‘The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses’ premieres on PBS

The feature documentary was executive produced by Robert Redford, Patti Scialfa Springsteen and Jessica Springsteen

NEW YORK, July 16, 2024—The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses, an award-winning feature documentary about the plight of wild horses in the West, premieres on PBS stations this month in New York, Philadelphia and Miami. There are additional broadcast dates throughout the country in August and September, as well as a national broadcast in August on the public television WORLD Channel.

The film, which was produced by Steven Latham Productions, made its initial debut on streaming VOD platforms in 2021.

Their ‘last stand’

The film was executive produced by Robert Redford, Patti Scialfa Springsteen and Jessica Springsteen. “America’s wild horses are fighting their last stand,” said Executive Producer Robert Redford.

Poster for "The Mustangs: America's Wild Horses"
Poster for “The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses”

“Increasing competition for our natural resources threatens our wilderness areas, our wild horses and other wildlife species. Horses are interwoven into the very fabric of what is America. What threatens them threatens us all.”

There are nearly 80,000 wild horses on public lands and more than 60,000 in government corrals. Centered on the current controversy surrounding the preservation of these American icons, the film highlights individuals and groups across the United States who are working with wild horses, including an organization that pairs mustangs and veterans with PTSD.

Other stories include photographers documenting mustangs in the wild and a group that helps manage population growth with fertility control. Also featured are the legacy of “Wild Horse Annie,” who mobilized a grassroots campaign with schoolchildren in the 1970s to protect wild horses; and a sanctuary in California named Return to Freedom that reunites mustangs rounded up on the range.

Soundtrack and giving back

The 90-minute documentary boasts a soundtrack with songs by American musical icons Bruce Springsteen (“Chasin’ Wild Horses”), Emmylou Harris (Leonard Cohen’s “Ballad of a Runaway Horse”) and Willie Nelson (“Ride Me Back Home”). Also included is the original song “Never Gonna Tame You,” performed by Platinum-selling artist Blanco Brown and written by iconic songwriter Diane Warren, a 15-time Oscar® nominee and GRAMMY®, Emmy® and two-time Golden Globe® award winner.

TIn addition, the film highlights the work of Operation Wild Horse, an organization that pairs mustangs with veterans who have PTSD. Consulting Producer Gerry Byrne, a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran and prominent veterans’ activist, comments, “The Mustangs highlights the importance of addressing the pressures of PTSD and the ‘hidden wounds of war.’ I commend the film for showcasing the work of veterans who are making a difference.”

‘Bedrock ideals’

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Philipps (Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth and Future of the Mustang) made an appearance in the film, as well. “The wild horse is so ingrained in the American imagination that even for those who have never seen one know what it stands for: fierce independence, unbridled freedom, the bedrock ideals of the nation,” he said. “From car ads to high school mascots, the wild horse—popularly known as the mustang—is the enduring icon of America. But in modern times it has become entangled in controversy and bureaucracy, and now its future is in question.”

“America’s wild horses represent freedom, strength and resilience,” said Emmy Award-Winning Producer and Co-Director Steven Latham. “So many people are unaware of the challenges the mustang faces to survive in a changing world.”

New challenges

In 1900, there were two million wild horses in the West. By the 1950s, there were fewer than 20,000 due to their exploitation. After a federal law passed in 1971 to protect wild horses, their population started growing.

Today, the Bureau of Land Management says there should be about 26,000 wild horses on public lands across 10 Western states. Wild mustang numbers have risen in modern times to upwards of 80,000, and the film explores the challenges of managing an expanding population with no natural predators. The Bureau of Land Management plans on rounding up 20,000 wild horses a year.

Watch the film trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSWEC0buBq0&t=3s.

Click here for PBS station airdates: https://www.facebook.com/TheMustangsFilm/.

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