The nonprofit, led by founder Sonya Richins, cares for a herd of 10 wild horses. The nonprofit was started in 2008 when Richins saved a mare and foal marked for slaughter after the mother survived a roundup.
Richins brought her horses to Park City in 2012 and opened her 20-acre property for community events, including concerts, yoga and private nature walks.
“People can commune with the horses and meet them, and, you know, take a pause in their life and just be and be in nature,” Richins explained on the KPCW “Local News Hour,” Tuesday, June 25. "And the horses are just magical. They're all so gentle and so loving, and we don't break them or anything. We just let them be horses.”
Thursday’s fundraiser is a benefit concert that begins at 6:30 p.m. with the duo Lill and Warren followed by Silver Creek’s own Cactus Buds.
“People bring picnic baskets and hang out, you know, whatever they want to drink,” Richins said. “And you're hanging out on our land, and everyone brings blankets and low chairs or anything like that. And we also have the wild horses, and they come up by the fence line, and everyone can meet them, and it's just beautiful.”
Tickets are $88 and Richins said the money raised will help support the herd for the coming year.
“Our big goal is to pay for the hay, and it's around $24,000 a year,” she said. “We go through 1,400 bales of hay or more. So, that's our big goal, to make that and then and then some, because our senior [horses] take a lot of special care, like the extra veterinarian care, special feeding, you know, stuff like that. So, and our hay, at least those two things.”
Between musical acts, Richins will conduct a horse auction where donors can opt to sponsor a horse for the year with a monthly stipend. There will also be a silent auction with items including a fly rod, skis and artwork.
