As I arrived to work today, I saw a horse and rider preparing to head down the road. I talked to the fellow a while and found out that he is riding across Canada on his Quarter Horse mare, Chevy and has been three months on the road. His mare looked to be in great shape, she was busy grazing the lawn as we spoke.
He averages 30 miles a day with her has had her reshod 4 times, and had her vet checked recently with a clean bill of health.
Originally there were two men travelling together, but one dropped out for family reasons. This is Dirk Pfau.
Ahead of him is about forty miles of the highest mountain pass in Canada, the Salmo Creston Skyway. At the summit there is a rest stop, I'm sure he'll make use of it! There is a lake there, and some grass for grazing. I intend to take a drive tomorrow with some supplies for them.
A short time after he rode off, there was a storm front roll in with high winds and driving rain, strong but short-lived. I hope he made it to some shelter before it hit! I asked if he has a tent, he said he sleeps where the horse does, only underneath a tarp. He also said he'd never do this again!
17 comments:
Aah, not all romance eh? Nice mare though. Where was he from?
Nice big mare! and one brave fellow! Glad you bumped into them, and nice that you are going to take some supplies
I've always wondered about the people that ride across the country. At times I think it would be fun, then other times I think it would be miserable. I guess it all depended on the weather.
That is very nice of you to take them supplies! Very pretty horse!
Very brave man, I always thought about it, almost bikes accross canada once just out of high school (whew got a job instead) but then i thinkof all the work and forget about it.
Too Cool!!! :-)
Wow, that's amazing! They look great! I wish him the best.
The horse does look great. I am all about goals, but this is something I so wouldn't like to do. First, I am not a loner. Riding alone all that distance would be a downer for me. Secondly, I would worry about my horse. Not having a pack horse along, you are really at the mercy of the land for feed and water.
Yeah, you get to see a lot of nice country, meet people along the way. Just not my cup of tea.
Good for you for helping him out. I hope he makes it wherever it is.
Hey! This guy and the other showed up at Zoe and Gerry's a few months ago! Thats amazing the one guy is still going at it. They bought some bridles from them and slept in the barn with their horses. That is amazing he made it that far!
Wow. Interesting that he said he'd never do it again. And nice of you to take them supplies!
Definitely a brave fellow!
very cool! I used to fantasize about riding across the country, but then I let practicality (and
umm...didn't finish typing before my computer posted...sorry! Anyway I was saying I think that's so neat and amused that he said he wouldn't do it again. Guess it looks more appealing than it realistically is!
That is pretty amazing and more power to him! You are so nice to do that for them!
Does he have a resourse vehicle following him? Or at least checking on him? Might be hard to find water and food for the horse, otherwise. I'd be wayyyy to scared of bears to ever try anything like that!
No resources except what he finds along the way. He seems to have done quite well, the mare grazes when he rests and at night, and there are always helpful folks around!
That's so cool! We've had several folks like that riding their horses through New Mexico, on their way across the country.
A few months ago a lady rode through here and when she arrived in Texas, her horse got into a terrible accident in a corral and had to be put down. She still had a long journey, but had to end it all.
Folks around here usually give these riders a place to bed down for the night, a corral, a shower and a meal, too. It's great to help these folks who are fulfilling a dream, with their horse.
I hope the two of them make it all the way.
~Lisa
Hi everybody, this is the lone rider´s girlfriend writing. So cool to see how you all are following the trip. Big thank you to Shirley for caring. Your blog is pretty cool, very beautiful horses. Greetinx from Germany, Elli
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