Synopsis: “In the state of New Mexico, with its timeless unspoiled vistas, history feels enticingly close, especially in this northeast corner where the Santa Fe Trail once flowed.” — Jackie Fleming

Born in Hong Kong, Jackie Fleming grew up in Singapore, until her family moved back to England when she was ten. Her attachment to horses began during family vacations in exotic places that often included pony trekking. That love for horses continues to shape her present day life. Jackie lives on a remote ranch in Watrous, New Mexico, where she runs a Mustang sanctuary, caring for over 40 wild horses. Her Shadowlands Ranch, crisscrossed by ruts from the Old Santa Fe Trail, serves as inspiration for her writing and painting, but there are also challenges: too little rain, the need to find good quality hay for the horses, and the feeling that time is ticking on; even so, she vows to keep her promise to the horses that she will remain to see them through.

Genre

Rated

Language

Run Time

Directed by

Wild Horses are under siege in the West. This is happening right now. This film, “HorseKeeper,” is about one woman who is doing something about it. Jackie Fleming has created a wild horse sanctuary and is looking after over 40 wild horses that she has adopted through various outlets over the course of the last 20 years. Not an easy task for someone who is doing it on her own. My previous two films, “She had some horses” and “Horse Shelter Diaries,” reflected on the connection that humans have with horses. My hope with this film is to make sure horses are not a forgotten “tool” of the past but are a vital and living part of the future of the American West. And to make the public aware of what it takes to work every day to keep them safe by focusing on someone who has been doing it for over two decades.

Donna Wells, Writer/Producer/Director moved to New Mexico in 1989 to attend the Anthropology Film Center, after spending the previous 13 years living in Los Angeles, where she studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Peggy Feury and worked behind the scenes in the film industry for production companies such as Fonda Films, New World Pictures, and Compass International Pictures. She was inspired by her work with Argentine Director, Luis Puenzo, who encouraged her to write and pursue her own projects. In 2001, she completed her MFA in Creative Writing at Goddard College in Vermont. In 2007, she wrote the exhibit text and produced and directed the exhibit film, “Free Flow: The Gila River in New Mexico,” for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. She completed her first full length documentary film, “She had some horses,” in 2011. The film screened at numerous film festivals across the country, including the Intendence Film Festival in Colorado where it won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary in 2013. Her next feature documentary, “Horse Shelter Diaries,” won the Best Special Focus Documentary category at La Femme International Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2016, Best Wild Horse Makeover- Full Length Documentary in New York City in 2016, and Best Equine Rescue and Adoption Documentary at the Equus International Film Festival in Missoula, MT in 2017. “She had some horses” and “Horse Shelter Diaries” can now be seen on Film Festival Flix – www.filmfestivalflix.com

Country of Origin

Production Year