Sax Goes to Camp

Cloud's brother is a hit with Cheley campers

Dear friends of Cloud and his family;

Sax and I went to the fabulous Cheley Camp, bordering Rocky Mountain National Park outside Estes Park, Colorado this week to share the wonder of wild horses with about 500 campers from all across the United States. I think you can tell from the pictures that my once wild Pryor colt (co-owned and “co-trained” by Ann Evans) loved the experience. I think the kids did too.

Sax & Ginger with the Cheley girl campers
(Photo by Linda Hanick)

You can barely see Sax through the interested boy campers
(Photo by Linda Hanick)

Based on his reception and his obvious love of people, I hope we’ll be able to appear together at many more events in the future.

Sax gets a hug from one of the campers

On Monday and Tuesday evening I spoke to hundreds of campers and showed clips from “Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions.” Most of the kids were unfamiliar with Cloud and the effort to save wild horses on our public lands in the West, but they seemed to come away with a passion to help in our preservation efforts.

Ginger talks to the girls at Chipeta Lodge
(Photo by Linda Hanick)

This is Sax’s third “appearance” at an event (2010 Equine Awareness Day, Black Forest, CO-Front Range Equine Rescue; Festival of the Wild Horse, Santa Fe, NM May 2012-benefit for Monero Mustangs and Spirit of the Wild Horse).

Sax the wonder horse

Sax was named by Makendra Silverman who thought his star and the narrow white line down his nose looked like the blossom and stem of the white Saxifrage flowers that grow atop his Pryor Mountain homeland. He was born around June 1, 2007 and was captured in September 2009. Because of his unique buckskin roan color, he was to be released back on the mountain, but when temperatures soared into the triple digits, and the BLM could not “beat the horses out of the trees” with the helicopter, the roundup was called off. In order to make their excessive quota of wild horses, Sax was not allowed to go free. He came to live with Ann and me. We have adjoining ranches where our seven mustangs roam in one very lively band.

Baby Sax and Phoenix (Cloud's mom too) - 2009

Sax and I also used our camp experience to try new things and meet scary objects like blue barrels. In time, we were able to navigate the tiny obstacle course without fear.

Sax enounters the plank bridge...

...the blue barrels...

...and the traffic cones...

...with ease!

Happy Trails!
Ginger (and Sax!)

P.S. Many thanks to Linda Hanick for creating an opportunity for Sax and me to introduce hundreds of children to the world of wild horses. Linda was a backpacking counselor at Cheley Camps once upon a time, and Blake, Linda and Vic's daughter, was a camper there for 7 years. And thanks to Cheley Camps for allowing us to visit. For 91 years they have introduced thousands of young people to the wonders of nature.