Utilizing local resources to benefit communities
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Wild horses checking out visitors
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Ever heard of the town of Knightsen? Five years ago nobody had ever heard of Knightsen.
"Where the heck is Knightsen?" "Just north of Brentwood." "In Los Angeles?" "No, the real Brentwood, in northern California." While Knightsen certainly isn't today a major tourist destination, this tiny farming community, half the size of Stagecoach, is known world wide and is the upcoming place where people in the SF Bay Area who want a rural lifestyle want to move. |
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In 1997 a Google search of the keyword "Knightsen" would return two results. Today such a search will reveal several hundred. |
| While the expansion of the internet would have in of its own resulted in more web pages containing Knightsen, the explosion of knowledge about the town is a direct result of a non-profit group that is involved with wild horses and burros. Although there isn't a naturally occurring wild horse within 200 miles of Knightsen, it became "Wild Horse Central" when the group, and the town, became involved in gentling and training wild horses and burros for the Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games. Knightsen became internationally recognized with the project's web site receiving over 1,000 "hits" per day from all over the world. |
Least Resistance Training Concepts
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Visitors coming to town to meet the horses
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Horses & volunteers meet Secretary of Interior Gale Norton
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Wild horses generate significant public interest in the environment and in rural communities, and they help preserve rural community values. |
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How popular are wild horses?
When Velma "Wild Horse Annie" Johnston campaigned to protect America's wild free-roaming horses, more people sent cards, letters, telegrams and phone calls to congress than for any other issue except for the Vietnam War. Wild horse issues generally enlist popular and emotional support. In 2003, the Governor's Conference on Tourism has recognized wild horses as a component of Nevada's #1 industry. The conference selected Lacy J. Dalton's Comstock Wild Horse & Mining Museum for its 2003 Tourism Development Award. |
Tourists stopping to photograph wild horses
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Contra Costa County's Welcome Magazine includes a feature on the wild horses as a significant portion of its description about Knightsen. While there is a small faux pas in their description of the project (it's the largest wild horse adopter support organization in the world), the overall impression of the project and the town is a good one.
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