Amy Dumas is a representative from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) who is involved in the R3C Wild Horse Adoption Program. The program is a partnership between the BLM and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, using inmates at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center to saddle train wild horses, making them more adoptable.
In 2013, BLM California and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department signed an assistance agreement for the inmates at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove, California to saddle train wild horses from BLM California corrals for adoption. R3C is the first BLM partnership with a county jail.
The horses receive valuable training making them more adoptable. The inmates learn life skills such as patience, responsibility, humility, and pride in their work, and programs like this reduce the rate of recidivism as they provide vocational skills for the graduates.
In addition to private adopters, the program has generated interest from other agencies that use horses, including mounted police forces, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the military and the Border Patrol. Several police departments have adopted R3C-trained horses for their mounted units, including Orange County and Sacramento Police Departments, and there’s even a R3C-trained mustang patrolling Yosemite National Park.
R3C plans at least three adoptions per year in the Sacramento area or at their facility in Elk Grove. The horses will be available to the public at these events by competitive bid.
Scott Beckstead joined The Wild Beauty Foundation as Program Director, overseeing WBF’s Wild Horse Week Educational Program.
Beckstead has always been passionate about animal welfare, leading animal protection to play a significant role in his professional career. He gained experience in Animal Law while owning his own law firm from 1994-2008 and now teaches the subject at the University of Oregon College of Law and Willamette University College of Law.
Beckstead has assumed positions with the Humane Society, and more recently Animal Wellness Action and Center for A Humane Economy, where he serves as their director of campaigns.
“A top priority for me is and always will be saving horses both wild and domestic from cruelty, abuse, and slaughter,” Beckstead affirms.
June 6-8, 2025
Friday June 6th 9:00 AM – 6: 00 PM
Saturday June 7th 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday June 8th 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
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We love dogs, but we ask that you please leave your pups home while attending the Horse Expo. Thanks!
Photos courtesy of Carolynne Smith, Elizabeth Ruiz, Kathy Higgens, Fuentes, Hill Shepard, Charles Hilton, Kala Johnson, Jessi Hogan, Tyson Rininger, Traci Nelson, Lisa Reese, and Constance Birdsong Photos.
