Wild Horses in Santa Barbara Promote 'Roaming Wild' Movie

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Two Spanish Colonial horses took a stroll through downtown Santa Barbara as part of a promotional tour for the movie "Roaming Wild," featured at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. These horses hail from the "Return to Freedom" ranch in nearby Lompoc, which is prominently featured in Sylvia Johnson's film.

Johnson hopes the film will inspire the public to engage with the complex issues surrounding wild horses and their habitats. "There are different alternatives and better solutions than are currently happening. A better understanding of the different perspectives is crucial, as it is much more complex than a black and white story," said Johnson, who traveled to several western states for filming.

The two horses, Isidoro and Ynez, were led by Neda Demayo from Return to Freedom. "Some of the horses at the sanctuary in Lompoc are from rare breeds. These horses are direct descendants of Padre Kino's original horses that came from Spain in the 1600s," Demayo explained.

The horses were a hit with pedestrians on State St., drawing attention from Cota St. to Anapamu St. The first screening of the movie was scheduled for that evening at the Museum of Art, with a second showing on Saturday at the Metro 4 Theatre at 2 p.m.

Originally reported by KEYT NewsChannel 3.