Campbell Ranch Preserve

San Pedro Creek Preserve

Location: Campbell Ranch Preserve, Tijeras, New Mexico
7 Miles north on State Road 14, from the I-40 Tijeras exit (East of Albuquerque)
28,000 acres, limited entry: must be accompanied by member in good standing.

The San Pedro Creek Preserve, the first of ten planned preserves, was establish in February of 2001. A 10,000 acres roaming agreement was given to the New Mexican Horse Project by Robert Gately, the president of the Campbell Corporation in an attempt to establish a home for these horses where they will be free from human molestation.

The first placement of wild horses, the "Lonnie Sales band," occurred in July of 2001. Over 200 individuals, along with a crew from CNN, attended the release. Many just interested in seeing wild horses, others truly interested in the preservation of these magnificent creatures.

We met at the San Pedro Creek Information Center and from there we went out to the release site. As the onlookers waited for the horses to be released, a trio of musicians, a flutist, a harpist and a guitarist, played. The relaxing sounds flowed up the arroyo and the onlookers became quiet, the time had come to release the first horses onto their new home, where they would now be able to live their lives in the wild with minimal human contact and interference.

The gate to the trailer holding the stallion opened and a hush came over the crowd. After a few seconds of anticipation the dark blue roan stallion burst out of his confinement. Mane flowing, nostrils flaring, and high stepping like a parade horse he bolted up the eastside of the arroyo into a cluster of pinon trees and out of sight. As the stallion crested the top of the arroyo the two mares with their foals were released. Following the path of the stallion the two of the mares and one of the foals darted into the trees, but in all the excitement one of the mares, Reyna, left behind her foal. The young colt after getting out of his trailer just stopped and looked at the people who were watching him. As the little colt stood there, curious, but also confused by abandonment by his mother, he started to whinny. He cried out searching for his for his mother again and again without and reply.

After what seemed to be minutes, but probably only seconds, we heard an loud reply from the little colt's mother, who was hiding in the trees about 300 yards up the hill to the east of the arroyo, just out of sight of the onlookers. The young colt looked in the direction of his mother’s replies but refused to move up the embankment toward the sounds. After and minute or two of back and forth calling without an attempt of movement from either the mare or the colt Gerry Cosper, the projects Veterinarian, scooped up the colt and carried him up the embankment to the top of the arroyo and placed him where he thought he heard the sounds of the mother coming from. The little colt again just stood their whinnying. Gerry tried to push to colt toward the sounds of the mother but to no avail. All of a sudden from on top of the hill a cloud of dust arouse and a black figure came running down toward the young horse. As the figure neared the colt we saw it was the stallion. Those of us that knew that young foals are sometimes killed by stallions that have just taken over a band, held are breath. But as the stallion neared the colt he stopped. After sniffing the young horse the stallion gently nuzzled him in the direction of his mother and the two horses trotted off together into the trees.