Wednesday, November 9, 2005

It's all about horses

Evelyn Cronce El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

ECRONCE A film crew from Texas came to eastern Socorro County to begin layout shots for a movie Friday, Nov. 4.

The movie, "Road To El Paso" is scheduled to finish filming in the spring of 2006.

The story for the movie is fictional. When Martin's, played by Rawlyn Richter Jr., horse is stolen from his ranch in Uvalde County, the Texas Rangers are called in to track the thief. When they let Martin know that the horse has been taken to El Paso, he is determined to get her back, whatever it takes. He doesn't know that fate will bring him to Skye Morrow, played by Debbie French, a woman destined to save the West.

It is when Martin arrives in El Paso that he starts to recognize places he has, to his knowledge, never seen before but are eerily familiar. When he gets himself into a deep argument with the horse thief Jaime, played by Reynaldo Sanchez Jr., his memory is jolted back into the past where he is Marty, played by John Dodson, a young guy falling in love with the beautiful Felina, played by Emily Willis, in 1880s El Paso.

The story adaptation is by Rawlyn Richter, Jr., the project's executive producer, and the director and writer of the screenplay, Shiloh Richter.

French's fictional character parallels the real life character of Carlos LoPopolo, owner of the property being used in the shots taken Friday and his devotion to the New Mexico Horse Project.

LoPopolo became interested in the plight of the horses when he learned that horses descending from the original horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors not only still exist, but could be identified by their DNA. He has established a refuge in the East Mountains and is working to get one going on the three parcels of land that he owns in Socorro County, off of the Quebradas By-Way.

LoPopolo plans to allow the horses to run wild and allow them to breed naturally. After he installs the 3.5 miles of fence require by the Bureau of Land Management, his plan is to start the refuge in Socorro with one stallion and five mares, all of Spanish descent.

An independent film company, Texas Ranch Productions, will donate a portion of the profits that they make on the finished film to the New Mexico Horse Project. Many extras are needed. Anyone wanting to participate as an extra can send an e-mail to frichter2@stx.rr.com.

ecronce@dchieftain.com

E-mail this story Printer-friendly version