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08-16-2006, 12:04 AM
LoPopolo Wild Horse Preserve
Protects New Mexico's Wild Horses
By: Ben Moffett - Contributing Writer
© 2006 Ben Moffett - Reprint Permission Granted
(The movie, "Road to El Paso," partly filmed in Socorro and described in the story which follows, is now available on DVD at www.thetexasranch.net (http://www.thetexasranch.net/). A percentage of the profits will go to the New Mexican Horse Project to help protect what director Shiloh Richter calls "the symbol of the story -- the wild horses that, like creativity and the spirit of the West, should always run free.)
******
The brand new Cindy Rodgers LoPopolo Wild Horse Preserve -- a place where cancer patients, especially adults, can go for relaxation -- is off to a great start.
The new facility on three sections of land east of Escondida and Socorro is named in honor of the late wife of Carlos LoPopolo of Los Lunas, its founder. Both had an abiding interest in saving wild horses -- the offspring of horses brought into this country by early Spanish explorers.
The first four wild Spanish mustangs were released there at a June 18, 2006 opening. Then in early July a stallion, mare and foal were added to the herd after they were rescued from the State Cattle Board auction block by preserve founder Carlos LoPopolo and a New Mexico wild horse advocacy group -- the Wild Horse Observers Association (WHOA).
Some of the horses are likely to be seen briefly in a new movie, Road to El Paso, which was partially shot at the Cindy LoPopolo Preserve.
http://sonewmex.com/images/lopopolo_road_to_el_paso.gif
Road to El Paso was partly shot at the Cindy LoPopolo Preserve.
Actress Rawlyn Richter is no wild horse. As one of the film's stars,
she's a beautiful fillie and heaven knows she might be wild too.
But reliable experts tell us she is definitely not a horse! ;)
I recently talked to Shiloh Richter, director of the film, and she was upbeat about the Preserve and the film.
"We are really looking forward to bringing the finished product to New Mexico," she said. The show's premier is scheduled for October in Uvalde, Texas, but she asked me to suggest a good place for a New Mexico premier. I told her Socorro, of course, suggesting either the Garcia Opera House or Macey Center at New Mexico Tech.
The story of the film loosely follows the plot laid out in the Marty Robbins' song, "El Paso," and its sequel, but have nothing to do with Robbins or his music, nor does it use the place names in the songs like "Rosa's Cantina."
The plot follows two timelines -- one contemporary and one set in the mid-1980s, with the plot lines moving back and forth across time.
http://sonewmex.com/images/lopopolo_horse.jpg
A wild horse steps out of a trailer and back into the wilds of the Cindy LoPopolo Wild
Horse Preserve after being purchased by WHOA, an association of New Mexico wild
horse advocates. (Ben Moffett photo)
"When I look at the footage I am always amazed by the New Mexico landscape and the shots we got at the preserve," Richter said.
LoPopolo plans to keep the area as free of modern intrusions as possible to attract the filming industry. Development will include a western main street to add to the ambience.
In the meantime, the horses are doing well. July and August monsoon rains have got the springs in the preserve revved up, and are doing wonders for the native grasses that were somewhat depleted from previous overgrazing and the drought earlier in the year.
(Ben Moffett is a San Antonio, N.M., native, a consummate wordsmith, an expert on outdoor topics, a rapscallion, and a gentleman. He can be contacted at benmoffett@comcast.net).
Protects New Mexico's Wild Horses
By: Ben Moffett - Contributing Writer
© 2006 Ben Moffett - Reprint Permission Granted
(The movie, "Road to El Paso," partly filmed in Socorro and described in the story which follows, is now available on DVD at www.thetexasranch.net (http://www.thetexasranch.net/). A percentage of the profits will go to the New Mexican Horse Project to help protect what director Shiloh Richter calls "the symbol of the story -- the wild horses that, like creativity and the spirit of the West, should always run free.)
******
The brand new Cindy Rodgers LoPopolo Wild Horse Preserve -- a place where cancer patients, especially adults, can go for relaxation -- is off to a great start.
The new facility on three sections of land east of Escondida and Socorro is named in honor of the late wife of Carlos LoPopolo of Los Lunas, its founder. Both had an abiding interest in saving wild horses -- the offspring of horses brought into this country by early Spanish explorers.
The first four wild Spanish mustangs were released there at a June 18, 2006 opening. Then in early July a stallion, mare and foal were added to the herd after they were rescued from the State Cattle Board auction block by preserve founder Carlos LoPopolo and a New Mexico wild horse advocacy group -- the Wild Horse Observers Association (WHOA).
Some of the horses are likely to be seen briefly in a new movie, Road to El Paso, which was partially shot at the Cindy LoPopolo Preserve.
http://sonewmex.com/images/lopopolo_road_to_el_paso.gif
Road to El Paso was partly shot at the Cindy LoPopolo Preserve.
Actress Rawlyn Richter is no wild horse. As one of the film's stars,
she's a beautiful fillie and heaven knows she might be wild too.
But reliable experts tell us she is definitely not a horse! ;)
I recently talked to Shiloh Richter, director of the film, and she was upbeat about the Preserve and the film.
"We are really looking forward to bringing the finished product to New Mexico," she said. The show's premier is scheduled for October in Uvalde, Texas, but she asked me to suggest a good place for a New Mexico premier. I told her Socorro, of course, suggesting either the Garcia Opera House or Macey Center at New Mexico Tech.
The story of the film loosely follows the plot laid out in the Marty Robbins' song, "El Paso," and its sequel, but have nothing to do with Robbins or his music, nor does it use the place names in the songs like "Rosa's Cantina."
The plot follows two timelines -- one contemporary and one set in the mid-1980s, with the plot lines moving back and forth across time.
http://sonewmex.com/images/lopopolo_horse.jpg
A wild horse steps out of a trailer and back into the wilds of the Cindy LoPopolo Wild
Horse Preserve after being purchased by WHOA, an association of New Mexico wild
horse advocates. (Ben Moffett photo)
"When I look at the footage I am always amazed by the New Mexico landscape and the shots we got at the preserve," Richter said.
LoPopolo plans to keep the area as free of modern intrusions as possible to attract the filming industry. Development will include a western main street to add to the ambience.
In the meantime, the horses are doing well. July and August monsoon rains have got the springs in the preserve revved up, and are doing wonders for the native grasses that were somewhat depleted from previous overgrazing and the drought earlier in the year.
(Ben Moffett is a San Antonio, N.M., native, a consummate wordsmith, an expert on outdoor topics, a rapscallion, and a gentleman. He can be contacted at benmoffett@comcast.net).