{"id":22663,"date":"2025-04-15T19:34:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T19:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/equus-mustang-matinee-set-for-april-19-at-totah-theater\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:15:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:15:29","slug":"equus-mustang-matinee-set-for-april-19-at-totah-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/equus-mustang-matinee-set-for-april-19-at-totah-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"Equus Mustang Matinee set for April 19 at Totah Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Bailey
Bailey Cloer with her mustang Thor. (Photo\/Courtesy Laura Harper)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Totah Theater comes alive Saturday as the Equus Mustang Matinee takes center stage in Farmington, thanks to more than a year of collaborative effort by the San Juan County Historical Society and its president, Laura Harper.<\/p>\n

Featuring film shorts, teasers and exclusive screenings, the event celebrates art, literature and film of horses and culminates in Harper\u2019s film \u201cMustang of the Carracas Mesa.\u201d<\/p>\n

It all gets underway at 1 p.m. with the introduction of authors, artists and filmmakers for a panel discussion, and artist and author presentations, hosted by Harper.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s been a year of people joining in to contribute and donate for this great cause of bringing art, literature and film to our downtown Main Street,\u201d said Harper.<\/p>\n

Equus Film and Arts Fest<\/a> got involved in November, Harper said, adding they \u201cintroduced me to this life of film \u2026 they were the first to recognize my movie \u2018Mustang of the Carracas Mesa,\u2019 and they awarded it honorable mention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cAnnabella
\u201cAnnabella of the Carracas,\u201d painting by Jodie Brenner. (Courtesy Laura Harper)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\n

Equus Film and Arts<\/h4>\n

Saturday, April 19 \u200b<\/strong>Location:<\/strong> The Historic Totah Theater, 315 W. Main St. Farmington. \u200b<\/p>\n

Doors open:<\/strong> 12:45 p.m.<\/p>\n

1 p.m.:<\/strong> Introducing the Equus authors, artists and filmmakers. Q&A: Randi Samuelson Brown, Jodie Brenner, Ati Maier, Laura Harper. \u200b<\/p>\n

1:10 p.m.: <\/strong>Panel \u201cA Look Into the Treasure Chest of Mustang History\u201d \u200bQ&A: Dusty Pierce, Sarah Annon, Mike Leonard, Roch Hart. \u200b<\/p>\n

2 p.m.: <\/strong>Up-close with artist Jodie Brenner, The Wild Mare Series. \u200bQ&A: Jodie Brenner. \u200b<\/p>\n

2:15 p.m.: <\/strong>Up-close with Author Randi Samuelson Brown, \u201cThe Western Horse: A History of the Wild and Working Animal.\u201dQ&A: Randi Samuelson Brown \u200b<\/p>\n

2:45 p.m.:<\/strong> Intermission (15 minutes). The lobby bar is open. \u200b<\/p>\n

3 p.m.: <\/strong>Equus block (50 minutes.) \u200b\u201cHOOVES\u201d trailer.\u201cBreathe\u201d (horses for mental health). \u200b\u201cGet the Mind and the Feet Will Follow\u201d (trailer). \u200b\u201cHorsepower\u201d (Australia). \u200b\u201cA Mustang Story\u201d (short). \u200b\u201cThe Mustangs, an American Story\u201d (short). \u200b<\/p>\n

3:55 p.m.: <\/strong>Winning student film and student Q&A. \u200b<\/p>\n

4:15 p.m.:<\/strong> Intermission (15 minutes). Lobby bar is open. \u200b<\/p>\n

4:30 p.m.: <\/strong>Film \u201cCarrizo The Inspiration.\u201dQ&A with Victor A. Abeyta, Martha I. Abeyta, Jose R. Abeyta.\u200b<\/p>\n

5:30 p.m.<\/strong>: Films \u201cMustang of the Carracas Mesa\u201d and \u201cProphecy of the Encounter.\u201d \u200bQ&A: Laura Harper, Ati Maier. \u200b<\/p>\n

6:30 p.m.: <\/strong>Lobby meet-and-greet, exhibit and social time. \u200bArt and books for sale. \u200b<\/p>\n

7 p.m.: <\/strong>Doors close. \u200b <\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>: Schedule is subject to change without notice. \u200b<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Harper said there will be 11 teasers in film shorts, and she\u2019ll show a 30-minute episode that features two mustangs from \u201cMustang of the Caracas Mesa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harper said the idea is to tell history through horses. A tribute to Cabresto, the mustang who\u2019s been in the forest for 30 years, will kick things off.<\/p>\n

Next, a historic presentation traces the Genizaro and Tom\u00e9 settlements up to the present-day Jicarilla Apache tribe in northern New Mexico and their relationships with horses.<\/p>\n

The learning experience from Equus was invaluable, Harper said. Lisa Diersen, founder and director of Equus Film and Arts Fest, introduced her to a filmmaker in New York who advised her to divide her film into three episodes.<\/p>\n

DNA of Cabresto revealed the ancestry of the mustang.<\/p>\n

She said it traces back to the \u201csquare horse, which is the horse that is most likely resembles and has the DNA and the confirmation of the Northern Africa Berber horses that would fit conquistador armor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The majestic Cabresto died in February 2025 after 30 years leading his herd of mustangs in Carracas Mesa, about 70 miles northeast of Bloomfield. (Courtesy Laura Harper)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Harper was guided by Mike Atchison as they hiked the canyon through the snow to locate Cabresto\u2019s body in Carracas Mesa, about 70 miles northeast of Bloomfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I were to describe his mane, it would be like a porcelain angel \u2026 and he just was lying there peacefully, like he found his spot in his Cabresto Canyon, and the snow had covered his eyes, and it was just beautiful,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n

Harper will show \u201cThe Mustangs and the Mustangers,\u201d a history of the homesteaders of Middle Mesa, Carracas, Laguna Seca, Carrizo and Gobernador.<\/p>\n

Other films include: Gobernador, NM: the Legend of Andy\u201d; the film short \u201cProphecy of the Encounter,\u201d by Ati Maier; and Bailey Cloer\u2019s, \u201cHeart of Trust,\u201d a story of trust between a broken-down horse named Thor and a healing girl.<\/p>\n

Mike Leonard will give a talk on the oral history of the Jicarilla Apache horses, and Dusty Pierce will discuss horse migrations and the Appaloosa of New Mexico Spanish Colonial horses and Appaloosa of the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

The event, funded by John Beckstead through the San Juan County Historical Society, will donate proceeds to the San Juan Basin Mustang sanctuary.<\/p>\n

Harper threw a shoutout to Charlie Blanco of KOBF-TV, to whom she pitched the story of Cloer, who overcame a fall into an irrigation ditch at 18 months old and fought through adversity until about the age of 12. While working as a volunteer at the Four Corners Equine Rescue, her healing accelerated.<\/p>\n

Producers Mike McDaniel and Kenisha Yazzie were joined by Harper to film Cloer\u2019s story.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s really beautiful is Bailey was the director, and she directed her horse, and it\u2019s a wonderful feeling of a film of trust and heart and overcoming adversity,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n

\"Laura
Laura Harper with her mustang Rambo, adopted in 2014. (Photo\/Courtesy Laura Harper)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Sponsors include San Juan County Historical Society, \u201cMustang of the Carracas Mesa\u201d documentary, Four Corners Equine Rescue, Jicarilla Heritage Alliance and National Mustang Association, Colorado.<\/p>\n

A VIP pass, which includes the program from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., is $28. The general admission program, beginning at 2:30 p.m., is $16.<\/p>\n

Tickets are available at the Farmington Civic Center and online at our.show\/mustang25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article was updated April 15 to correctly spell the name Mike Atchison.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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