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I eventually managed to contact Bob in Fortuna, but reception is very bad, so could only have a brief conversation. He had a brilliant first day's ride, and his host from the previous night, Andrew, and his wife rode with him all the way, which was a lovely way to start his first day's riding.
The horses are bedded for the night, and Bob is now waiting to entertain the neighbours who are coming to meet him this evening. His new hosts,Roger and Diana Bloom, have had to go out , but they took him out this afternoon sightseeing. He is living in comfort tonight, as apparently he has his own little house to sleep in away from the main house. Thank you Roger and Diana for all your hospitality.
We are both constantly amazed at the open heartedness of the American people who are going out of their way to help him with the journey.
Many thanks to Andrew and his family for looking after him on arrival in North Dakota. I'm only sorry that I can't e-mail them to pass on our thanks, but if anyone in Fortuna reads this please pass the message on.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
We're off at last
Just a quick post to let you all know what's happening with Bob and the horses.
Bob arrived in North Montana on 8 July, and has been staying at Allen Russell's ranch where his horses were waiting for him.
Over the last few weeks Allen has been invaluable in passing on his expertise to our intrepid rider, and Bob has been out every day riding TJ and Cody through the countryside and getting to know them really well. He has also conquered the daunting pack saddles !!!
Apparently, the countryside is really stunning round there, and Allen's ranch is surrounded by mountains covered in snow, and there's loads of wildlife around. Sounds like a dream.
Anyway, today is the day that Allen,Bob and the horses are trailering up to North Dakota, a distance of 500 miles, and they should arrive this evening. The horses will be rested tomorrow, and then 30 July is D Day.
Watch this space, and I will keep you posted on the forthcoming adventure.
Many thanks to Allen for his generosity in putting up with Bob for the last few weeks, and all the work he has done to help us get this adventure off the ground.
Bob arrived in North Montana on 8 July, and has been staying at Allen Russell's ranch where his horses were waiting for him.
Over the last few weeks Allen has been invaluable in passing on his expertise to our intrepid rider, and Bob has been out every day riding TJ and Cody through the countryside and getting to know them really well. He has also conquered the daunting pack saddles !!!
Apparently, the countryside is really stunning round there, and Allen's ranch is surrounded by mountains covered in snow, and there's loads of wildlife around. Sounds like a dream.
Anyway, today is the day that Allen,Bob and the horses are trailering up to North Dakota, a distance of 500 miles, and they should arrive this evening. The horses will be rested tomorrow, and then 30 July is D Day.
Watch this space, and I will keep you posted on the forthcoming adventure.
Many thanks to Allen for his generosity in putting up with Bob for the last few weeks, and all the work he has done to help us get this adventure off the ground.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
My two Horses
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These are the two horses I will be using for my ride, the sorrel is called Tigers, and the brown, Cody, It's possible I might rename them when I get to know them better, but we'll have to see. Both horses are around 15.1 hands and weigh just over 1120 lbs. When I set off both horses will be fully vaccinated and have their health certificates in order, they'll also be "stepping out" in new shoes.Long Rider Allen Russell, a great guy who lives in Montana, found both horses for me. What Allen doesn't know about horses isn't worth knowing, and I have been doubly fortunate as Allen is letting me stay on his ranch for a couple of weeks to enable me to get to know them before I set off. Allen has also offered to trailer me the 500 odd miles to North Dakota where I will be starting the ride at the end of July, so all in all I'm very indebted to this generous Long Rider.
Monday, 16 June 2008
An American Long Ride, and why I’m doing it.
After endless months of research, planning, telephone calls, and emails the time is fast approaching when I will be flying out to America for the start of my 2,000-mile long ride. It is my intention to undertake a solo ride from Canada to Mexico, starting off on the border in North Dakota, and all being well, finishing in El Paso, Texas. The trip has been planned to take around five months and I will be using two horses that I have recently bought, one to ride and one to pack. Both are Quarter Horses, and are very similar at 15.2 hands and around eight years old.
As the time draws near, with my excitement beginning to grow I sometimes wonder why I decided to do this at all, especially when you consider that up until six months ago my only experience with our equine friends was on Weston-Super-Mare beach, when my children were young. I think they were called donkeys.
Well, it all started just over a year ago, I had just retired and sold my business, and my children had grown up and left home. So, what was I going to do, I had time on my hands, I was still reasonably fit and active, and I felt much too young to settle down with pipe and slippers. I knew I needed a fresh challenge, something worthwhile and meaningful, but what? Months and months went by and I couldn’t think of a thing, nothing grabbed me, Climb a mountain? No, much to old. Sail around the world? No, not rich enough. Go to the North Pole? No, not brave enough. Oh what could I do? Then, in a wink of an eye it hit me, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
I’m a big Country and Western fan, and I was sitting down listening to some music, as you do, It was the late, great, Marty Robbins. Now Marty recorded a lot of cowboy songs, and with cowboy songs you get a lot of horses, and in this particular song he was relating the story of a cowboy riding to El Paso. Well, it hit me like a train; in that moment I made the decision. I was gonna ride to El Paso. Now the fact that I couldn’t ride didn’t come into it, after all, how hard could that be (wasn’t I the clever one)? So, that song was my main inspiration, however it was allied to the fact that I like America and the people that live in the small towns there, and the thought of meeting them, whilst being on horseback just feels right. About seven years ago, some friends and I were sat outside an old bar in Bandera, Texas, when in the distance we could see a guy on horseback trotting towards us leading a packhorse. Well, he rode up to the bar, tied the horses to the hitching post in front of us and came in to have a beer, luckily he sat down beside us, and we got chatting. He was a Frenchman and he was riding from California to Cuba and he seemed to be just fine. So that also told me that riding through America could be done.
I have had a lot of help, advice and logistical support from a body known as “The Long Riders’ Guild” a group of equestrian explorers, dedicated to helping other long distance riders. They have been kind enough to mention my ride on their website. This is the address, should you care to take a look. http://www.thelongridersguild.com/jones.htm
Having now decided to do a long ride, I had to learn to ride, and learn Western style, luckily for me there was a Western riding stable fairly close by, It was called “The Mendip Stud”, I made an appointment for a Western experience day towards the end of last November, where I met John, Lou, and Lisa, feeling slightly foolish I explained that I wanted to ride down through America, and could they help me, and could they teach me to ride by July. To their great credit and without any hesitation they said they could, and the rest as they say, is history.I would like to express my gratitude to John, Lou, and Lisa who have helped me over and above the call of duty, and not only has Lisa taught me to ride, she has also given me truckloads of advice and many hours of her own time, which I know will prove invaluable in the months to come. My thanks also to RL, Mo, Smarty, Jarvis, et al. For their tolerance, and forgiving natures during the last six months.
As the time draws near, with my excitement beginning to grow I sometimes wonder why I decided to do this at all, especially when you consider that up until six months ago my only experience with our equine friends was on Weston-Super-Mare beach, when my children were young. I think they were called donkeys.
Well, it all started just over a year ago, I had just retired and sold my business, and my children had grown up and left home. So, what was I going to do, I had time on my hands, I was still reasonably fit and active, and I felt much too young to settle down with pipe and slippers. I knew I needed a fresh challenge, something worthwhile and meaningful, but what? Months and months went by and I couldn’t think of a thing, nothing grabbed me, Climb a mountain? No, much to old. Sail around the world? No, not rich enough. Go to the North Pole? No, not brave enough. Oh what could I do? Then, in a wink of an eye it hit me, I knew exactly what I was going to do.
I’m a big Country and Western fan, and I was sitting down listening to some music, as you do, It was the late, great, Marty Robbins. Now Marty recorded a lot of cowboy songs, and with cowboy songs you get a lot of horses, and in this particular song he was relating the story of a cowboy riding to El Paso. Well, it hit me like a train; in that moment I made the decision. I was gonna ride to El Paso. Now the fact that I couldn’t ride didn’t come into it, after all, how hard could that be (wasn’t I the clever one)? So, that song was my main inspiration, however it was allied to the fact that I like America and the people that live in the small towns there, and the thought of meeting them, whilst being on horseback just feels right. About seven years ago, some friends and I were sat outside an old bar in Bandera, Texas, when in the distance we could see a guy on horseback trotting towards us leading a packhorse. Well, he rode up to the bar, tied the horses to the hitching post in front of us and came in to have a beer, luckily he sat down beside us, and we got chatting. He was a Frenchman and he was riding from California to Cuba and he seemed to be just fine. So that also told me that riding through America could be done.
I have had a lot of help, advice and logistical support from a body known as “The Long Riders’ Guild” a group of equestrian explorers, dedicated to helping other long distance riders. They have been kind enough to mention my ride on their website. This is the address, should you care to take a look. http://www.thelongridersguild.com/jones.htm
Having now decided to do a long ride, I had to learn to ride, and learn Western style, luckily for me there was a Western riding stable fairly close by, It was called “The Mendip Stud”, I made an appointment for a Western experience day towards the end of last November, where I met John, Lou, and Lisa, feeling slightly foolish I explained that I wanted to ride down through America, and could they help me, and could they teach me to ride by July. To their great credit and without any hesitation they said they could, and the rest as they say, is history.I would like to express my gratitude to John, Lou, and Lisa who have helped me over and above the call of duty, and not only has Lisa taught me to ride, she has also given me truckloads of advice and many hours of her own time, which I know will prove invaluable in the months to come. My thanks also to RL, Mo, Smarty, Jarvis, et al. For their tolerance, and forgiving natures during the last six months.
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