The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary south of Hot Springs is worth a visit. You can see as many as 600 horses bounding across the prairie that stretches from the Cheyenne River to the limestone cliffs of the Southern Black Hills.

If you’re lucky, you can meet sanctuary founder Dayton O. Hyde. The lanky cowboy turns 85 soon. His gait is slower these days, and his face is weathered by decades of prairie wind and South Dakota sunshine.

But his smile is undimmed. Neither is his love for wild mustangs and the freedom the represent. Since 1988, it’s been his life’s work to keep this 11,000-acre ranch as a safe place for wild horses to roam.

At times, the sanctuary was a financial struggle. During my last visit, Dayton told me he was once so broke that he ate nothing but beans for weeks at a time. A wealthy benefactor – I think he said it was actress Stephanie Powers – sent him a check with a stipulation that the money be used only for Dayton’s groceries.

A new documentary film has been release about Dayton and his horses. “Imagine A Place, the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary Sponsor Mustangs,” was filmed by Christopher Crosby and PK Productions. It follows the daily life of six Sanctuary-sponsored mustangs.

The film’s premier, as well as an 85th birthday tribute for Dayton Hyde, is scheduled for Saturday, March 27, at the Hot Springs Theater. Tickets are $10 for the 2 p.m. showing.

The award-winning drum group, Wind Spirit Drum, will perform. And Native American musician Michael Bucher’s short video, “Don’t Forget About Me,” will be shown. Many of the scenes in the film, directed by Crosby, were shot near the Sanctuary’s petroglyphs.

For more information about the premier, visit www.wildmustangs.com.