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Valley Mustangs carry a bit of 'Spirit' Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Retired doctor David Hoyal maintains eye contact with one of the Kiger mustangs he raises on his Bellinger Lane property. This horse has the same father as the one featured in the animated DreamWorks movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron." By MELISSA MARTIN Mail Tribune The wild mustang that inspired the movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" has relatives in the Rogue Valley. Retired Medford doctor David Hoyal is one of several local horse breeders who own relatives of the mustang that stars in the new DreamWorks animated movie. "These are the remnants of horses from Castile, brought by the conquistadors in the 1500s," said Hoyal. Castile is a former kingdom in north-central Spain that formed the nucleus of the Spanish monarchy and its regal traditions. He owns a niece of Donner, the stallion used as a model for 70 Hollywood animators who created 120,960 drawings for the 84-minute film. Anyone interested in seeing Kigers up close can find them at: All American Stables, 2393 Rogue River Highway, Rogue River, 582-0476. Vineyard Equus, 1800 Dry Creek Road, Eagle Point, 826-5679. Littleton Family Ranch, 26450 Horsell Road, Bend, 1-800-335-3895. The Kiger Fest, August 10-11, Madras. Hoyal bought his mare for $225 in Burns during a Bureau of Land Management auction for a specialty breed of mustangs known as Kigers. That's the same place where Bend rancher Rick Littleton paid $125 for the king of all Kigers, Steens Kiger, in 1987. He bred Steens Kiger to a wild mare and the result was Donner, whom he sold to Steven Spielberg for a reported $50,000. "Everybody that met Donner was in awe of him, including DreamWorks," Littleton said. "He has a presence in his face that Spielberg had never seen in a horse. Everybody that met him had the same feeling. And DreamWorks looked at hundreds of horses in the nation, probably many that would have been free to them." The movie that's scheduled to open in theaters Friday features a breed that Bureau of Land Management wild horse specialists discovered in the Steens Mountain National Recreation Lands south of Burns in 1977. They found 27 horses believed to have primitive markings of the Spanish mustang, with dun coloring, ranging from buckskin to claybank to Grullo, classic barb heads and dorsal and zebra striping on their legs. The BLM isolated the herds in two management areas, one near Kiger Creek and another near Riddle Mountain, south of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Oregon. Today, the Kiger herds are among 2,400 wild mustangs in Oregon managed by the BLM, said Bill Pieratt, BLM rangeland management specialist in Prineville. As the horses multiply, the excesses are adopted out to qualified people. "Outside of the fact that they are absolutely gorgeous, the Kiger's stamina is unsurpassed - their ability, versatility and intelligence," said Betty Linnell, registrar for the Kiger Mesteno Association founded in 1988. One of the horses at her Grants Pass ranch is Sundance, a half-brother to Donner. "They don't have the leg problems that domestic breeds have, mostly because man hasn't ruined them," Linnell said. Eagle Point rancher Star Shaw also has a relative of Donner's. Her stallion, Kiger's Flashpoint, is a claybank, a lighter color than the movie-star horse. She describes Flash as watchdog-like, always noting what goes on at Vineyard Equus, her ranch on Dry Creek Road. "Flash has a Spanish gait, just like Donner and Donner's half-brother, Sundance," Shaw said. "It's definitely a Spanish trait." She bought her horse from Littleton and registered it with the Steens Mountain Kiger Registry, which Littleton started several years ago after breaking away from the KMA. "Rick Littleton wanted complete control over the horses he was buying and selling," said Mount Shasta, Calif., rancher Frank Roda, historian for the Kiger Mesteno Association. He and Littleton were part of the original group of horse owners who helped the BLM establish the breed about 15 years ago. "We have established a standard of perfection, a guide that points out the most desirable things you want to see in the breed," said Roda, who owns a Kiger that comes to the fence when he hears his master's whistle. His horse is also known for his endurance during Northern California cattle drives. "In order to be registered, the horse has to pass certain requirements." It takes a trained eye to recognize quality wild horses rounded up for adoption, Linnell said. "They don't look real good coming off the range," Linnell said. "They are thin, rangy-looking, not cleaned or groomed. They can look pretty bad. You have to have an eye to imagine what they will look like later." The movie could be good for Kigers if it educates people about preserving the breed, said Tim Westfall, a Medford BLM range specialist who owns two Kigers. "But there will be breeders out there, who, because the value goes up, will get into it for the money," Westfall said. The DreamWorks movie is predicted to generate $100 million in toy sales, Hoyal said. Breyer, which makes collector toys, is marketing an entire line of Kiger mustangs. "For me, it's hard to look at it from a mercenary standpoint," Hoyal said. "These Kigers are my friends." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.