News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A cross-country road trip is a rite of passage for many young men as they leave college and head out into the "real world." But when your "road trip" is way off the beaten path and your vehicle is a mustang horse, your road trip is something altogether different. And the world you enter is as real as it gets.
"Unbranded," which opens Thursday, September 24, at Sisters Movie House, follows the story of Ben Masters, Thomas Glover, Jonny Fitzsimons and Ben Thamer as they travel through the backcountry from Mexico through the American West up to Canada, with 16 mustangs chosen and trained for the trail. The ride took five-and-a-half months through Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, in famously challenging and beautiful country such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Glacier National Park.
The opening night will include a fundraiser art show/sale, raffle and auction benefiting Mustangs to the Rescue, a local equine charity. Mustangs To The Rescue will be bringing some of their mustangs to opening night. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet "once wild" mustangs and learn about horse rescue, wild horses and the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program.
There will be two showings on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. The 7 p.m. show is sold out. Visit the Sisters Movie House website for tickets at www.sistersmoviehouse.com. Contact Sisters Movie House at 541-549-8800.
The film is a story of gumption - from the riders, from the horses, and from the film-makers. "Unbranded" was crowd-funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which also funded a book.
While the trek was an adventure of a lifetime, there was a deeper purpose - to call attention to the 50,000 wild horses that are in government holding facilities in the United States awaiting adoption. The trek as documented in "Unbranded" is evidence that mustangs can make reliable steeds - and should be adopted. That, of course, dovetails nicely with the mission of Mustangs to the Rescue. The Sisters charity is an all-breeds rescue operation that rehabilitates neglected horses of all kinds - but that includes the iconic mustang.
"Unbranded" is right in the wheelhouse for folks in Sisters Country, who appreciate glorious - and perilous - landscapes and understand the bonds that form between men and women and the animals that share the country with us. Riders and non-riders alike can appreciate the adventure, the personal struggles and triumphs and the depiction of some of the last best places in the West.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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