BY: MEREDITH CHERRY
If you could escape your daily grind and go on the adventure of a lifetime, what would you do?
For me, the answer is clear. This October I will give up my cozy desk job for the freedom and uncertainties of the road and ride my horse, Apollo, to 48 states. The 14,000-mile journey will take me four years.
I was inspired to make this journey after careful consideration two years ago, when I was seeing a therapist after leaving a nightmarish marriage. I told her the two things I had loved doing most before domestic violence put my life on hold – traveling and riding horses.
During these sessions, I also learned that one in three women will be victims of domestic violence at some time in their life—most of them experience it before the age of 34. After feeling alone and confused about what I had been going through for so long, I was shocked to learn how common domestic violence really is. I wanted to help other women learn about domestic violence so they would not have to go through what I did, and to give those currently suffering domestic violence’s effects some hope for a better future.
I planned this ride as the solution to all three goals: travel, horses and domestic violence awareness. I’m not so sure my therapist thought this ride was a good idea.
For the last two years, I have been preparing maps, learning about the challenges of a “long ride” (a trail ride longer than 1,000 miles), and training the horse I bought with the funds from selling my engagement ring—the only thing I was able to carry away from my marriage. My golden horse Apollo makes me much happier than my diamond ring ever did.
This ride will be the first time a woman has ever ridden to 48 states. Two other (male) riders completed similar routes in the early 1900s. Things have changed a lot since then, but it is still possible to ride a horse nearly everywhere you can ride a bike. This route will take us along country roads, city streets, bike paths, hiking trails, jeep roads, and perhaps even on a river ferry. We will travel around 20 miles per day, with plenty of stops for resting, water, grazing time, and of course talking to people about our reason for riding.
In some ways it is easier to travel by horse now than it was 100 years ago. Famous long rider Frank Heath travelled to 48 states with his horse Gypsy Queen and spent hours each night looking for a place to stay. Now we have Google Maps and smartphones that can save the long rider the time of knocking on doors looking for hospitality (although the old-fashioned method is still needed from time to time).
Apollo and I are both anxious to get on the road as we finish our final preparations. Our training and fundraising will soon be complete, and then we can begin our four-year journey.
The Centauride: Riding for Domestic Violence Awareness is on Kickstarter until July 7, 2016. You can also learn more about the ride at www.centauride.org.
