EQUUS Film & Arts Fest is galloping its way into the Corrales and Albuquerque on Nov. 16-19. The Fest that made it possible to share every horse’s story whether that be through film, art, or literature originally opened its doors in 2013 in the historic Arcada Theater in the town of St. Charles, Illinois. It has since moved around the country but has now found its home base in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Fest is set to have panels and screenings of featured horse films throughout the weekend, along with the educational program, The Mustang Summit. The Mustang Summit was created as a part of an initiative to expand Mustang education to the horse-loving community.
This year the EQUUS Film & Arts Fest has partnered with Loving Thunder Therapeutic Riding in Corrales, who will host The Mustang Summit events on Nov. 17-18.
Loving Thunder will start their hosting duties on the first day of the Festival by hosting the Opening Evening VIP Event. This first event will allow attendees the opportunity to meet presenters, authors, and trainers, who will be featured at the event. The dinner itself is set to have brisket, roasted vegetables, apple cobbler, along with beer and wine from around the region. “It’ll be really fun and so it’ll be a kind of rustic outdoor ranch dinner,” said Dana Quinn, Development Director at Loving Thunder Therapeutic Riding.
Once the Opening Evening VIP Dinner ends the main events of the Festival start, including the Mustang Summit. Tickets to the fundraiser are $100.
“The Mustang Summit, which is an educational component to tell people about some of the issues, questions, and things that are going on with Mustang horses right now,” said Lisa Diersen, Founder/Director of the EQUUS Film & Arts Fest. During this year’s Mustang Summit there will be six yearling Mustangs who will be available for adoption after the summit.
The yearlings will be worked over the course of three days during the summit. “The BLM (Bureau of Land Management) is going to have six untouched Mustangs that they gathered and there will be six trainers from around the country that will come here and then work their magic,” said Quinn. At the end of the summit all yearlings will be auctioned off into approved homes.
Along with hosting the Mustang Summit, Loving Thunder is also hosting the various panels for the EQUUS Film & Arts Fest. Each panel will discuss issues such as healthy mustang gathers, mustangs in holding, competitive events, kill pens, youth programs, and so much more.
Once the fun and educational days end at Loving Thunder, the Festival will be screening a selection of Mustang and Wild Horse Documentaries in Albuquerque, at Hotel Chaco. The films will start showing at 4 p.m. and will go until 9 p.m. on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. On Nov. 19 the films will begin screening at 4 p.m.
Following the final screenings on Sunday, Nov. 19 the EQUUS Film & Art Fest will host its EQUUS WINNIE Awards. Tickets to the event range from $20-$250.
If you are interested in attending the EQUUS Film & Art Fest whether it be to see the Mustang Summit or the unique selection of horse films you can purchase tickets at http://www.equusfilmfestival.net/equus.html.