"Wild Heart Song" [Guest Spot featuring Deb Lee Carson]
A WILD HORSE LOVE STORY FOR THE AGES
Everyone who has followed the saga of Cloud is likely familiar with his lovely palomino daughter, Encore. Born to Feldspar and Cloud later in his life, Encore’s tale has been touched with tragedy and sorrow.
In 2015, Encore witnessed Cloud’s epic battle as he fought the burly band stallion Doc to keep his family. Cloud lost his battle and in the melee, young Encore was captured by a group of rowdy young bachelor stallions. Ginger later found a bedraggled Encore standing in the pouring rain, looking forlorn, separated from her mother Feldspar and her dear older brother, Mato Ska.
As fortune would have it, a diminutive young dun roan stallion named Knight became her savior and protector. Despite being smaller than his bachelor friends, he battled them all for months to claim Encore as his own. Encore and Knight have been together, an inseparable pair, ever since. In 2019, they brought their first foal into the world, a strong young colt named Tor.
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPH “WILD HEART SONG”
By Deb Lee Carson
“All mountain landscapes hold stories: the ones we read, the ones we dream, and the ones we create.” ~ George Michael Sinclair Kennedy
Surrounded by the white of Yarrow, the periwinkle of Forget-Me-Nots, the seed heads of Pasque flowers, the blue of Beardtongue, and other abundant wild flowers deep in the pines of the Pryor Mountains are the lovebirds of the Pryor Wild Horse Range, Knight and Encore! Their story rivals that of Flax and Mischief in Theodore Roosevelt National Park!
Knight, a 2010 Pryor mountain stallion, orphaned at the tender age of one, had become the loyal protector of the pretty, 2013 daughter of Cloud, Encore, who was stolen by bachelors as a mere yearling.
These two colorful mustangs of royal descent and their wild herd live high on an isolated mountain, rich in archaeological history, scattered with geological contributions that are breathtaking called the Pryor mountains. The Pryor's are located in the very southern region of central Montana and spill over into the cowboy state of Wyoming, tucked between the mighty Big Horns and massive Beartooth mountains, forty miles to the west.
We (Jamie and I) quietly followed them through the pine forest just south of one of the popular water holes. We were both thoroughly enamored with the light, the colors, the landscape, and as the sun continued to slide behind the mountain above us, the young Encore enamored and proud of her Knight, honored his strength. At that moment was when the story was captured, immortalizing the bond between this wild Pryor stallion and his pretty mare!
We thanked them profusely for allowing us human interlopers into their home to witness them in that mountain landscape, their wild world, and for each time we walked away and Knight would whinny, we thanked them for that also!
THE RAFFLE
Thanks to the wonderful generosity of wild horse photographer and Wild Lands, Wild Horses co-creator, Deb Lee Carson, TCF is thrilled to offer you the chance to own this truly one-of-a-kind piece.
Title: Wild Heart Song, LE 1/1
Value: $1275
Image Size: 24w x 16h
Framed Size: 32w x 24 1/2h
Frame: Wood, Ebony Black
Mat: 8 ply white
Protection: UV Acrylic
Finish: Print is spaced to allow pictorial depth when viewing, signed and titled with a graphite pencil, includes a Certificate of Authenticity.
RAFFLE TICKETS
Tickets cost $25 each or 5 for $100…(you receive one free for every $100 spent!)
Your name will go into the drawing once for each ticket purchased. Thus, the more tickets you purchase, the greater your odds are of winning. The ultimate result is left up to fate, and every single ticket holder has a chance!
Best of all…
EVERY PENNY RAISED GOES STRAIGHT TO TCF’S WORK KEEPING WILD HORSES AND BURROS WILD AND FREE!
WHY A RAFFLE?
TCF is blessed with a loyal group of supporters who have followed the story of Cloud and his descendants for decades. We are so very grateful to all the wild horse-loving folks who make our work possible.
TCF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization supported entirely by donations. We do various fundraisers throughout the year to keep our work going — auctions, merchandise sales, live events (pre-Covid). We’ve chosen to hold a raffle in this instance because we want to reach out to our supporters all over the world and from all walks of life. Their devotion to Cloud is not limited by their income, but their ability to participate in fundraising events might be. A raffle gives everyone who buys a ticket a chance to win this totally unique, irreplaceable piece of art!
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Deb Lee Carson grew up on a dairy farm in southeastern Minnesota, surrounded by horses, dairy cattle, and land. This rural upbringing instilled in Deb an unwavering respect for the earth, a tough work ethic, a fierce independence, and a love of the wild.
After Deb’s first encounter with wild horses in 2006, she recognized that wild horses needed a voice. Deb chose to focus her creative eye on her lifelong bond to the horse. She then began to pursue their stories, doing the physically demanding work of photographing wild horses. Tracking them over rugged, isolated, desert and mountainous terrain is not for the feeble or faint-hearted and may only be possible for a limited number of years.
Her subject matter, the wild ones (horses), are wrapped in the silence of the vast, desert range, their freedom bound only to the next sip of water, the next nibble of forage, unfettered only by the relentless watch for rogue stallions, or where to lie down to give birth to new life. The silence of the wilds is hard to find in the cacophony of civilization.
Deb, and her husband, are in this for the long haul. The wild filly, Pinnacles, adopted in 2016, a Blaze daughter from TRNP, is fulfilling her legacy and becoming a voice for the wilds off the range! Everyone who meets her at their farm in rural eastern Minnesota is enamored. They are developing their land for workshops, mentoring programs, and a place to learn about wild horses and yourself, a place for discovery, education and the chance to experience wild. To learn more and view her work, visit her website: https://www.debleecarson.com.