Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary is celebrating the start of its summer program season and the 29th birthday of Spirit, the Kiger stallion who served as muse and model for the animated film “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”
The opening day event, 3-6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 4, will feature a Native American blessing the horses and land; staff-led walking tours; wine pourings from local wineries and locavore food.
Visitors can also get a personal photo with Spirit. All ticket sales benefit the 450 wild horses and burros in RTF’s care at three California locations.
A national nonprofit advocacy organization, RTF opened its first sanctuary in Lompoc on 300 acres in 1998. Sanctuary visitors can experience the diverse herds that represent the American Mustang, including descendants of Padre Kino’s Spanish Mission horses; the Iberian Sorraia-type Sulphur Springs herd; and descendants of the Choctaw Indian ponies that carried the ill and infirm on the tragic Trail of Tears.
DreamWorks Animation chose Return to Freedom’s (RTF) sanctuary as Spirit’s home following his time as the animators’ model for the Oscar-nominated “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”
That movie spawned a popular Daytime Emmy Award-winning spinoff series for younger children, “Spirit: Riding Free” on Netflix, and the 2021 movie “Spirit: Untamed.”
Opening Day tickets are available until sold out at http://returntofreedom.org/visit/. Cost is $200 for adults and $75 for youth ages 6-17. Children ages 5 and under are free.
For more, visit http://returntofreedom.org/visit/.