Starving Horses

From another movie that came out the same year and by the way it was filmed in SantFe and my brother-in-law was one of the people thrown out in the bar scene.

One Tin Soldier (The Legend of Billy Jack)
by Dennis Lambert & Brian Potter, performed by The Original Caste (1970)
This song was performed by Jinx Dawson and Coven in the movie "Billy Jack" (1971)

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Thanks for taking the time to consolidate the info. Nice to have it in one place

CONIFER, Colo -- It's been a long month for the horse known as Little Big Man. When he first came to the Aspen Creek Veterinarian Facility in Conifer, he couldn't stand on his own and was barely eating.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/30 ... etail.html

hmmm

This is a tough one. I have a lot of respect for Judge Green. Can't say that about a lot of other judges. If he sees a legal error he will see that it is corrected.

Those horses were emaciated. Don't know what the cause was/is but now we as citizens have an opportunity to keep an eye that direction and report it if the horses aren't properly taken care of. Then there is a pattern even if the owner should claim that he has a licensed vet treating the horses. This gives the owner an opportunity to fix the situation - with a lot of people watching.

And there is still the animal cruelty charge.

Thanks to the caretakers who gave these horses back their lives.

Ron Swift Trial and Bailey Horse Update

Today at 1 p.m. at the Park County Court House in Fairplay, Colorado a pre-trial conference/hearing involving defendants Mr. Ron Swift and Mr. Randall Hatlee was held. Each of the Defendants is facing several counts of animal cruelty stemming from an inspection of the Echo Valley Ranch in Park County on which both men board horses.

After almost one hour of the Court handling a number of other cases, the hearing got off to a brisk start with Park County District Attorney, Thom LeDoux taking charge replacing Assistant D.A. Steve Sullivan who had previously been handling the case. Though he was present, Mr. Sullivan said nothing during the entire event. Prior to Mr. LeDoux presenting the County’s case, Judge Brian Green summarized the prior bond hearing which occurred on April 10, 2012 and his decision to return the six horses which were seized from the Echo Valley Ranch on February 23, 2012. During that hearing Judge Green found that the horses had been seized improperly, for the County had failed to show adequate probable justifying the seizure. The horses were indeed returned (at County expense) to Mr. Swift and Mr. Hatlee the following day.

Judge Green’s review of the prior ruling concluded with him ordering $191.52 be returned to each Defendant and the balance of their $720 bond be retained by the County as payment for the horses board while under its care. The Judge also admonished those in attendance that he’d tolerate no out-bursts or disorder during the present hearing.

Upon the Judge’s request Mr. LeDoux revealed that Timberline Equine Veterinary Services’ (Timberline Vets) records had been subpoenaed and were to be provided by Friday, May 18, 2012. Seizing the opportunity, Mr. LeDoux requested the Judge reconsider his decision to return the horses to Echo Valley Ranch. The Judge declined and instructed Mr. LeDoux to put his request in writing and submit it as a “Motion to Reconsider.” Mr. LeDoux indicated that he would do so immediately.

Mr. LeDoux then requested he be allowed to present a witness (Animal Control Officer, Cindy Hardy). The Judge noted that the request was highly unusual and with the consent of the Defendant’s counsel (Mr. Darrel Campbell), Mr. LeDoux called Officer Hardy to the witness stand. The examination of Ms. Hardy did not go well for the prosecution. Officer Hardy testified that since the return of the horses she has conducted scheduled animal welfare visits at Echo Valley Ranch every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. To no one’s surprise, she revealed that on every visit, like clockwork, when she arrived at the ranch, each of the six returned horses had ample food and fresh water. In fact on two occasions, she found the Defendants grooming the horses upon her arrival. The only person in the courtroom to fail to see her naïveté, was Officer Hardy. Even the Judge appeared to have some difficulty not commenting on her unvarnished gullibility. She also testified that the horses appeared to be doing very well and were gaining weight steadily. To complete the absurdity, Mr. LeDoux concluded by asking if Officer Hardy thought the horses should be re-seized. Happily, Officer Hardy said the horses should remain in the Defendant’s custody. Her testimony was so helpful to the Defense that when offered to cross-examine her, Mr. Campbell declined and asked no further questions. The Defendant’s luck then turned.

Mr. LeDoux revealed that the County intended to amend its criminal complaint and add an additional charge of animal cruelty to the charges of each Defendant. Given a technical defect in the amended complaint containing the additional charges, the Defendants declined to enter a plea and were given until June 18, 2012 to enter it. After more legal wrangling and back and forth between the parties and the Judge, the hearing concluded.

It is very unfortunate that the animal control deputy on this case has a long standing friendship with Mr. Swift. The deputy stated in the first hearing that she has known Mr. Ron Swift since she was a little girl. This is a fact. We have a copy of the first court transcript and this is what was stated in the transcript under oath. The reason the horses were returned to Mr. Swift is because Deputy Cindy Hardy gave Ron Swift a 30 day written notice that he (Ron) needed to get the horses back in shape. Deputy Hardy then spoke to a vet 2-3 days later and the vet indicated that the 6 remaining horses would not be able to survive another 30 days of starvation, they would die. Upon this information Deputy Cindy Hardy got a court order to remove the horses from Echo Valley Ranch. The reason the horses were returned to Mr. Swift is because Judge Green stipulated that Ms Hardy broke her written agreement with Mr. Swift and in doing so that gave Judge Green no other choice but to return the horses to their abuser.

The most appalling thing is that Ms. Hardy said in court on May 15th that the horses should remain with Mr. Swift. This clearly demonstrates that Ms. Hardy has and is still covering for Mr. Swift. As she stated under oath, she knows Ron very well. Ms. Hardy also is so familiar with Mr. Swift that she know all of Ron's horses by name and has Ms. Hardy has her own favoites. This demonstrates that Ms. Hardy has a person friendship/relationship with Mr. Swift and should never have been allowed to work on this case due to a conflict of interest.

just more Unbelievably DUMB SH** done by the County.. UNREAL!!!! This explains why Swift never faced any charges back in (about)2003-2004 for his treatment of these horses....

Yep, that what I would conclude. Hardy is just to close to Ron and has been giving him slack all these years. It's just unspeakable. These poor horses!!!!!