Month later, search continues for Jasmine

DANBURY, NC September 18, 2012 - A month after her horse, Jasmine, disappeared on the Sauratown Trail, Marilyn Colvin holds on to hope that she will be found.

Fellow trail riders, friends and neighbors who live near Moore's Spring Road west of Danbury have joined in the search for the palomino mare, but the last sighting was more than two weeks ago.

"All the efforts have yielded nothing, and we've had so many people looking," said Colvin, who lives in Mocksville. "I don't know if she's in trouble or got her bridle hung up on something and can't get away, but with all these people looking, you would think someone would have come across her."

Colvin said there is also a possibility that Jasmine was stolen.

She took Jasmine for a ride Aug. 18, parking at the Tory's Den lot near Mickey Road. Shortly after crossing a creek, a friend she was riding with was thrown from her horse. The horse lost its footing and landed partially on top of Colvin's friend.

"I quickly got off Jasmine," she said. "I didn't walk away. All I did was turn around and help my friend."

Colvin saw Jasmine turn around and walk down the trail, but her friend was pinned under her horse and needed help.

"It was during that time that Jasmine took off," she said. "And I haven't seen her since."

Colvin stayed there most of that day, searching for Jasmine. She guesses that instead of staying on the trail, Jasmine, who was probably a bit rattled from the trauma on the trail, veered off into a field.

Tammie Barber, who runs Mountain Trail Stables in Pinnacle, has been among those searching for Jasmine.

"She's real shy," Barber said of Jasmine. "She doesn't like strangers or people grabbing toward her. And since she has been outside a couple of weeks, that has heightened her sense of flight."

Barber said there's a good chance that Jasmine is doing fine, finding plenty of water in the creeks in the area and grass to eat.

"Knowing her, she might have snitched a few apples," Barber said.

The 75-minute drive to the area has become too much for Colvin to make on a daily basis, but lots of volunteers have scoured the area, having heard about Jasmine through Facebook and a Yahoo group for trail riders. A friend with a plane has even flown over the area a few times.

Colvin has had Jasmine for five years.

As for her friend, Colvin said she suffered a cut on her foot but no major injuries.

"So we were totally blessed on that," she said.

RESOURCE: Winston Salem Journal, http://m.journalnow.com/winston/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=4MPWgRiB&full=true#display