Determined stallion Spark made horse-tory after saving 14 lives from a sinking ship

The boat was sinking, but the horse still had his legs under him.

Kicking up sand and surf from the roiling sea, the stallion’s hooves smacked the shore near Cape Town on 1 June 1773, as he carried dairy farmer Wolraad Woltemade (South Africa) towards the sounds of screaming. 

They were headed in the direction of Table Bay, where a sandbar had trapped a giant Dutch sailing ship named De Jonge Thomas – and that morning, survivors were begging for help as they clung to the wreckage of the crumbling hull. 

A crowd had gathered onshore, where they could see the sailors fighting against the might of the freezing currents not too far away. Yet separated by the distance and the danger, there was little they could do to help the drowning men… that was, until Wolraad and his horse Vonk (Spark) arrived, and accomplished an unprecedented Guinness World Records title for the most people rescued at sea by horse. 

In an audacious attempt to reach the wreck, Wolraad had urged Spark into the churning waters, riding as far as they could before the waves threatened to wash them away with the rest of the crew. 

Still separated from the men by a considerable distance, he instructed two of the desperate mariners to jump into the sea – upon which they could grab on to Spark’s tail, and he would pull them to safety.

No doubt terrified, they nevertheless trusted the courageous man, and tossed themselves into the depths. Emerging into a swirling mess of sea foam and shattered cargo, they swam frantically towards Wolraad and gripped Spark’s sodden tail, as he led them away from the chaos and back towards civilization onshore. 

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According to Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg – who witnessed the event while working for the Dutch East India Company – Wolraad and Spark repeated this exhausting trek seven times, saving a total of 14 men. 

Yet tragically, on their final run, the ship began to collapse – and seeing this as their last opportunity to escape, six men flung themselves on top of the weary steed, sending them all beneath the surface to their deaths.

Of the 191 people onboard the de Jonge Thomas, it's believed that 53 survived the wreck, including the 14 saved by the brave duo. 

And after a few years, their story was eventually disseminated throughout South Africa, where they were lauded as heroes. 

So here’s to Wolraad and Spark – a tremendous pair, who fought for others right up until the very end. 

Header image: Patou Ricard from Pixabay