First wild horse adoption of 2023 takes place this Saturday

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -In Saturday’s Wild Horse Adoption at Stewart Conservation Camp in Carson City, the audience will see the inmates and their horses do a routine to “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”

For some of the riders, it will be the first time they show off their horses to the outside world. For others, this is their chance to see how far they have come in their horse training skills.

For Hugo Rodriguez, his horse Chanel is one of a handful he’s trained in the past 14 months.

“Very challenging,” says Rodriguez. “Every day horses are in different moods, every horse is different so yeah it is challenging.”

He says he took more time on Chanel. That’s because he had more time.

With the March adoption canceled, instead of 90 days, some of these horses have had several months more time under saddle.

And there will be more horses to choose from; 21 to be exact. It’s the largest adoption at the Stewart Conservation Camp in recent memory. The inmates have been working hard and have put the horses through their paces. Working in the arena, and on obstacles that many of the horses take in stride.

Rodriguez says in his time here, he now understands this program is more about what the inmate gets from the horse rather than the other way around.

“They taught me a lot of patience. How to humble myself. Humility,” says Rodriguez.

Even getting used to our news camera is a new learning experience for the horses. But it’s good practice as there will probably be plenty of picture-taking on Saturday as these inmates say goodbye to some of the best teachers they will ever have.

“I always tell my fellow co-workers, out here being out here is therapy for us because sometimes these horses are smarter than human beings,” says Rodriguez.

The 21 horses up for adoption can be previewed Saturday, June 3, beginning at 9:00 in the morning at the Stewart Conservation Camp located at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center.

The Bureau of Land Management has pictures and video of the horses with descriptions of each on their website.

Here are the links: https://on.doi.gov/2jE05uy. (copy and place in address bar)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_EpGhIdy7syge3n03nD4S5wb4vNe8I_v. (copy and place in YouTube search bar)

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