Wild Horse Redemption plucks the heart strings like a banjo!

0 Comments POSTED: September 10, 2007 13:33 | By: Katarina Collins

It may be a cliché, but it?s true: few things are sexier than an honest, hard working cowboy. If that cowboy happens to also run a program that rehabilitates prison inmates by teaching them to train wild mustangs, well, it?s pretty much love at first sight. The Wild Horse Redemption is a film that?s hard not to fall in love with.

The program is designed to save at least some of the tens of thousands of wild horses in the American southwest ? a rapidly growing population that simply can?t be housed on range lands. Of course, the program doesn?t just save horses. It also saves the men who participate.

?There are similarities between the wild horses and the inmates,? says Brian Hardin, the capable cowboy who runs the program. Director John Zaritsky spent six months shooting at the Canon City prison facility, and the result is a stunning and deeply touching documentary that asks a very tough question ? can two wild creatures ? a prison inmate and a wild mustang ? help each other find peace, tranquility, and perhaps a better life?

Zaritsky came to Toronto for the premiere of the film with four of the men who work in the program ? when the four took the stage after the screening, in their matching cowboy hats, shiny belt buckles, tight jeans and boots, the audience?s applause was long and heartfelt. These men are the genuine article, and they do their work with passion and heart that can be felt throughout the film.

The program has been going on since 1986, and though there aren?t any statistics on how many of the inmates don?t re-offend after participating, estimates place it at 50% - compared to the 80% who return to prison without a program like this.

Of course, the audience was curious to find out what happened to Jon Peterson, an inmate profiled in the film, and his horse Samson.

Director Zaritsky answered: Jon is still in a halfway house ? working at his landscaping job. Samson is now in a long-term facility being looked after and I guess I should let everybody know I?ve decided to adopt him.

The Wild Horse Redemption screens again on Wednesday Sept. 12 at 9:30pm at the ROM, and Friday Sept. 14 at 11:45am at the Varsity.