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Annie changed America and this book will reveal how extraordinary she was.

PRESS RELEASE (Click here to download)

WILD HORSE ANNIE AND THE LAST OF THE MUSTANGS
The Life of Velma Johnston

By David Cruise and Alison Griffiths

“This book captures the essence of the extraordinary life of Velma Johnston and what she was able to accomplish for the American Mustang. All of us who love and admire mustangs and horses in general owe this courageous woman a great debt of gratitude for exposing the plight and possible extinction of this breed. She was the difference in helping make the world a better place for these animals that are part of our western heritage.”
—Monty Roberts, New York Times best-selling author of The Man Who Listens to Horses

“This important addition to the history of mustangs and animal protection laws is highly recommended for animal lovers and Western history buffs.”
—Library Journal, starred review

Publication Date: March 16, 2010

In one of the year’s most stirring biographies, David Cruise and Alison Griffiths paint a vivid portrait of Velma Johnston, an intrepid Nevada secretary whose dedication to wild mustangs captured the heart of the country and led to legislation that would preserve the animals who embody the wild spirit of the American West. WILD HORSE ANNIE AND THE LAST OF THE MUSTANGS: THE LIFE OF VELMA JOHNSTON (Scribner; March 16, 2010; $26.00) is the first to tell the full story of Velma’s life.

In WILD HORSE ANNIE, veteran writers Cruise and Griffiths depict the ups and downs of an extraordinary woman’s life and mission and reveal her lasting legacy.

David Cruise and Alison Griffiths are the authors of seven bestselling books, including Fleecing the Lamb, Lords of the Line, Net Worth, On South Mountain, and The Great Adventure. They spend summers on their small farm in southwestern Ontario and winters in Brooksville, Florida … with their horses of course.
Contact them at wildhorseanniestory@gmail.com. Read the blog: www.wildhorseanniestory.com

More praise for WILD HORSE ANNIE AND THE LAST OF THE MUSTANGS

“It doesn’t get more American than the mustang, and without Wild Horse Annie, we would not have any.  Now, as wild horses are making their last stand, it’s important to honor her legacy and continue the battle.  Thanks to this well-researched and timely book, we can.”
—Deanne Stillman, author of Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West

“The story of how Velma organized support for the survival of the mustangs, and how she and her supporters pushed legislation through Congress to protect the free-ranging wild horses, is an example of how entrenched special interests can exploit publicly held resources and a testament to how much change a determined individual can foster.”
—Booklist

“Velma Johnston (Wild Horse Annie) is one of the most important people in our American history. She single-handedly saved our mustangs and with that our western heritage. This is an important book and Cruise and Griffiths have done a spectacular job of bringing home her story.”
—Madeleine Pickens, National Wild Horse Foundation

“Velma Johnson was a strong willed individual who made a difference.  As a child she suffered from polio and in her era, careers for women were limited.  She overcame these obstacles and stopped the atrocious abuse of wild horses.”
—Temple Grandin, author, Animals in Translation and Animals Make us Human

“Anyone who cares about the plight of America’s mustangs has heard the name Velma Johnston, but too few know the extraordinary and heroic lengths to which she went to save these horses. In Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs, authors David Cruise and Alison Griffiths have given us a remarkable gift; a provocative, in-depth look into this amazing woman’s life in a story brimming with adventure and inspiration. Not only is this a fascinating and powerful book, it is also a tremendously important one. I couldn’t put it down, and when I finished reading it my faith in the power one person has to make a difference was renewed.”
—Melanie Sue Bowles, author of The Horses of Proud Spirit and Hoof Prints: Stories from Proud Spirit

“One of the virtues of the authors’ account is its look at how libertarian conservatives such as Manchester Guardian publisher William Loeb and Dixiecrat politico Walter Baring helped advance [Velma’s] cause—and how Johnston eventually secured Dwight Eisenhower’s signature on a protective law known as the “Wild Horse Annie bill” that she then fought, for many years, to put teeth in.”
—Kirkus

“On her way to work in 1950, Velma Johnston saw a truck of almost-dead horses en route to the pet-food factory, thereby launching a one-woman campaign to save wild horses that earned her the moniker Wild Horse Annie. A biography full of adventure.”
—The Globe and Mail — Canada’s national newspaper

“This book is a thoroughly researched and riveting tribute to the life and achievements of Velma Johnston and her struggles — against massive odds — to protect her beloved mustangs.”
— Martin Harbury, author of The Last of the Wild Horses

“A HOT TITLE.”
—Cincinnati Public Library

Karen Sussman Saving a White Sands Yearling

We will be out of hay in just two weeks and we desperately need your help. In the past month, we have suffered from three blizzards leaving snow drifts over twelve feet high.  Our four wild horse herds are eating more to maintain their energy in calories.    We  have a donor who has promised to help us by promising our hay suppliers payment for the past six months.  Payment was scheduled for early January but the transaction is delayed making our situation critical now.   We must raise $50,000 as soon as possible.

You can help save our wild herds.  We are the only organization in the U.S. managing entire herds of wild horses.  Our behavioral studies over the past ten years have brought extraordianary results in developing a model management program for wild horses on public lands.  Two herds that we study have not been manipulated by removals in decades with the exception of gathering them to come to our site in South Dakota.  There are only two other herds in the United States that would fall under a no gather policy and those are the Cerbat’s in AZ and the Mongomery Pass in CA.  Otherwise, the other 199 wild herds on public lands have been rounded up every two to three years destroying the integrity of the bands and ultimately destroying their highly evolved educational system taught by the older wiser harem stallions.

Saving our herds is crucial in the plight of all wild horses in our country.  Can you help by donating.

Day of Arrival at ISPMB

After more than a year at the Canon City prison holding corral, the gray Sand Wash Colorado mare comes “home.”  Controversy surrounded this mare during a gather when photographer Carol Walker captured an accident and near casualty of the mare while loading in a trailer.  ISPMB waited for someone to adopt this mare but no one stepped forward.  She was scheduled to go to long term holding where she would then live out her young life.   ISPMB adopted her on the National Adoption Day in September.  We are honored to have her.

She arrived at our facility on January 13th where she will remain for the rest of her life.  Named,  Beautiful Woman Who Stands, she is adjusting well to her new life.   She will become ISPMB’s poster horse at our Interpretive Center where she will greet visitors as they arrive.   The following photos used with permission by Carol Walker detail her capture.

Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard and Karen Sussman

On a recent trip to the Capitol in December, I was fortunate to meet Lieutenant Governor Dennis Daugaard.   Wild horse viewing certainly attracts many visitors to our state.  ISPMB’s goal is to create in a new paradigm in wild horse protection through eco-tourism.  See our tourism page.

100 wild mustangs need immediate funding for hay and habitat. The Cheyenne River Sioux reservation, which the horses called home, were no longer able to manage these horses.  As a result, the tribe has been forced to turn the historic Virginia Range mustangs over to the ISPMB. At $2500/week for hay, we need your help to save these magnificent animals.

ABOUT US

Located on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros is one of the oldest and most reputable equine rescues in the country. Founded in 1960 and legendary Velma “Wild Horse Annie” Johnston our first president,  ISPMB has been one of the most catalyzing forces behind the protection, preservation, and understanding of wild equids as well as their habitats. More>>

For those who wish to contribute $5,000 or more to ISPMB, we invite you to be our guests among the 300+ wild mustangs at our beautiful South Dakota ranch. As one of the oldest and most repuable wild horse and burro organizations in the country, we are deeply touched by your advocacy and commitment to animals. In thanks, we would like to share one of the most rare and irreplacable experiences in the United States.

WHERE

Located on 680 acres in the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation, ISPMB is dedicated to the rare blend of land preservation, wild horse conservation, and the protection of Native American heritage. National Geographic, Vanity Fair, Stephen Spielberg’s film crew, and the Associated Press have all recognized the historical significane of this effort, and made repeated visits to photograph our horses and the beautiful landscape on which they live.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

FLY:
Your host, Karen Sussman, will collect you from Rapid City Airport.
Alternately, you may wish to use our nearby Eagle Butte airstrip.

DRIVE:
From Rapid City, you will enjoy the extraordinarily scenic 2.5 hour drive through the Plains where we will see deer, antelope, buffalo, eagles, and hawks.

STAY:
Photographers and journalists from National Geographic, Vanity Fair, and other publications have all enjoyed the African themed guest room overlooking the summer wildflowers, wintere snows, and of course the best view of all – the 500 wild mustangs on this famously photographed 680-acre ranch.
*Please note this is a private ranch. You will be the only guests.
TESTIMONIAL

“This was the best place we visited in all of our travels throughout the United States, while researching our story for the Indian Renaissance.” -National Geographic