Rescued mustangs take center stage at Park City’s Wild Heart Benefit Concert

Sonya Richins, founder of Wild Heart Sanctuary, shares a quiet moment with one of the rescued mustangs on the sanctuary’s 20-acre Park City property. Photo: Wild Heart

PARK CITY, Utah — Wild Heart Sanctuary, a Park City-based nonprofit dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating wild mustangs, will host its sixth annual benefit concert on Thursday, June 26, blending live music, community gathering, and equine advocacy into a singular summertime experience.

The event will take place at the sanctuary’s 20-acre ranch in the Snyderville Basin area. Gates open at 6:30 p.m. with local duo Lill & Warren kicking off the evening, followed by headliners the Cactus Buds at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $88, and guests are encouraged to bring low-back chairs, blankets, and picnic supplies. Proceeds from the evening—including a live auction and horse sponsorship opportunities—will go directly toward the care of the sanctuary’s herd of rescued wild mustangs.

“Our goal this year is to raise $30,000,” said Sonya Richins, founder of Wild Heart Sanctuary and creator of Free Choice Equine Connection. “Hay alone for the herd is about $27,000 annually. We also need to cover additional supplements and specialized care for our senior rescues.”

Founded in 2005, the sanctuary emerged from Richins’ outrage over footage she received from the Humane Society showing mustangs being shipped to slaughter near the Mexican border.

“I was physically sick,” she said. “It just lit something in me. I had to act.”

She responded by creating a grassroots documentary and launching awareness campaigns, which helped pressure lawmakers to restore protections for wild horses that were nearly lost under a last-minute federal policy change.

Today, the sanctuary is home to a diverse herd of mustangs rescued from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundups, kill pens, and auctions—each one spared from slaughter and given a forever home. Richins runs the nonprofit with the help of volunteers and donations only. No staff receive a salary.

“These horses were hours away from death,” she said. “Now, they roam free, form herds, and choose whether or not to interact with us. Everything here is based on love, choice, and healing.”

Many visitors are drawn to the sanctuary not just for the horses, but for its immersive experiences, including yoga sessions, Tai Chi with the herd, and educational field trips. “We don’t ride them or break them,” Richins said. “We just let them be horses. They’ve been through trauma, and they deserve peace.”

Richins, who describes herself as a lifelong advocate for wild horses, remains outspoken about the systemic issues surrounding BLM roundups. According to her, tens of thousands of mustangs are currently in holding pens across the U.S., stripped from their native rangelands to make way for private cattle grazing.

“The government says there’s not enough land or water for horses—and then the next day, you’ll see 60,000 head of cattle on the same land,” she said. “It’s not just ineffective, it’s unethical. And we’re all paying for it as taxpayers.”

For Richins, the benefit concert is more than a fundraiser—it’s a call to action.

“I always tell people, it’s not ‘just me,’” she said. “Every voice matters. In 2005, we made change by speaking up. We can do it again.”

For more information, to donate, or to get involved, visit www.wildheartsanctuary.org.