PEF member plays key part
Inmates, retired racehorses earn winning roles in ‘Homestretch’ documentary
By DEBORAH A. MILES
During the last year, more and more news stories have featured the fate of retired racehorses. Federal legislation has been passed to prevent the slaughter of these old athletes in the U.S. But they are still being shipped to Canada and Mexico where their final moments are taken with utmost cruelty.
There are alternatives, as the number of retired thoroughbreds climbs each year.
PEF
member Jim Tremper, a vocational instructor at Wallkill Correctional
Facility, has been part of the solution for more than 25 years.Tremper runs the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s (TRF) horse farm at Wallkill, where hard-core prisoners develop compassion and sensitivity by caring for these horses.
The success of this program captured the attention of filmmaker Sheri Bylander who directed and produced a documentary called “Homestretch.” Much of it was filmed at the Wallkill horse farm.
“This documentary is important, especially if it gets to the right target audience – the people who don’t know what is really going on when a racehorse is finished with its career,” Tremper said. “The film should change their mindset and show what can be done with these animals when they no longer can race. They still have the power to rehabilitate.”
Bylander,
who won several prestigious awards for her editing and producing of films,
said it took nearly three years to complete “Homestretch.”“I wanted the viewer to experience the passage of time, the seasons at the farm. For inmates, prison time is measured much differently. I wanted to convey that pace,” Bylander said.
“Jim Tremper was responsible for all the beautiful footage at Wallkill. He allowed me to become an insider in a way very necessary for a documentary. From the minute I set foot on the farm, his compassion for the inmates and horses became clear. He became a guide for me and helped set the tone for “Homestretch,” she said.
IT’S A WRAP – Filmmaker Sheri Bylander strokes King’s Honor, the horse “hero” in “Homestretch.
Tremper said the filming at Wallkill also benefited the inmates.
“They loved the attention, and they liked being in the spotlight. They developed a deeper meaning in the work they do with the horses. The filming helped them realize their work is necessary, important and special,” he said.
“Today, there is a lot more interest in retired racehorses and their fate than there was 25 years ago,” Tremper said. “It’s a big issue. So many horses need help. We’re still not there yet. We’re still not where we ought to be.”
The documentary premiered at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival in April 2007. But it will make its New York debut Friday, December 4 at the Stissing House in Pine Plains, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It will be accompanied by an art show with paintings and sculptures. Part of the proceeds will benefit the TRF. More information is available at www.trfinc.org or e-mail pjean1953@aol.com to attend the showing.
The documentary is also available at www.homestretchthemovie.com.