Marsh Tacky races on tap on Hilton Head Island

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The annual marsh tacky horse races are being held on the beach at Hilton Head Island.

South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers is the master of ceremonies for the event that begins at noon Sunday on the Coligny Beach. It’s the fourth annual running of the marsh tackies.

The marsh tacky was designated the South Carolina heritage horse for the role it has played in state history for centuries.

The tackies, whose ancestors were left by colonial Spanish explorers, are suited to toiling long hours in brush, swamps and the oppressive humidity along the coast.

They don’t spook easily and for centuries were the workaday horse on the isolated sea islands. Tackies are intelligent and docile for even young riders.