R.I.P Our Wild Friend Avenger/Greyhawk. We will miss you | Alberta wild horses

On July 1st, the foothills changed. They will never be the same again. Avenger/Greyhawk was found deceased on the side of the road. Due to his proximity to where I filmed him the day prior, I believe he was shot the evening or night hours of June 30th. At 9 am on June 30th, we welcomed his first 2026 filly. We will now call her Avengelyne in honor of him. We start with a few moments in video of the band. By minute 6-7, we play a small sideshow of some of our favorite moments with him, and then we let the video play out with more footage through the years filming this stallion, his mares, and his foals. This tragedy did not need to happen. Avenger was young and healthy. Avenger/Greyhawk was shot in the head on the left side. On July 1st and July 2nd, my husband and I searched endlessly for his mares and foals, to no avail. A few of us will be out there looking for clues and signs of his band. We will all let you know when we have an update. We met a dear friend in person on this day, under the most horrible circumstances possible. Wild Horses & WildFlowers, thank you for your work, thank you for finding him, thank you for honoring him. Thank you for understanding the grief of finding such a beloved stallion dead. It is incomprehensible. We only wish that the person who did this to him had taken the time to get to know him the way we did. Had they, we are sure you would still be here; they would have loved you too. Had they taken the time to know you, they would have loved you. We are sorry we could not share your story far enough to be heard, or loud enough to be protected. This is what we are fighting for: wild horses to be wild and free, safe, unbothered, unharmed, unharassed. You deserved to live. You deserved to be wild. You deserved the life you had with your family, and nobody had any business taking that away from you. A wild stallion who was nothing but a gentle giant, he was peace, he was love, he was the band's firm foundation. He deserved to live. From every wild horse researcher, advocate, and photographer out here, a piece of our research goes with you. You were known by many and loved by all. And from Adrian and myself, Brooke, personally, we will greatly miss you, Avenger.