August 18, 1936 – September 16, 2025

Tribute written by Susan Wagner

To me, Robert Redford will always be my hero. I first saw him in the film “Barefoot in the Park” with Jane Fonda, and immediately became a fan. I saw all the films he acted in, as well as the ones he directed, and grew to also admire him greatly as a passionate environmentalist. However, it was not until the mid-1990s that I learned about how much he loved and cared about horses. What really impressed me was the wonderful action he took in 1998 when he signed the official Voter Card, kicking off the ground-breaking Save the Horses campaign in California, which resulted in the momentous passage of “Prop 6,” the first state initiative in the nation to ban horse slaughter. Redford’s strong support and involvement with that initiative had a lot to do with its historic passage. I was invited by Cathleen Doyle, who spearheaded the Save the Horses campaign, to come to Los Angeles on Election Night, Tuesday, November 3, 1998, to be there as the returns came in. I have to say that it was one of the greatest nights of my life!

As the tributes continue to pour in from across the globe for Robert Redford, a portion of them are coming from equine and animal protection organizations. We have one very special memory with him that I would like to share with you. Every year from 2012 through 2015, we held the American Equine Summit here at Equine Advocates. Highly respected experts from across the country came here as presenters over the two-day Summit to speak on many vital equine issues, including why horse slaughter needed to be banned. Former agent to the stars and horse advocate Andrea Eastman (whom we later honored in 2020 along with Willie Nelson) was good friends with Redford. She approached him on our behalf and asked if he would make his own official statement about why horse slaughter had no place in our country and culture. He sent me this letter that I read aloud to the audience at the 2013 American Equine Summit:

What a thrill reading his letter was for me! And what an impact Redford’s strong words had on the audience at the Summit and the public who read about his letter and what he had to say in the press. Other organizations have their special remembrances with Robert Redford, and that one was ours. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, I will never forget his kindness and commitment to the protection of America’s wild and domestic equines.

Robert Redford was a tower as an actor, as a filmmaker, as a humanitarian, and as a great American. The world will remember him for all of those things, but I will also always remember him for his equine advocacy. He once said, “I’ve been able to carve out spaces for myself. At Sundance, I’m in the mountains – my property is private. I get on a horse and ride for three, four hours. Sometimes five. I get lost. But when I’m in, I’m in.”

Yes, he was.

What a legacy he has left and what an impact he has had on the world!

Most sincerely,

Susan Wagner, President