brought an early end to the troupe’s outing, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“We had some issues with some of our vendors,” Finlay said, “and that caused us to cancel the remaining portion of the outdoor tent tour.”

Stuck in a Dallas parking lot with no place to go, Artania’s horses and performers were offered a place to stay by a local horse facility in the town of Rockwall.

Black Star Sport Horses owner Lisa Blackmon told CBS News that she moved all 19 of Artania’s horses to her barns and put up members of the troupe in an office building.

Volunteers in the town fed the workers and even donated money when a horse needed emergency surgery.

Artania performed a week of shows at Black Star and is reportedly in negotiations to continue performing in the region. If things pick up, the troupe could tour the U.S. for six months to a year, a spokesman told the Rockwall County Herald-Banner.

“It was the number one show in Canada for two-and-a-half years,” the spokesman told the paper. “It was more in attendance than Cirque du Soleil there.”