ACTHA Monthly | April 2015| 40
Over the next three years Bryant, with help, was able to capture about 400 mustangs and move them to his own ranch, 274 acres and 600 leased acres. The monumental task of feeding and caring for the horses escalated and continues to this date. A number of people have stepped forward to give homes to some of the horses, including individuals committed to ensuring the Choctaw and Gilbert Jones bloodlines.
The Spanish Mustang, while small in stature, is easily able to carry a 200 lb man. The horses are highly people oriented, durable, kind, come in a variety of colors and
excellent feet. As Bryant says, “If you respect them, they will do anything for you." They have two other unique qualities, once they hit their stride they have superior endurance and can gallop for miles.
They thrive on terrain that other horses would find too inhospitable to survive, that’s why they have basically survived on their own for all these generations.” The Rickman herd of Spanish Mustangs currently numbers approximately 300 horses.
Without the vision and the fight of Gilbert Jones and the Rickman’s these strains would fail to exist. There are a limited number of pure Spanish Mustang breeders throughout the country who work tirelessly to support this breed but more are needed if they are to survive. Dr. Maila Coleman, a pediatrician from Hawaii, contacted Bryant in 2006 upon learning her ancestors were from eastern Oklahoma and had traveled with the horses in her dreams. Dr. Coleman, along with her own herd – Mana Mustangs, continues to work with and support the Rickman’s breeding, preservation and promotion programs.
Other instrumental figures in this fight of preservation include Francine Locke Bray, a direct descendent of one of the several families who owned and bred large herds of the Choctaw horses in Pushmataha County, OK. Francine, a museum curator and research consultant has been instrumental in the documentation of the breed, authoring several editorials and was the driving force behind their legislative recognition as “The Heritage Horse of Oklahoma”. As Francine and her husband, Michael, continue on their retirement journey they are dedicated to assisting the Rickman’s with the care of the Rickman Spanish Mustangs.
"If you respect them, they will do anything for you." Bryant Rickman
Spanish Mustangs come in a variety of colors and have excellent feet.
Bryant Rickman shares an apple with a friend
Photo by Jennie Sweetin-Smith
Photo by Lueda Green