I have used two horses so far on my journey.  The Marshall is my primary riding horse, but he also carried a pack saddle and packed gear when I rode my second horse, Cole, in 2019 on my Ride Across America.

The Marshall is an amazing horse.  He is a foundation quarter horse bay gelding who could have invented the term “versatile.”  He was bred, raised and trained in Idaho by renowned breeder/trainer/competitor Annie Reynolds.  He was trained as a reigning and cutting horse.  He was a drill team horse for 6 months and was ridden in the Calgary Stampede Grand Entry that year.   A couple years later he was sold to a rancher near Jordan Valley, Oregon, where he was used on cattle.   I bought him when he was 7 or 8 years old.  He rides in 3 or 4 parades each year (including the Pendleton Roundup Westward Ho Parade each September) with the Oregon Mounted Governor’s Guard.  He is also trained and certified as a Search and Rescue horse.  He has moved  cattle, won money in ranch sorting events, helped teach novices how to ride, helped train other horses how to lead and pack, and is a premier trail horse.  Vehicle traffic, flags, thunder storms, lightning and torrential rain while high-lined are no problem for him.    He’s respectful on the ground and light in the bridle.  He is a quick learner and has recently been trained in liberty work.  He is an amazing horse, but unfortunately is also nearing the end of his time on the Continental Divide Trail due to his age (24 years old).   I hope to use him one more year, in 2020, on my Ride Across America.   After that, he will be used as a ranch sorting horse and Cadillac trail horse.   He is a remarkable horse and great riding partner.

Cole is an aged appendix quarter horse gelding (about 24 years old) who was bred and raised in California, then brought to Oregon as a colt and started on barrels.  That didn’t work out, so he spent the rest of his working life as a ranch horse on the LS Ranch in Post, Oregon.  We obtained him when he retired from the ranch, and he is a great trail horse.  Amazingly surefooted, wise in the wilderness, steady, and he never quits.  In the summer of 2019 on the trail, I rode Cole half the time and rode The Marshall the rest of the time.  Cole is doing great, but the rigors of the Continental Divide Trail mean that Cole will stay home and lounge around in our fields when the other horses are with me on the trail.

Our third horse is Lucky.  He is a big (16+ hands), strong appendix Quarter Horse gelding.  He is 19 years old and we bought him 11 years ago.  He loves attention more than any horse I have ever known.  He is a gentle giant.   He will probably be my pack horse for the Ride Across America this summer (2020) for the first time.  He is a bit difficult to pack due to his size, but I am nonetheless looking forward to using him on the trail.  I trained him to pack last year (as a backup pack horse to Cole), so he’ll be ready to go come July 1.