Run With the Wind …

… and beauty and grace.

One can’t help but be touched by the elegance of wild mustangs running free in the wide open ranges of the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary near Hot Springs, South Dakota.

The horse sanctuary is one in a long list of conservation contributions made by an unassuming man, Dayton Hyde.  We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Hyde and will remember him for sometime.  My guess is he was around 90, but that didn’t seem to stop him from his daily rounds, and from meeting and mixing with some of the visitors to the sanctuary, not to mention watering his grapes.   Dayton is quite an interesting man – a repeat author and recipient of many awards, as we learned from his staff.

Quite amazingly, my father-in-law and Dayton’s paths crossed decades ago, during WWII,  both serving in the Signal Corp with General Patton’s 7th Army.  Dayton remembered my father-in-law’s name, and my husband remembered a story related by his father about a pole-lineman that turned out to be none other than  Mr. Hyde.   What are the chances of a co-incidence like this?

Earlier that morning I arrived at the sanctuary for my scheduled four hour “photography tour” and expected to be one in a group of several photographers.  Instead, the tour was personalized. One on one. I was thrilled.  My guide escorted me by jeep to areas of the sanctuary not seen by the average visitor.  He knew which horses led the herd, and which followed; which were approachable, and which to avoid.  Best of all, he was a photographer and knew what behaviours, lighting and locations, would be conducive to a good image.  The rest was up to me.

It’s my hope that through these photos you’ll appreciate with me  the magnificent beauty and wonder these creatures bring to our world.

You can learn more about Dayton and the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary at http://www.wildmustangs.com

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 “A horse is poetry in motion”  ~ Author Unknown