<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0gaunm_0pFZvimJ00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0gaunm_0pFZvimJ00" width="827" height="533" > Local journalist Jeff Hampton shared insights and anecdotes from decades of research into Corolla’s wild horses at a “History for Lunch” lecture Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Museum of the Albemarle. Hampton, a former reporter for both the Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Advance who has frequently written about Outer Banks history, noted that 1989 was a critical year in the history of the Corolla horses and the history of efforts to protect them. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Eight horses were killed on Corolla roads that year, he said. Largely in response to those incidents, four local women established the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. Many methods have been employed in an attempt to protect the horses, including construction of a fence in 1995, Hampton said. Star, who was the dominant stallion in the 1980s, waged constant battles with his son Midnight, and died in 1999 when he ran into a vehicle while chasing midnight. A photo of Star on the beach became a famous picture that has inspired many people to give to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and support efforts to protect the horses. “He was the first famous wild horse that helped put it on the map,” Hampton said. Another well-known horse, Little Red Man, “loved the camera,” according to Hampton. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Hampton mentioned the story of Betsy Dowdy’s ride on one of the horses from the Outer Banks across the Currituck Sound and on to Hertford to rally patriots in support of the American Revolution. English explorer John Lawson reported seeing horses on the North Carolina coast, Hampton said. The Outer Banks horses were officially recognized as the descendants of Spanish Mustangs in 1982. Among the characteristics that led to that recognition were the horses having five lumbar vertebrae instead of six, and having ears that point toward each other. But the horses may actually not be Spanish Mustangs, according to the Equus Survival Trust, Hampton said. The horses instead appear to be a breed of their own — Banker ponies, he said. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> “There are stories of shipwrecks,” Hampton said. But while there are theories regarding shipwrecks being related to the horses’ origins, there is no actual documentation of a connection between the horses and any specific shipwreck, he explained. The late Ernie Bowden theorized that the horses were descended from farm horses that were kept by settlers on the Outer Banks. Hampton said it’s known that Christopher Columbus brought horses to the Americas on his voyages — the first horses here since prehistoric days. In Mexico and South America, Spanish settlers began raising horses, and some of those horses likely began to be brought into what is now the United States by Spanish explorers. Horses also may have been brought by English explorers, Hampton said. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Human interaction has helped with efforts to sustain the herd, but also can be deadly for the horses, Hampton said. Hundreds of people a day pay to see the horses, and many others journey on their own to try to see them, he said. Hampton told the story of a fateful night in 2021 when four horses were shot and another run over by a vehicle. That mystery has never been solved and the law enforcement investigative report into it still has not been released, Hampton said. Hampton said there were no witnesses to the shootings and no ballistic evidence was found. <nbtemplate data-content="eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIFRoZSBQZXJxdWltYW5zIFdlZWtseSIsICJldmVudCI6ICJtcF9zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25fYnV0dG9uX2NsaWNrX2V2ZW50IiwgInVybCI6ICJodHRwczovL2FwZzAxLm5ld3p3YXJlLmNvbS9zczcwdjIvZW5jL2NvbW1vbi90ZW1wbGF0ZS5qc3A_aW5pdD1zdGFydCZpbml0RWRpdGlvbj1QV1omcmV0dXJuPWh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3LmRhaWx5YWR2YW5jZS5jb20lMjUyRnBlcnF1aW1hbnMlMjUyRiIsICJtZWRpYUlkIjogMTU5MzI0NiwgInRpdGxlIjogIkhhbXB0b246IDE5ODkgY3JpdGljYWwgeWVhciBmb3Igd2lsZCBob3JzZXMnIHByb3RlY3Rpb24ifQ==" data-id="MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton"></nbtemplate></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

Local journalist Jeff Hampton shared insights and anecdotes from decades of research into Corolla’s wild horses at a “History for Lunch” lecture Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Museum of the Albemarle.
                Hampton, a former reporter for both the Virginian-Pilot and The Daily Advance who has frequently written about Outer Banks history, noted that 1989 was a critical year in the history of the Corolla horses and the history of efforts to protect them.
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