During his visit, students and faculty alike had the opportunity to partake in a Q&A with Philipps. He spoke about his work as a journalist and offered some sage wisdom from one FVS graduate to the future graduates filling Lewis Perry Jr. Philipps, who has remained an active member of the FVS community since his graduation, joined us on campus at the beginning of the school year to present on his book. In fact, the stories felt so visceral to those enjoying the summer read from the prairie-where our own horses could be observed silhouetted against the mountain skyline-it seemed more than likely that Philipps’ book might have had its origins right here.

For a community nestled amid sprawling prairie land that extends to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains-with a history deeply rooted in ranching and an active ranching community that manages over sixty horses-many of the tales contained within Wild Horse Country feel as though they could have taken place here on campus.

It begins with their earliest ancestor-Hyracotherium, which lived about 55-45 million years ago-then continues on to the “myth” of the mustang found scattered throughout tales of the Wild West, then to the modern dilemma of wild horse relocation and overpopulation. The book outlines the presence of wild horses in the U.S. While much of Philipps’ work focuses on the human impact of war, “Wild Horse Country” recounts the history of wild horses in the United States.

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