A Horse Named Cloud Inspires Colorado Springs Exhibit and Film Series

Ginger Kathrens, an Emmy award-winning producer and cinematographer, discovered a remarkable subject while filming in the Pryor Mountains on the Montana border. This subject was Cloud, a young colt with a glimmering white coat, following his mother, a Palomino mare named Phoenix. Over the next 15 years, Kathrens documented Cloud's life, creating a series of films that brought attention to the plight and beauty of wild horses.

Kathrens has produced three films about Cloud, with the latest, "Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions," premiering on PBS in 2009 after five years of production. Cloud's story has become a symbol for the preservation of wild horses and burros, highlighting the often harsh methods used by the Bureau of Land Management to remove these animals from private lands.

"I started the Cloud Foundation in hopes that the advocacy could be a voice for their preservation," Kathrens said.

The exhibition, "A Celebration of Wild Horses through Art and Music," opens Friday, featuring equine artwork from 27 national and local artists, including Lindsey Bittner Graham, Barbara Meikle, Lani Zlanderen, and Tracy Miller. The exhibit will run through August 31.

Kathrens will speak about her work with Cloud at the reception. She continues to follow Cloud and hopes to focus on his offspring, Cloud Encore, in a new project she is filming.

Originally published by The Gazette.