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Bella and Me |
"When I was just a kid, I loved reading story books about the mustangs, and I always wanted one," she said. In the 1980's she got her wish when she went in partnership with another horse woman who'd adopted a mustang from a Lewisbury, PA Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding center. She asked Donna to train the horse, and Donna fell in love. Donna trained the mustang mare, Prairie Star, in true whisperer fashion – long before most people ever heard about horse whispering – and she knew she had to have more of these fabulous animals. Going back to the Pennsylvania center, she adopted Cimarron Sioux, then Nevada Red, and she trained them also. Following that, she rescued Sundance and Cochise, who'd been adopted by others but not taken care of. Donna stepped in and saved them, and she's had them ever since. Donna helped to bring three mustang adoptions to the Niagara County Cooperative Extension Center in Lockport, New York. She is proud that at each adoption all the mustangs were adopted. Donna became the local voice of the mustang, urging newspapers to do write-ups about them, and urging a local feature writer to attend a local adoption and write about it. That feature writer was this author, and I became so hooked on the mustangs that I adopted my own at the next BLM adoption event. Donna helped me train Brandy, and she was the kindest, gentlest horse I've ever known. All of Donna’s horses have been titled by the BLM and registered by the American Indian Horse Registry. Donna has had all her horses' blood tested. They were shown to be descendants of the Spanish Barb except for Sioux, who was found to have Baskur Curly in her heritage.
While some may argue that the modern mustang is a mongrel, made up of abandoned horses left to roam the wilderness, Donna thinks that's a blessing. "No man interfered with their growth development. Mustangs have every breed of horse in them, which makes them the best horse in the world." Donna trains horses for the Niagara County Sheriff's mounted division, doing spook proofing, training for terrorist attacks, practicing in parades and preparing for border patrols. "I teach them to withstand pressure, like fire trucks and police sirens. I train them to get used to music and stereo systems," she said. She and her husband are both members of the mounted division and both ride mustangs on patrol. Donna and her horses Cochise and Red have entertained at the Kentucky Horse Park experience. She and others with mustangs met with Peter Stone, owner of Breyer, at the Bob Evans Ranch in Ohio and received honors and ribbons, and got a standing ovation for their performance. Donna's friend from Canada, Sonja Fizner, performed musical dressage with Donna astride mustangs at the Kentucky Horse Park, with the horses "dancing" to a soundtrack Donna wrote called "Mustang." The music was performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and taped to play at the event. Donna had written the song as one of a series in honor of her late son, Donny, a star swimmer who was preparing for the Olympics at the time of his death, killed by a drunk driver. Donny was always an advocate of the mustangs and shared his mother's excitement for them. Donna’s proud of how well Red has adapted to all phases of riding; including English, western, dressage, hackney and vaulting (gymnastics on horseback). Nowadays Donna spends most of her days in her large facility, taking care of her own horses and others that board with her. She gives riding lessons in her indoor arena, and always has time to stop and chat with visitors, especially happy to tell them the story of the mustangs. She has piles of articles and photos showing her work with the mustangs, and she hopes each article will encourage more people to investigate adopting a mustang. Her other children, who are all grown, still help in her barn. Her daughter, Joelle, enjoys trail riding behind the barn, and she says mustangs are the best horse to take a trail ride on. "They're more sensible, more alert. They can sense wildlife but won't spook as easily as domesticated horses. They've seen it all on the range and they're used to wildlife." Her son, Allen Jr., is shown in the book The Wild Horse, An Adopter's Manual. How to Select, Train and Care for a Feral Horse, by Barbara Eustis-Cross and Nancy Bowker. Allen's photo is on page 198 and was taken at a cavalry class event held in Ohio at the Bob Evans Ranch. The caption says, "This former wild horse and his rider echo the hoof beats of yesterday." Donna hopes the hoof beats of yesterday will continue on through many tomorrows, so future generations can experience the thrill of adopting a wild horse from the public lands managed by the BLM. Top of page |
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Official Newsletter of the National Wild Horse and Burro Program
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Although Donna Richards lives in western New York, thousands of miles away from the rugged west where mustangs still run wild, she has been enamored by them for the past thirty-five years and she is now known as the “Mustang Lady” among the horsy set in her area. 
Donna and her equines have been all over the Eastern United States and to Canada. She is eager to promote horse rescue in North America, and will talk to anyone who shows interest and tell them the heritage of her fine steeds.