River and Yago are home.
The two marsh tacky horses were stolen from a farm in the Camden area in late April.
No clues were left on that stormy night, and a national search with a $2,500 reward turned up nothing — until 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
They were delivered to a neighboring farm, in good shape — apparently the victims of mistaken identity. Someone stole the wrong horses.
Janson Cox, who owns the Dragoon Horse Farm in Rembert where the horses were stolen, said, “Who had them, and where all they have been, we don’t know.”
“RIVER AND YAGO HAVE BEEN FOUND!” owner Jackie McFadden of Rock Hill posted on a Facebook page set up to help find the horses. She is secretary of the Carolina Marsh Tacky Association and a major force behind the recent push to preserve the breed, and get it named the official South Carolina State Heritage Horse.
“They are back and they are safe! Thank you all for looking for them and praying for them! It’s truly a miracle! We are ecstatic!”
She credits 92-year-old Nora Keehn for using a lifetime of contacts in the horse world to get River and Yago home. They were delivered to her farm.
“She made it her life’s mission to bring them home,” McFadden said. “With grit and determination, Ms. Keehn assembled an entire team to search for River and Yago.”
Keehn, one of the first two licensed female jockeys in the United States and a member of the Arizona Quarter Horse Racing Hall of Fame, put the word out that she wanted the marsh tackies returned, no questions asked, and that’s what happened. She said she knew immediately the marsh tackies were not the target of thieves.
“I am so happy for Jackie McFadden,” she said. “Her heart was broken — broken. So I got on the stick and went to bat. We are thrilled because Jackie is thrilled. The horses were delighted to see her. We were very lucky.”
Yago, a dark bay gelding, and “Little Miss” River, a bay mare, are natives of Ridgeland.
McFadden bought them in 2012 from breeder D.P. Lowther, who is credited with helping save the historically feral breed that now has a registry and a healthy future. They are said to be descendants of horses left along the shore by Spanish explorers. The sure-footed, smart horses are small in stature but are loved by hunters, and known for helping the Gullah culture survive on the sea islands.
When the 6-year-old horses were discovered to be missing and presumed stolen, they were immediately registered on the website of Stolen Horse International, also known as NetPosse.com.
“Yago is very easy going, but he doesn’t like to be separated from River,” McFadden said at the time. “He gets very distressed and runs and calls for her if he can’t see her.”
She gave River the name “Little Miss” because that’s what a former state legislator called McFadden when he hung up on her as she lobbied for the state heritage horse designation.
David Lauderdale: 843-706-8115, @ThatsLauderdale
This story was originally published July 28, 2017 4:31 PM.