Finding Banker Horses with Bob's Wild Horse Tours

As a local writer who covers all things Outer Banks, I have been on my fair share of Corolla wild horse tours. But when I had the opportunity to go again a couple of weeks ago, I definitely jumped on board. Wild horse tours are always a worthy adventure, and no two wild horse tours are ever the same. I love seeing the wild Banker horses, and I would much rather go with a guide than drive around in deep sandy beach ruts looking for them (I’ve done that too, and, trust me, the guide is worth every penny).

Plus, this time I had the chance to go with Bob White, aka Corolla Bob, the original wild horse tour operator, as part of an Outer Banks This Week photo shoot and tour. I wasn’t going to say no to that.

Bob has been offering horse tours since 1996. The horse tour business came about by happenstance, when Bob’s dad, Bob White, Sr., was drinking margaritas on the pool deck with some guests at his inn, The Inn at Corolla Light. The guests wanted to see the wild horses, and Bob, Sr., offered to take them in his 4WD vehicle. Everyone had so much fun they suggested that Bob start a business. Bob, Sr. was too busy with the inn, so he suggested Bob, Jr. start the business, and he did, starting Bob's Wild Horse Adventure Tours with one rusty Suburban. Now the company uses open-air safari trucks that seat 16 and offer amazing views from every seat.

Bob does not give a lot of the tours these days; he leaves that to his friendly and capable staff members. But on our tour, he had no trouble locating the wild Banker horses.

After some safety tips from Bob, we set out from the Bob’s Wild Horse Tours location at Monteray Plaza in Corolla, all buckled into the seats in the open-air truck. It was a sweltering hot day, but with the wind in our faces on the ride up to the 4WD area, we forgot all about the heat. By the time we were bouncing over from paved road to the sandy beach wilderness where N.C. Highway 12 is sand and wild horses roam free, the ocean breeze was actually quite cool and we were protected from the sun by the truck’s canopy.  

Not seeing any horses on the beach, Bob took us behind the dunes in Swan Beach, and it was not long before we saw horses grazing and pawing at some swales right alongside the road. Bob kept the legal distance away, but we were close enough to get some great photos of the horses we saw in a few different areas.

Bob pulled over to give us some information about the horses and the history of the area before we headed up to North Swan Beach. We drove the sandy neighborhood roads, marveling at all the houses up there (Bob says there are 3,000 platted lots and 1,500 houses built). We saw more horses back in the neighborhoods, mothers and foals in harems, a lone stallion, a couple of horses grazing a house’s lawn. Bob took us back to the local park for a pitstop and for us to ask questions about the area and what we had seen so far, including several types of birds.

The time flies on a horse tour and soon we were headed back down the beach. Almost on cue, a school of bottlenose dolphin appeared in the ocean waves, jumping, playing and slapping the water with their tails. It was really the perfect ending to our adventure.

Bob was a great host and offered a lot of history and information about the area for us. After almost two decades not only running his renowned wild horse tour businesses, but also serving as vice chairman of the board of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, you can tell he is inspired to protect the horses and ensuring that their 500-year legacy lives on. Bob says it hearkens back to those early days of seeing the horses in the wild. It inspired in him a lifelong dedication of protecting the well-being of these beautiful animals.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWHF) is a longstanding 501(c)3 nonprofit charity whose mission is to protect, conserve and responsibly manage the herd of Banker wild horses roaming freely on the northernmost Currituck Outer Banks. The fund also promotes the continued preservation of this land as a permanent sanctuary for horses, which are designated as the N.C. State Horse and defined as a cultural treasure by the State of North Carolina.

This year the CWHF board is on a mission to get to a new level of habitat preservation for the horses. Over the past several years, many of the Banker wild horses have died or been killed for multiple reasons, from natural causes to interaction with humans.

“One of the things that we want to do is put together a strategy to buy land,” Bob says. “And by that I mean we’ve identified a corridor of land that the horses frequent, and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund is actively engaged in finding donors to contribute to buying that land.”

The CWHF board is currently working on informational pamphlets for the general public to find donors interested in helping them purchase this land to ensure the wild horses have a safe place to roam and to keep roads and development from causing harm to these animals. And while they will depend on large donations from some, Bob shares that small donations from many are just as important. He is asking for $5 donations on his websites and matching them as they come in. The total acreage the board is looking to acquire will be in the hundreds to even 1,000 acres. The land is expensive, and they are looking at raising $10 to $20 million. But Bob believes it can be done.

If you want to donate to the CWHF land acquisition fund, click here.

Corolla Wild Horse Fund also has many other ways to give and support the horses, from one-time donations and memberships to horse sponsorships, tributes to offering hay for a day at their rescue farm. You can see all the options here.

Another way to support the horses is to go to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund museum and gift shop in Historic Corolla Village. When you purchase something in the gift shop, it helps the horses. According to Bob, every little bit helps.

And if you want to take a horse tour to see the horses in the wild, Bob’s Wild Horse Tours is a great company to trust to take you. I hope you go!