Happy New Year’s Eve to everyone! As we say goodbye to one year and get ready to begin a whole new one, we thought this would be a great day to share some gratitude. There are a few small asks throughout this, so please read through to the end and help in whatever ways you can.
On a personal level, I feel blessed to have met the people I have and have the honor to fight with them for the proper management of the wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home. We were all blindsided a few weeks ago with the parks public announcement to eliminate the ENTIRE herd of horses from the park. We all took the hit, processed the full weight of what that meant, and then we pulled up our sleeves and all got to work on what we could do to save our beloved herd!
When my husband Gary and I first met Frank Kuntz, we felt like we were meeting a movie star. Here is a truly iconic man who has spent the better part of his life not only advocating for the wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, but also saving the original breed of horses that once called TRNP home that date back to Sitting Bull and his people.
Ask #1 today is for Frank. Over the years Frank has not only become someone I look up to with high regards as a wild horse advocate, but also a dear friend. On the days that all of this gets to be too much for me, I step back and remember that for Frank, his fight has been going on for 40+ years! I can’t imagine FORTY YEARS of this!
Frank has some personal issues that he is facing at this time. I will respect his privacy and leave it at that. Frank will talk about what is happening when he is ready. I will say that he, his wife Shelly, daughter Christa, his right hand, Jennifer and his entire family have the full support of me, my husband Gary and our entire CHWHA board.
Because Frank has never been one to ask for help himself, his daughter Christa set up a GoFundMe to help him. Any donation you can make to help Frank right now is appreciated. You can make your donation here: https://gofund.me/004c157b
I did have a chance to talk to Frank recently as he shared his story with me. In true Frank fashion – he said, “I REALLY need to say something about what the park is doing now, I’m just so wrapped up in everything here, I haven’t had the chance.”
I told Frank not to worry about the park right now. Take care of what you need to. We’ve got this!
It was also through Frank that I got to meet Castle! She has been my hero for the work she did researching this amazing herd of horses. You can read her report in the library section of our website: https://chwha.org/library/. THANK YOU for all of your work Castle and THANK YOU for being a friend and support to me!
I am blessed to have the support of some great wild horse advocates I am honored to have met along this incredible journey: Mary, Susan, Terri, Kerry, Ginger, Linda, Heather, Laura, Barbara, Holly, Patrick, and so many others. Your support keeps me going! THANK YOU!
I am also grateful to all of you who support our work and answer to our calls to action. That gratitude extends to every person who loves this herd and is fighting in the best way that they can to help save them. A big shout out to Deb & Jamie for all of their work but mostly for realizing that we can all fight individually or we can gather up all of our individual strengths and build and army together to fight for the freedom of our beloved wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park from every possible angle!
Ask #2 today is that you re-read out calls to action post from yesterday (https://chwha.org/2022/12/30/this-weeks-calls-to-action/) and please make sure you do the 3 things that we asked. There are a lot of other ways we can fight this outside of the public comment. We need your help to make an impact!
I also have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Matt & Bill and everyone at Eubanks and Associates, PLLC. Matt has been great at explaining this entire process to me, in the easiest ways, so that I can share that information with all of you. They did their research and agreed to take on our case. We are forever thankful that they did!
I can never say THANK YOU enough to my wonderful husband Gary. He is my rock and without him I could not do anything I do. FYI – I HATE being on the other side of the camera ESPECIALLY when it comes to talking to news reporters. This week we had to actually go to a few of the TV stations and my stomach was in KNOTS!!! Gary did all he could to help keep me calm, take selfies with me in the green room and TRY to convince me that this whole thing was really “no big deal”. Another fun fact: when the TV stations were ready to mic US up – Gary politely declined and stated he was only there to support me. *sigh* lol Thanks! Truly THANK YOU for being my rock and all of the things you are doing to help save this herd we love so much!
These last couple of weeks I have talked to anyone and everyone who would listen to me about the plight of the wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. We have made some good contacts and they are helping in the ways they can as well.
Ask #3 today is an easy and important one. Please send a simple email thanking one of our North Dakota State legislators, Josh Boschee, for doing what he can to help keep the wild horses wild and free and IN Theodore Roosevelt National Park. His email is josh@joshuaboschee.com. We will share more on Josh soon!
The photo attached to this post is of Stallion Teton’s two 2022 sons Titan and Creed. Titan is laying down as Creed stands watch over his brother.
Talk about a lesson for us all!
Ask #4 is that you take time today to reflect on what a wonderful year 2022 truly was and get ready to roll up your sleeves in 2023. The wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park need ALL of us. We will have some new calls to action for you next week, so please enjoy the weekend! Take care of each other. Stay safe and meet us back here on Monday as we continue to fight for the wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home from every possible angle!
ARGH! I have to get ready for another news interview! We will share that later so check back! Wish me luck!
Thank you for your support and have a wonderful New Year!
Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is committed to advocating for a wild horse management plan and protection for these unique wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home! We are fighting for a management plan that is guided by science especially when it comes to decisions regarding the removal of horses and the administration of birth control. Many other wild horse management plans have proven to be successful with their science-based plans. We are asking for the same for this amazing group of wild horses that call Theodore Roosevelt National Park home.