November 2021 Issue

Page 10 November 2021 EAST COAST EQUESTRIAN By Lois Szymanski On a balmy day in late Sep- tember, two girls mounted their mustangs in Delaware. It was the start of a 12-month, 5,000-mile ride across America, dubbed The Mustang Discovery Ride©. At various stops they’ll attend events set up to promote the Mustang. A film crew will document their hoofprints along the way. While attending the Art of the Cowgirl Festival in Montana, Lisa Diersen - founder and direc- tor of Equus Film Fest – heard about two mustang trainers who were looking for help putting together a grand American ad- venture. Hannah Catalino and Lis- anne Fea, wanted to ride their mustangs across the United Friends to Ride from Delaware to California to Promote Mustang Adoption States, with a goal of getting 5,000 mustangs adopted. They’d already formed a nonprofit, but sponsorship, planning and imple- mentation had become an over- whelming task. Diersen knew she could help, but she wanted to turn it into something bigger. What if she had a team tag along to film the entire trip? A documentary film would continue to promote the cause even after the ride had ended. Ever since they met - seven years ago at an Extreme Mustang Makeover in Idaho - 26-year-old Hannah and 28-year-old Lisanne had talked about doing something together. “When Covid interrupted our lives, we thought it was a good time to do an American adven- ture,” Hannah said. “Initially, I was thinking we would do a north to south ride, like the Pacific Crest trail or the Continental Di- vide Trail. But I have Sickle Cell Trait – a disorder where I can’t be at extreme elevations, and these trails were too high. I told Lisanne to do it without me, but she said no. Then we found the American Discovery Trail, which runs east to west with flexibility to go off route if needed.” The American Discovery Trail looked good to Lisanne. In fact, the pair are now pushing Congress to pass the National Discovery Trail Act - Bill H.R. 4878, making the ADT the first East to West National Trail. “We knew from the start we wanted to ride for the mustangs,” she said. “I thought, 5,000 miles, with 5,000 mustangs adopted from holding pens, was a big goal, but even if we don’t reach 5,000 mustangs, every mus- tang that finds a home is a good thing.” The pair will promote mus- tangs from the Trainer Incentive Program [TIP], part of the Mus- tang Heritage Foundation. Both girls train for the program, which is now their title sponsor. In the program, trainers train the horses to lead, tie and load on a trailer, and then they are adopted at a base rate of $125, Lisanne said. Hannah added more. “We wanted to showcase and stress that you don’t have to adopt a totally wild mustang,” she said. Diersen said the pair will end their ride just north of San Fran- cisco, in wine country. Small documentaries will be made as they go. “Many of our amazing Equus Film makers are on board from all over the country, and they will be joining us in different states,” Diersen said. “We’re going to be doing a coffee table book when it is over, with all the photogra- phers who are joining us along the way.” Diersen tasked director Julianne Neal with putting the footage together for the full doc- umentary. “[The filmmakers] are sending me all their footage and I will be the overall director for the whole thing,” said Neal. “Each [filmmaker] has their own style, so my dilemma will be to blend it all into one film but still preserve their individual styles.” Neal said she loves storytell- ing. “I am just getting to know the girls,” she said. “They each have their own story and so do each of the horses they’re bring- ing along. It’ll be about finding the little side stories, with the goal of adopting out these mus- tangs and finding the right homes for them. I am inspired!” On September 26, the girls left behind the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park in Dela- ware. The journey began with four American Mustangs and a curious wild-born molly Mules- tang – set to cover 12 states in 12 months. Hannah, who is from White- hall, Montana, shared that the pair is traveling with their dogs, Phrya and Kayuh. “It has not only been excit- ing, but also humbling to see it take on its own life,” she said. “Now it feels like we are just rid- ing it out. It’s something bigger than we ever dreamed of, and I feel grateful and excited.” (Continued on page 23) Day one of the Mustang Discovery ride began with the national an- them. From left, videographer Jacqueline Taylor on Phinneas, Lisanne Fea on Chileno and Hannah Catalino on Rosette set off on a journey that will take them from coast to coast. Photo credit: DSC Photography Order for Christmas Delivery before November 20th!