American Cinematographer - February 1988 - 31

A

controversy raged be¬

tween livestock interests

side and wild horse
on

on

one

at the wild

horse

non-native intruder

was

as

a

feral,

causing de¬

had determined that

roundup

was

going

on

as¬
a

in the Pryor
Pryor

Mountains of Montana. The
Mountains

lands.

wild horse

are

the nation's first

Act. The U.S. Bureau of Land Man¬

refuge and therefore of
significance. With little prepara¬
tion, we got on the road and drove
through a howling snowstorm
from Salt Lake City to Lovell, Wyo¬
ming, a small town on the Montana-Wyoming border.

agement is in the middle of the
issue and provoked argument by

rounded out

The rest of the

This

livestock interests.

weather

At any rate, research con¬
firmed the elements for a very good

we were

dynamic issue painted
dramatic canvas with a
timely importance.

project:

a

upon a
sense of

Wild Horses,
submitted

Wild Times

project proposal
to Toni Egger who is director of
program development for National
Geographic Explorer in February,
1987. By March, the project had
been approved for production. As is
was

often the

case,

as a

events controlled the

shooting schedule. Production be¬

crew

was

by myself as producerdirector and cinematographer, as¬
sociate producer Elizabeth Searles,

implementing extensive roundups
on
public lands. A
report was also initiated recom¬
mending killing excess horses re¬
moved from western rangelands.
Horse protectionists argue that the
BLM is bowing to pressure from
of wild horses

Elstad, and soundman Mike Miles.
was a seasoned crew, all of

whom had worked
team

on numerous

taries.

The whir of the ropes
on

sistant,

struction of western

public rangeThey want that range for
sheep and cattle grazing. Horse
protectionists argue that the wild
horse does miniscule damage to
the range and should be protected
by the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro

the project

soon as

Jeff Elstad, production

protectionists

the other. Livestock interests

look

almost as
approved.

gan

together as a
PBS documen¬

Upon arrival in Lovell, the
miraculously cleared and
treated to

a

romantic vi¬

sion of the Old West.
Britton

Springs is a wild
holding facility run by the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Lynn Taylor and the cowboys of
Britton Springs were preparing for
a wild horse
roundup in the Pryor
horse

intrudes
cowboy conversation. Leather

creaks

The

the

are
roped and prepared for
day; lariats are unlimbered.

February 1988

cowboys load the sad¬

le with communications. A

sense

of

excitement

pervades as the cow¬
boys search for the wild band. A
small band of bighorn sheep look
down at our camera position. Sud¬
denly, wild horses are running di¬
rectly at our camera position with
cowboys in pursuit. They are roped
and transported back to Britton
Springs.
At Britton Springs, the sor¬
ting and preparation for adoption
begins. The BLM has an adoption
program whereby the public can
adopt or buy a wild horse. The
horses are forced into the roping
arena where
they will be lip-tat¬
tooed for identification. One of the

wranglers has backed up a flatbed
truck against the corral for our
camera
position.
The wild stallion sprints,
lariats whirling behind him. The
noose

horses

cinched and

gin. After arrival, we wait at our
position as the radios crack¬

eyes

the wooden corral. Saddle

are

camera

fireplace
near

saddles

dle horses in trailers for the short
ride to where the roundup will be¬

Mountains. Smoke rises from the

as saddles are brought
from the bunkhouse and placed

as

tightened.

settles around his neck

as

his

bulge in protest. As he stomps

and snorts around the arena, an¬
other rope circles his back legs and
with an abrupt halt, he is flipped to
the

ground and held fast. He is

American

Cinematographer

29
American Cinematographer - February 1988

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