January 2005

Dear Friends, Family and Faithful members of Let ’em Run,

It’s New Year’s weekend and we’re having the biggest blizzard of the season so far. Picture, as I begin this winter newsletter, yours truly is curled up in a big comfortable chair watching it howl and blow outside. From the upstairs window looking out over the mountains and seeing the pinion pines under their thick blanket of snow, I am reminded once again how beautiful the Highlands are during these fierce winter storms, and am glad to be here, snug in our cozy cedar cabin.

It being New Years, let me first say that all of us here at LERF feel so very thankful to all of you out there who have generously supported our work over these past 5 years. We thank all of you, too, for your continued support of our on-going projects. I’d like to tell you what your donations have helped us to do over the past year.

Firstly, your generosity has made it possible for us to donate funds to help promote the programs of the following local horse advocate groups:

To the VRWPA, which is our local Comstock Wild Horse Advocate group; It feeds, does rescues and adoptions, and cares for the sick, orphaned and injured Comstock horses. VRWPA is also conducting some population control experiments here on the Virginia Range.

To the LRTC (Least Resistance Training Concepts); The folks in this wonderful group are wild horse gentling experts who, in addition to gentling, do extended educational outreach. This includes frequent clinics teaching trailer safety, “bomb proofing,” hoof care, and one-on-one mentoring for wild horse adopters. This group participated in fire and other emergency evacuations here, and they also work with the Warm Springs Prison and the BLM with wild horse adoptions. They are currently the top adoption agency here in Nevada. In addition, they are involved in several youth programs including 4-H and the Coeur d'Alene tribes Native American youth program in Idaho.

To the Wild Horse Preservation League; This group is a “watchdog organization” which closely monitors wild horse related issues and activities of the BLM and the Nevada Department of Agriculture. They work hard lobbying at the legislature to implement more compassionate and progressive policies for wild horses and they keep the media informed on these matters.

To the Youth Program of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe in Idaho; to help with feeding the Comstock horses which were given to the tribe for their youth. The tribe hopes to encourage the young people to understand their heritage and maintain and reinstate their historical relationship with horses. A widespread drought caused a hay shortage in parts of Idaho this year.

In addition we have been able to pay grant writers to construct a preliminary Congressional Appropriations request for the federal court, and have begun to organize a request for Question 1 grant moneys from the state to purchase property around the Miramar Mine property. The mine property is near Virginia City on 6 Mile Canyon Road where we intend to create our Wild Horse Sanctuary and on-going mining reclamation demonstration site. This will encourage heritage tourism to The Comstock: The largest historical landmark district in the U.S., and sadly under visited.

Because of you, our dedicated and generous director Olivia Fiamengo, and our great and good staff of volunteers, we have been able to maintain the Wild Horse Museum & Gift Shop in Virginia City. Here all local wild horse advocacy groups are encouraged to display their newsletters, membership information and to sell their tee shirts, hats, etc., to raise money for their various activities. This project won the Governor’s Award for Tourism in 2003! Olivia also does an incredible educational outreach program by taking a wild horse (usually a baby) out to area schools for an hour long presentation. This includes 1/2 hour classroom instruction about the animals, and then a 1/2 hour of “hands-on” touching and experimenting first hand with the baby horse itself. The kids just love this program and many of the teachers have asked Liv to come back a second time! The baby horses really enjoy these outings, too.

So as you can see, you have made an enormous difference in the world with your support of the Let ’em Run Foundation. We can do these wonderful things because of you and the generosity of spirit with which you have given so much over the years. May God bless you for your help!

Thank you all so very much,

Lacy J Dalton