If Wishes Were Horses...

The best leaders rally and inspire so many other people to action that it becomes difficult to look back at accomplishments and give credit to the specific people responsible for those successes. However, there is often a single individual that, even though they had the help of others, was truly indispensable. In short, were it not for that one person the accomplishments would not have been made.

Karen McCalpin has been the executive director of the the Corolla Wild Horse Fund for about five years. She did not grow up with these horses. She has no family tie with these horses, yet she has thrown her life into protecting the wild and free herd of Corolla Spanish mustangs.

But for her work:
The Wild Horse Fund would not be a member supported organization with members from across the nation;
The Horse of the Americas Registry would never have been drawn into the effort to save these horses;
The wild horses of the Outer Banks would not be the state horse of North Carolina;
There would be no effort to expand the legal protections to maintain the wild herd of Corolla;
There would be no offsite breeding program for the Corollas;
There would be no tame Corollas prancing in the Duck July 4 parade while their wild relatives pranced on the beach of Corolla;and
There would not be the assemblage of genetic and other evidence to make it crystal clear that the wild horses of Corolla are among the oldest and rarest distinct gentic grouping of horses found in the nation.

Most of all, but for the work of Karen McCalpin there would be no realistic hope of preserving the wild horses of Corolla.

Over the years I have taken many of my young riders down to Corolla for Board meetings and other events. I have brought many girls and young ladies down specifically because I wanted them to meet Karen and see what a difference one women can make. I stress to all of my little riders that want to grow up to have a "horse job" that becoming a veterinarian is just one way to do so. I let them understand that a person will have to be a vet for a very long time before they will save as many horses as Karen has through her efforts to prevent the extinction of the Corollas.

In the next few days Karen has a birthday coming up. I do not know how old she is, but I do know that the struggle that this job has been for her has made her much older than really she is.

But for Karen McCalpin the wild horses of Corolla would have no chance of avoiding extinction.

But for Karen McCalpin there would be no hope.

Happy Birthday Karen.