Between a story on the page about a wild horse that would not be broken and the appearance onscreen of a galloping, animated hero who inspires dreams of freedom came a very real horse:

Spirit, a Kiger mustang stallion that turns 25 years old this year.

Spirit served as the artists’ muse and model for DreamWorks Animation’s Oscar-nominated 2002 film, Spirit: Stallion of The Cimarron a tale of adventure and friendship penned by screenwriter John Fusco and directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook.

To create their movie, the filmmakers needed to find a horse that embodied the characteristics of the iconic wild mustang. Spirit, then called Donner, was selected as a young colt born to a stallion and mare that had been captured by the Bureau of Land Management on the Kiger Herd Management Area in Oregon.

The filmmakers chose Spirit because of his beautiful conformation, wide-set eyes, and his thick, wavy and multi-colored mane and tail — a perfect example of genetically and historically rare 15th-century Spanish Barb horses. Animators observed him closely to create a horse character with accurate, realistic movements that could communicate without speaking.

Following the movie’s completion, DreamWorks selected Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary as the perfect home for Spirit.

Since his arrival at RTF’s Lompoc, Calififornia, headquarters in April 2003, he has drawn fans of the movie from all over the world, as well as a new generation of children who love the computer-animated spin-off series, Spirit: Riding Free, which has run for eight seasons on Netflix.

Spirit soaks up the attention he receives from visitors of all ages, whether during one-on-one interactions with children through the Make-A-Wish Foundation or showing off for larger tour groups.

Like the animated film, Spirit the stallion continues to inspire many to learn about — and advocate for — the thousands of nameless wild horses and burros whose survival on our public lands remains in jeopardy.

For his role as an ambassador for mustangs, the EQUUS Foundation and the United States Equestrian Federation inducted Spirit into the Horse Stars Hall of Fame in 2018.