Riding Across America

For all of those that complain and whine about what Donna is doing and those that think she's doing this for fame & fortune, you need to look at some of these other distance riders. Some of them are selling books and music, telling of their journeys. Not all of them are donating that money to charity, some are, some aren't. These are just a few of the people riding across country or have accomplished that and not all are a part of the Long Riders' Guild. Certainly none of them are famous or rolling in the dough they raised for themselves or charities, from their rides.
Buffalo Moon Expedition
Joe Guy
Tom Moates
Horse Hotels & Rider Rest Stops
Tracey Elliot Reep
Stan Perdue
Horse & Mule Trails - Information on campsites, trails, across the US etc

Fame, Fortune & Donna Byrne....WTF???

It still boggles my mind that there are people who cannot fathom that Tonto & Mouse are doing just fine. Horses who graze large pastures, on average, will move around about as much as these 2 horses. There are days, sometimes weeks, of rest and the hardest days are short distances in tough terrain or longer distances in easier conditions. Either way both horses are only going at a walk and 20 miles is a long stretch they don't do everyday. The uneducated idiot that doesn't realize these horses are well within physical condition at this point, should get an education on their own mounts. How much work does your horse do on average? How about those adult amateurs who ride sporadically and then go to a show, only to stay mounted and ride for an extended period of time. If your horse' respirations are properly brought up in the warm up ring and are even after a round of 8 fences, then you're doing okay. If your horse is blowing, panting, sweating and needing extended cool down walks, that's a sign, your horse is not conditioned. If after 1800 plus miles, your horse can walk an average of 10 miles in mountainous terrain and not have a problem with it, you're doing okay. Donna's horses' are just fine. Anyone who thinks differently just doesn't know anything about horses. Not every detail of Donna's journey has been openly devulged in this blog or anywhere else that I've seen. Without all the facts, how can one have a negative opinion of Donna and how she is caring for the horses? Donna and I still get a good chuckle out of those that think she is doing this for the fame and fortune. Anything Donna has been given has not been asked for by her. Many have given to her and she is appreciative but she would also like everyone to know that if she were profiting from this trip, she would have bought her own ranch with the money. I've said it before, I'll say it again, Donna is about as famous as my dog, the Dolly Mmama. Have you heard of the famous purebred black dog, the Dolly Mmama? Well then, that'll tell you how famous Donna is....Hay Donna. When you get settled can I come and live off the riches you've amassed on your trip? We can go riding around your ten thousand acre ranch in Montana on our six million dollar horses and laugh at the people who gave you those millions.....nice dream huh? Well maybe you could buy a lottery ticket off the riches you've gotten up til now on your trip. God bless Tonto, Mouse and you! Hope to see ya soon!

Regrets & I told you so....

With yet another obscure sighting of Donna on August 6, the day after Frank had encountered her near Guffey, Colorado, comes the same old chatter from people who just want to see Donna fail. Some of those chattering about enabling Donna; some who regret having helped her; most that just want to say I told you she was nuts; all on the negative side, just being judgemental. I don't understand why this group of nay sayers continues to negatively complain about Donna just as they don't understand why I continue to support her. She's 1800 miles and 7 months away from most of them, if not all. Some have never even met Donna or had anything to do with helping her. Some are still worried about the horses. Tonto has been there since the beginning and I believe if 1800 miles didn't zap his strength then he's doing just fine. As for Miss Jay, there were the vets, the animal control officers, the equine rescue personnel and the pictures, that all agree she was in good health and most likely died consuming some sort of plant that was toxic to her system. Some say that Donna has a choice in whether she goes about the country on foot but the horses do not. That's true. But I've only met one horse my entire life that actually schools himself when left at liberty in the pasture. That's my TB and twice a day you can hear thundering hooves while he makes a few laps around the paddock and jumps whatever comes up in front of him. I have pictures of him doing this because it's rather unbelievable but he does love to jump and be ridden. But, if I asked my western pleasure mare who resides in the same pasture as my TB, if she wants to be ridden, I believe her answer would always be 'no, I'm retired'. FYI, she's less than half the age of the TB and just watches him when he ventures on his self exercising routine. Some horses like to work, some don't mind it and a scant few become rogue enough to not bother. Donna's horses including Miss Jay, have never had a problem walking an average of 15 miles a day. 20 is the maximum and there have been days with as little as 5 miles due to rough terrain. Donna is not the stupid, self centered ass that this group of judgemental and unknowledgable people make her out to be. If she were just dragging the horses down the highway with no regard to their well being, Miss Jay would not have made it 1500 miles and Tonto would not still be going after an estimated 1800 miles if not more. Some seem to worry that Donna is doing all this for the fame and fortune. I will challenge them to find where Donna Byrne is a household name and is routinely discussed on a national forum. And I don't think anyone actually believes Donna has a fortune somewhere, at least not one of a monetary nature. I still don't understand why some regret having helped Donna. I will never regret helping anyone. I give money to people on the street in DC and Baltimore when I'm there. I give free riding lessons and regularly waive my fee to judge 4H horse shows. I donate any profit made at our own shows to an equine rescue although I believe we're going to try to make a little bit for the local no kill dog shelter in the next few months. I usually don't make much of a profit and end up donating all the ribbons from my own pocket. What's my point? Patting myself on the back? The point is that I don't care where the panhandlers spend the money I give them. I do not ask what a 4H club will do with the saved fees from paying a judge. The only thing that I've found through donating to animal rescue groups is that I will not give to one that tries to save horses that will always be a medical and physical burden or support their own horses & families from donations. Otherwise I don't care if they spend the money on feed, vet, or electric bills. I know this post has become quite the ramble and I imagine a bit confusing. I guess I just need to do that this morning. It's good to know that Donna is well and so are the horses. It sucks to know that there are people who must constantly google her just so they can vent their dislike for her on message boards. I've even had people tell me not to write on this blog.....excuse me, but this is MY blog. Get your own, they're free. People have told me to stop supporting Donna. They've called me all kinds of vile names because I do support her but what I do with my time, my blog, my money and whatever else I have is not up for discussion here. It's no different than if you don't care to watch cartoons on TV. You just don't turn them on and if you don't care for Donna or what she's doing, then don't read my blog. Wouldn't your blood pressure or hormones or whatever settle more if you didn't google Donna and try to keep your bashing of her alive? Seems to be it would. Better yet, start a blog and vent. You may find if you do it once, you can be rid of it or at least find others that support your opinion without interfering with mine. Besides, there are many, many people riding their horses around the US right now. Some are of the Long Riders' Guild like the Buffalo Moon Expedition and some were just setting out on their own like Anne. Some are riding north to south, east to west, along the discovery trail of the midwest and on historic routes such as Route 66. Whichever you follow or if you follow them all, don't wish them negativity but celebrate that they are doing something that you are interested in seeing but can't reach beyond your web browser to do yourself. I know I couldn't do these rides and my horses, save for maybe my old TB, wouldn't even bother to go as far as the mailbox without giving me fits because it had been 5 minutes since their last meal! LOL! I couldn't make it 2 miles down the road myself without getting 2 hip replacements, a rod exchanged for my spine and losing at least 50 pounds. If the rides & riders do not bring something positive into your life, then why seek them out just to keep bashing. This one is for Miss Jay.... stop beating a dead horse. Some will find that too ironic and some will be mad at me for using the cliche in light of the fact that Miss Jay is dead. I know for a fact, that Donna agrees with that statement and though she does get a bit teared up mentioning Miss Jay, she is absolutely appreciative of all that mare did for her and has no regrets on the care she gave in return to a little fast walking paint pony. And fyi, Donna is in a good place now, physically, emotionally and news of her 'new' adventure may be coming soon. Stay tuned, if you are truly interested in the good part of the story!!

Another Donna sighting!

Thanx so much to Frank who emailed me about his moment with Donna along a road in Colorado. It was on August 5 and things seem to be fine for as far as Donna has traveled. She seemed tired and run down but not defeated anyway. Donna has a closer destination than Montana to try out. I hope she gets there soon. Thanx so much for the sighting report. I'll update again soon.
Don't forget to check out Buffalo Moon Expedition These Long Riders' Guild gals are launching their ride on September 5. I look forward to following their blog. I only wish I could hop on one of my horses and really ride along. For now, I guess it's best if I just follow in spirit.
I just want to reinterate that if you have trouble posting a comment it's because I was bombarded with whacko comments from people who don't even know Donna or regret they helped her. How you can regret helping out someone in need is beyond me but I was tired of deleting their nasty comments. I'll try to change the moderation of comments again to make it easier to leave Donna a positive comment. If you leave something nasty, you're just wasting your time. It will be deleted.