friday happy to you m’loves.

in keeping with yesterday’s horse theme i want to share with you a very special project, the short film, wild horses, directed and co-written by my stunning friend, stephanie martin.

friends since our elementary school days, where, for years, we furiously chased a yellow tennis ball around the court, hours and hours after school, in hopes of winning the prized can of welches grape, or sometimes strawberry, soda,  it is with much gush and cheer to see my lovely friend go from the santiago tennis club to the 84th annual academy awards {where the cameramen spent more time filming her beautiful face than the hollywood starlets—who could blame them..yes, that’s stephanie in the trailer, not a hired supermodel.}

an accomplished and talented cinematographer {one of the few women cinematographers in an extremely competitive industry,} stephanie’s impressive resume spans many successful television and film projects such as “homeland security” and “eat, pray, love.“

but stephanie’s latest project is the dearest one of all.

a horse lover since her very first ride, stephanie is making a powerful short film about the horrifying situation currently taking place in the american west.

in 1971 the bureau of land and management {blm} designated to enforce the “wild free-roaming horse and burro act.” this act states america’s wild horses and burros as “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West….{these wild horses and burros} shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death.” 

however, the blm, using such excuses as the need for cattle grazing, recreation for off-road vehicles, mining, development, and oil drilling, has now taken the opposite action, and is removing these once protected wild horses and burros. 

at the beginning of the 20th century this country had over 20 million wild horses roaming the lands freely, but due to these government round ups which are often violent, cruel and render the wild horses incapacitated: young foals running so fast in 100 degree weather for over 20 miles that their hooves actually fall off, or worse some don’t even make it, and die; that 20 million number has dwindled down to an estimated 45,000-15,000.

 you can watch some of the real footage of these round ups. it’s heartbreaking, infuriating and debilitating; especially when you see baby foals being pursued by piercing loud helicopters as if they’re criminals on a high speed chase. sick to your stomach is an understatement.

stephanie is making this movie to help give these horses a voice.

please help by either donating to their project or spreading the word of their film; they only have a few more days left on kickstarter to raise money. it was so easy to donate…i paid through amazon. 

friend them on facebook to keep current on their amazing work and progress. this is truly a noble adventure, and i’m so proud to contribute in whatever way i can.

love you stephanie, thank you for your amazing work for these incredible animals.