The origin of the Ocracoke ponies is uncertain. You can research it if you want to; I won’t talk about that here. I will talk about the excitement surrounding the addition of a pony to the family. Horses are important here, and the birth of a pony is a really big deal!
A bit of background… Ocracoke is also fondly known an Pony Island. There are other ponies further up the Outer Banks, so they are not exclusive to Ocracoke, whatever their origin. But Ocracoke did have the only mounted Boy Scout troop in the country during the 1950s. (This makes my Girl Scout heart happy!) In 1959, after the construction of Highway 12, the National Park Service created the Ocracoke Pony Pasture to protect the ponies from increasing traffic. Down from a high of around 300, only a couple of dozen are present today.
In addition to the pony pen, Ocracoke has the Pony Island Motel and Restaurant
There are a couple of painted ponies remaining on the island from the centennial celebration of the Wright Brother’s flight in 2003. One found its way to the roof of Ocracoke School and another still stands at a little shop that sells, among other things, ice cream and horse rides on the beach.
But I digress… the purpose of this post was to announce the birth of Jobelle Margaret on MAy 7, 2017. The proud parents are mother Jitterbug, who now lives here on the island but came from Shackleford Banks, and father Rayo, who still resides on Shackleford Banks. The second-graders of Ocracoke School suggested the name Jobelle in honor of the
gallardia flowers that grow on the North Carolina coast; the flowers are called Jobelle here on the Outer Banks in memory of Joe Bell who brought the flowers here from California early in the 20th century. The pony and her mother will be isolated from the rest of the herd for up to a year.
The students were invited to go to the Pony Pasture and meet Jobelle. I was fortunate to be able to go along with the high schoolers. We met Jobelle and Jitterbug when the little one was eleven days old.
Jobelle is a beautiful baby and a welcome addition to the Ocracoke herd!
bethdlayton 