A horse is trapped in an oyster bed. The tide is coming in. Kinsale Helm Jonathan Connor on galloping to the rescue

When the pager goes off, RNLI crew never know what to expect. But a horse trapped in an oyster bed? That was a first. Kinsale crew member Jonathan Connor recalls the crisp February morning when the RNLI were called to the rescue of Paddy the horse, whose owner couldn’t swim.

An unusual call out, but Jonathan isn’t new to drama. When he was 17, and a trainee at Kinsale, he was in the lifeboat station and heard a Mayday call over the radio. What he did next helped buy the lifeboat crew vital time to launch to the scene.

200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   

Interview by Adventurous Audio 

Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   

The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200