Important acknowledgment:
The Whistle Stop Gallery would like to acknowledge that we are honored to work, explore, and create on the unceded lands of the Lheidli T’Enneh and Simpcw First Nations. It is our responsibility to acknowledge the Indigenous land we reside on and provide an inclusive safe space that does not tolerate discrimination in any form. It is our mission to honor diversity and freedom of expression.
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The Rescue of Belle and Sundance
The Rescue of Belle and Sundance by Dave Marchant
David left Indiana in 1973 to teach in a one-room school. Art had always been a favourite subject during his education, his photography remaining the most consistent creative outlet. It wasn't until retirement that his interests shifted to painting, creating his first piece, Cabbage, in 2005. Since then, he has made both stunning paintings and his beloved comic calendars.
Two pack horses that were abandoned in the Robson Valley and rescued by community members who dug a trench through 6 feet of snow at -40°C and led them to safety just before Christmas of 2008.
Two pack horses, Belle, a three-year old mare, and Sundance, a 10 to 15-year-old gelding, were abandoned by their owner on Mount Renshaw in the fall of 2008. In December two community members, Logan Jeck and Leif Gunster, discovered the horses while they were helping to recover machinery on Mount Renshaw. Belle and Sundance were emaciated, trapped in a well 7 feet deep, and freezing in –40° C weather. Belle and Sundance were too weak to be transported by a helicopter out of the pit; the only options left were putting the horses down, or digging a trench for the horses to walk to freedom.
As word spread, community members and volunteers banded together to dig a kilometer-long trench towards a nearby logging road in order to save the horses. The rescuers had to travel an hour by snowmobile to get to the horses; They brought hay for feed and melted snow so the animals could drink water. They would also bring with them equipment to build the trench.
Two groups spent about five hours each day digging an exit pathway from both directions. Eight days later, the horses finally walked free on Dec. 23, 2008. Belle and Sundance were brought to Prince George Equine Rescue, where they were nursed back to health and adopted by new owners. This heartfelt story inspired many, and later two books were published that retold the events of the rescue. A movie adaptation, starring Aidan Quinn and Mackenzie Porter, was released in 2012.
You can find both the book and movie here at the McBride & District Public Library.
If you would like to purchase The Rescue of Belle and Sundance, it is available on Amazon.ca. The Horses of McBride movie is available for rent on AppleTV.