On a cloudy Monday morning I began making my way to San Marcos from the ranch where the ponies were resting. As I neared the town square, I saw something in the distance that brought tears to my eyes.

On stilts two young girls walked with the Brazilian and Honduran flags as a band marched behind them. I had no idea that this presentation was going to happen so I was very emotional. It was such a beautiful sight to see these kids smiling and playing music.

Together we marched downtown as Dude tried to run for his life. He was not enjoying the band following us at all. Eventually I managed to calm him down as people waved goodbye from the sidewalk.

“We want to thank you very much for making this journey and showing the children that their dreams are worth fighting for,” Nelson Medina Puerto, a journalist and teacher who organized the parade, said.

I can’t thank all of my friends in San Marcos enough for the support and love in which they hosted the horses and I with. I will never forget this beautiful town and its people.

Joined by 4 riders from town, we began making our way south. By lunchtime we were welcomed into the small town of San Francisco with another surprise. The local school kids were all out on the road waiting for us. When we arrived they swarmed the horses. It was a beautiful scene.

I told them my story quickly and tried to shake everyones hands. They were so excited to see the horses who walked to their town all the way from North America.

After saying goodbye to the children my friends from San Marcos turned around and another rider from San Francisco joined me for the other half of the day. By 3pm we had arrived in Pueblo Nuevo where we rested for the night.