State Office
| Contacts: | Heather Emmons | , hlemmons@blm.gov | , 775-384-7966 (c) or 775-861-6594 (o) |
U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard to Saddle Up With New Rides from the No. Nevada Correctional Center's Saddle-Trained Wild Horse Program
Who: All interested media
What: Invited to observe and interact with U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard as they pick up new recruits from the Nevada Department of Corrections’ Wild Horse Training Program. These horses will join the ranks of other adopted BLM wild horses that have become part of the Mounted Color Guard and participate in the annual Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., as well as other goodwill endeavors such as the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, the Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C. and numerous other events across the nation.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 7 from 9-11 a.m.
Where: Northern Nevada Correctional Center, 1721 E. Snyder Ave., Carson City, Nevada 89701
Visuals: See U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard representatives from Barstow, Calif. meet their newly trained horses for the first time, ride them and load them to be taken to their new homes.
Representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard, Nevada Department of Corrections and the BLM will be on-hand for interviews.
RSVP: Media representatives are asked to RSVP if they are planning to attend to: Heather Emmons, BLM, at (775) 384-7966, even if it is an RSVP Wednesday morning.
Background: The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) first adopted a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horse in 1988 for the Mounted Color Guard—a two-year old horse called “Okinawa”—but their history starts in the late 1960s. In 1967, the U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard was formed at the Marine Corps Logistic Base in Barstow, California. Lt. Colonel Robert Lindsley, U.S. Marine Corps retired, purchased four palomino domestic horses from St. George, Utah and the fifth palomino was purchased in the Barstow area. In 1968, the Color Guard was designated an official Mounted Color Guard by the Headquarters Marine Corps and today it is the only remaining Mounted Color Guard in the Marine Corps.
The first parade the USMC Mounted Color Guard attended was in Ridgecrest, California in 1967. After the Ridgecrest Parade, the Mounted Color Guard attended parades in Barstow and Calico, California and in Yermo rodeos. As word spread about the Color Guard, they were invited to ride in parades all over southern California. As their popularity grew, so did the number of riders.
In January 1985, the Mounted Color Guard made its first appearance in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, and has been given the extreme honor of the first military unit to lead the parade. Since 1990, the Mounted Color Guard has participated in every Tournament of Roses Parade.
Today the Mounted Color Guard rides wild palomino mustangs adopted from the BLM’s Adopt a Wild Horse and Burro Program. They have five riders and five palomino BLM mustangs in the Guard. Several of these horses were trained by the inmates in Carson City, Nevada.
The USMC Color Guard travels all over the Western United States participating in parades, rodeos and many numerous events and ceremonies.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
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