“On Friday, in lieu of the week’s news, I’ll dive into Part 2 of this story – the grassroots movement unleashed by Chasing Wild Horses that rallied wild horse advocates, tribal nations, state legislators, business leaders, and a governor who became Interior Secretary. It’s a story about what’s possible when regular people decide something matters enough to fight for it. And it offers lessons for anyone facing down a federal agency that thinks it knows better than the public what should be preserved and what should be erased.”

~ Suzanne Roy

Hello and Happy Thursday!

Suzanne Roy, former Executive Director of American Wild Horse Conservation, released her latest SubStack that discusses the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and our quest for federal protection for this herd. You can read the entire article here: https://suzanneroy.substack.com/p/historic-win-wild-horse-protection?r=1xxov8&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

I can tell you that I am looking forward to Part 2 of her SubStack because it is something I don’t talk enough about. 

Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates is 100% a grassroots movement.  I, personally, never take individual credit for our success.  To me, it is ALWAYS the work of ALL of us that make up CHWHA working together, elevating our voices and standing up for these historic wild horses who don’t have a voice of their own.  Our CHWHA story, as the quote from Suzanne above states: “It’s a story about what’s possible when regular people decide something matters enough to fight for it.”

THAT is what we are doing here at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates!

My husband will tell you that is what happens ALL DAY EVERY DAY.  This is not something we dabble in when it is convenient for us. 

This has become more than a full-time job that not only do I NOT get paid for – but when the nonprofit falls short, it is our small business that makes sure the nonprofit has what it needs. 

Donations are down this year.

Small businesses, including ours, had a rough year this year.

And still, we continue to put one foot in front of the other.  Doing what we can, with what we have, from where we are. 

I am thankful to Suzanne’s team at AWHC.  I can tell you honestly that when this all started, I had no idea AT ALL what I was doing, how ANYTHING worked or if it was even possible to stop the park from their plans to eliminate these horses.  Those people were critical in helping educate me on wild horse advocacy processes. Many of those people have become some of the best friends I could ever ask for. 

All I knew was that we had to try anything and everything we could – because as I have said for years now – we only get one chance to save them.  We knew if the park was allowed to remove these horses, they were NEVER going to be part of the landscape of the park again. 

I have also had to take numerous crash courses to educate myself on so many aspects of true advocacy as well as the state and federal legislative processes.  Understanding the federal legislative process and making connections with the Senate committee members staff is what I have been diligently working on for the last month or so. 

I hope all of you enjoy Suzanne’s SubStack.  We forget sometimes to stop and look at how far we have come. 

AND WE REALLY HAVE COME SOOOO FAR!!! Please take a moment to pat yourselves on the back and take in all that we at Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates have accomplished. 

It may help when you look ahead to the finish line.

It seems like we still have a long way to go!  But man!  The path to get here has been one heck of a journey, hasn’t it!?

Suzanne said to me in an email after our talk that, “If the legislation passes it will be a historic victory!”

What we are working on is so much bigger than any of us.  I am proud to be on the right side of this history.  No one can ever tell our story better than we do day in and day out as we continue to work for the BEST management for these historic wild horses. 

The good news is that we have made a TON of true advocate friends along the way.  I have already called upon them, and we are working on a plan for how we get this legislation all the way across the finish line.  There is so much more work to be done! 

If you are a wild horse/animal advocacy organization or wild horse photographer that would like to work with us to spread a unified message to Congress, please email us at info@chwha.org and we will share the details of our latest campaign with you!

Many people have told me that we give the appearance of being a bigger nonprofit than we actually are.  That is a wonderful compliment!  The truth is 99% of the work is done by me personally and every penny goes to make sure we can do what is best for these historic wild horses. 

If you are able to make even the smallest of donations, our very small nonprofit could use your help!  You can make your tax-deductible donation to Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates here: https://secure.everyaction.com/wnK6YjHlTkCC2Aq57_7srQ2

Donations can also be made via PayPal here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=XNYNCNVLTULGC

Thank you again to each and every one of you who has been on this LONNNGGG journey with us!  Nothing we have accomplished would have been possible without you!

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