After 549 days on the road I have gone through 4 pairs of boots, 7 pairs of jeans and 216 horseshoes. Alongside Frenchie, Bruiser and Dude I have travelled over 9,000 kms while crossing 7 countries. These three legendary horses have gone places some people only dream of, all the while facing hardships made for nightmares.
Deserts, rivers, suspension bridges, national parks, mountains, an ocean, Mexico City – my horses have crossed, climbed and seen it all. Like myself, they have slept with no food or water and felt the bone-crushing fear of witnessing a lunging Grizzly Bear cross our path.
Our Long Ride home has given us the opportunity of meeting people from all walks of life. From Canada to Panama, I have sat for dinner with ranch-hands, drug lords, and politicians. I can honestly say that in the comfort of their homes, with the love of their family, they are all the same.
At this point, adventure has become the mundane. Waves, bulls, broncos – I have ridden them all (or tried to anyways). Gunshots destined for the human flesh – I have heard them masked behind yells of desperation. I have pitched my tent in some of the most dangerous places in the Americas. Places where people told me I would be robbed and killed.
I have lived the most defining year and a half of my life. The person I was before jumping into the saddle will be but a distant memory from the person who arrives at my destiny.
Yet, at this point none of this matters. More than kilometers, countries, mountains, friends, moments – more than anything – I just want to give my horses their freedom. These animals have already done the unimaginable. They are legends. They are heroes.
2014 is the year of the horse. Be it destiny or a simple coincidence, but this is the year I will award my best friends with their freedom. I cant wait to get to Brazil, dismount my ponies and allow them to be free horses for the rest of their lives.
“Horse year is about freedom, returning to nature and enjoying life and life’s adventure,” Author and astrologer Susan Levitt.
