Pryor Profile
~ RAVEN ~

Edition 1, Feb. 2024

Hello, Friends!

Happy Valentine's Day. Welcome to our first Pryor Profile, a monthly who's who in the Pryor Wild Horse Herd!

Our February herd highlight is none other than, RAVEN! The stallion who started it all!

You might know that Raven was Cloud’s father, a stylish black stallion with a large star. But did you know he was also the reason Ginger chose to film her first documentary on mustangs in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range?

Raven’s father was the sorrel stallion Hercules. His mother, a black mare called “The Old Mare.” He was born before the Pryors became an internationally known wild horse range and before the current alphabetical naming conventions were in place.

In 1994, Ginger Kathrens had been asked by Marty Stouffer (Wild America) to do a film about wild horses. While scouting locations throughout the West, all she was seeing of the wild horses was “butts and dust.” Until, at the suggestion of a friend, Ginger and her sister Marian visited the Pryors with the promise of seeing something more interesting than horses heading for the hills at the sight of humans.

Reverend Schweiger, a Lovell, WY local and Pryor herd expert told them that one of the bands on the range had a brand-new foal. So, the following day, Ginger and Marian set out before dawn to find the band and the newborn.

Lo and behold, as the sun began to rise, they found a black stallion at the base of a red butte eating snow. This, Ginger would soon learn, was Raven. She was delighted.

Eating snow was an interesting horse behavior! She set up her camera and began to roll film. With Ginger engrossed in her shooting, Marian soon got bored and started walking back down the road. Decked out in a bright white golf jacket she caught Raven’s eye. His head shot up and he pranced towards her!

Ginger feared this very well could be the end of her sister! Raven eyed Marian, assessing her as a potential threat. Deeming her unworthy of a challenge, he tossed his head and blew a loud snort in her direction. At the sound of Raven’s warning, his band of mares suddenly exploded from the shadows of the red butte where they had been hidden from view. As a group, they all took off running… the new foal in tow.

1995 is of course a year of great importance -- one that truly defined Ginger's career path and was the impetus for growing a worldwide fan base for wild horses and burros! On May 29, 1995, CLOUD WAS BORN, his mother Phoenix bringing him out of the trees right in front of Ginger's camera.

Three foals were born to Raven and his mares that year. The other two were Cloud's sisters, Mahogany and Smokey, who celebrate their 29th birthdays this year! They live with Ginger's good friend, Ann, out in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of Colorado.

Raven was the dominant stallion in the Pryors for many years. His mares included,

Phoenix - the well-known palomino and mother of Cloud.
Isabella - a claybank buckskin and mother of Isabella.
Grumpy Grulla - we can't forget Grumpy Grulla who eventually became part of TCF's Freedom Family!

When he got older, Raven eventually lost his band, as most stallions do. Not long after, the rest of the family was split up. Grumpy Grulla went off with a Forest Service stallion and Phoenix ended up with Diamond for a short time before Hernando claimed her. She stayed with Hernando until her death at the age of 30 in 2022.

Raven is still a legend in the PRWHR. He sired the indomitable Cloud. When Cloud’s daughter, Encore, had her first foal – (Tor) a tiny black colt with a large bright white star – he was an instant reminder of his famous great-grandfather, Raven.

The stallion who started it all.