iVIEW
with Gina McKnight
and H. Alan Day
H. Alan Day is the coauthor of
The Horse Lover: A Cowboy’s
Quest to Save the Wild
Mustangs. In this heartfelt
memoir, Day tells how
he purchased Mustang
Meadows Ranch, near St.
Francis, South Dakota,
with the idea of turning its
35,000 acres into a sanctuary to
preserve and protect the
mustangs being warehoused by
the United States government.
He successfully lobbied
Congress, and Mustang
Meadows Ranch became the first government-sponsored wild horse sanctuary
in the United States.
He then relates his personal relationship with fifteen hundred wild mustangs and
his adventures at Mustang Meadows Ranch, which included the dangers,
frustrations, joys, and heartbreak of balancing the bureaucratic requirements of
the United States Bureau of Land Management with the needs of America’s
wild horses.
Gina McKnight: When was your first encounter with a horse?
H.Alan Day: I’m sure I was on a horse in front of my dad or one of our cowboys
before I event turned one. But what I remember is being about three years old
riding Chico. He was a little bay horse that had been captured out o f a wild
horse group near the ranch. He was the best child’s horse I’ve ever seen and was
completely patient and knew how fast or slow to go. If the rider fell off, he
would stop and not move a muscle until the rider got back on. He was my
babysitter and partner for many years.
GMK: Tequila, Aunt Jemina, Saber: which is your favorite?
HAD: Saber. He was super horse. Intelligent, muscular, strong, loving. That’s
why I dedicated an entire chapter to him in my book.