I found this article referred to from the comments on the last post. It's from TBO (Tampa Bay Online) and by Lindsay Peterson. Miss Jay, the paint mare that Donna was riding has passed away. The cause of death is unknown, suspected toxicity, alledged abuse by anonymous but reading the article, it seems an animal welfare worker inspected Miss Jay & Tonto and found no basis of abuse or negligence. RIP Miss Jay. You were one strong mare and a testament to paint horses! Donna purchased another horse and Tonto is still packing.
By LINDSAY PETERSON The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 30, 2009
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Photos of the trip
Previous: How the story started
Cowgirl Donna Byrne packed up her two horses, Tonto and Jay, in Arcadia five months ago and took to the road, hoping to make it to Amarillo, Texas, and a new ranch job.
She's less than 80 miles from her destination, but she'll arrive exhausted, beaten down by the long trip and heartsick.
Jay, the horse she was riding, died last week.
Byrne thinks it was the result of eating a poison plant in the town she was passing through, Childress.
"I saw her chewing on something and I jerked her away," she said. Soon after that she began to bleed from the nose, then her tongue swelled up. Byrne called a veterinarian who came out to check on Jay. He gave her medication but couldn't save her.
Byrne later became ill and went to the local hospital emergency room. She thought she was having a heart attack, but the doctor said she was in shock. He medicated her, she said, and when she got out, all she wanted to do was get back on the road.
She bought a new horse, which she knew seemed cold, so soon after Jay's death, but "I had to do something," she said. "I wanted to get out of that town. I just wanted to get the heck away from there."
No one performed a necropsy to figure out what killed Jay, but it could well have been a poison plant, said Terri Gammage, president and founder of a horse rescue operation in Amarillo, Safe Hayven.
"She could have died from eating toxic weeds. We have them here, they're everywhere. She could have died from heat stroke. I do not know. And it's too late to find out now," she said.
But after getting calls from people who have been following Byrne's story, she tracked her down on Monday. She wanted to check on Tonto and the horse that Byrne bought to replace Jay. Byrne is calling the new horse Bitch, because she has a surly attitude.
Gammage found both of them in good shape, she said. "As a cruelty investigator, I would never dream of trying to make a case against her," Gammage said. The horses seemed comfortable. They weren't blowing "or dancing around like they were hurting."
Tonto is lean, but it's what you would expect from a horse that had travelled 1,500 miles.
Byrne, 44, set out from Arcadia in February, riding her horse Jay and using Tonto to carry a tent, clothes and almost everything else she owned.
She had lost her job on a small ranch and decided to head to Texas, hoping to find steady work in Amarillo. Ultimately, she said, she wanted to get to Montana, where she worked several years ago.
Along the way, people began giving her money and places to stay and feeding and putting new shoes on her horses.
Many offered to drive her and her horses to her destination, but she said no. She wanted to keep riding, to prove she had the guts to finish what she started.
Byrne wound up in a hospital in Tallahassee and later in Pineville, La., with a leg infection. After several days on intravenous antibiotics in Pineville, she finally got the infection under control. Then she decided to ride a bull in a rodeo down the road from Pineville; she used to be a professional bull rider. She flew off after 7 seconds and bruised her back.
But none of what she's been through on the road compares with losing Jay, she said on Monday. "People think I killed her. I didn't kill her. I would have killed myself before I killed that horse," she said.
Some bloggers on a Web site set up to follow Byrne's progress have been condemning her for subjecting her horses to such a long trip. But after seeing Byrne's horses and meeting her, Gammage defends her.
"What she is doing is not any way worse than what a lot of people on competitive trail riding and endurance riding do. They do it every day. She's not doing it nearly as hard as competitive riders do," she said.
"Donna has a choice in what she's doing. The horses don't. But as far as I can see right now, the horses are not in danger."
But Byrne is spent. "I'm worn down," she said. "I know cowgirls don't cry, ride, baby, ride. But with Jay's death, it really took a toll on me. I'm just tired."
Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Donna's headin' for Yellowstone....latest update
I pulled this from an article in the Wichita Times Newspaper dated June 24, 2009, there were no pictures with this article and I haven't heard from Donna personally.
Saddled up for travel
Woman is crossing U.S. on horseback
By Hanaba Welch
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A cowboy’s not really down and out until he sells his saddle.
If the same standard applies to cowgirls, Donna Byrne is doing OK. The Florida cowgirl is homeless and jobless, but she still has her two horses — one to ride and the other to carry her possessions.
Byrne is a phenomenon of the downturn in the American economy — the last domino in the line but knocked down just the same.
“The lady I was working for, she lost her ranch and all her cows,” Byrne said. “I done paid her the rent, but she said I had to get out because the bank was foreclosing.”
With the economy going south, Byrne decided to say goodbye to Arcadia, Fla., and head west.
At first, her destination was just somewhere far beyond the Mississippi where she could find ranch work and a home for herself and her horses. Now it’s Yellowstone or bust.
“I found out I’ve got a job up there,” she said Tuesday as she sat and rested under the canopy at Ole Towne Cotton Gin RV Park at Goodlett while her horses grazed nearby. “They want me to be a cook up there.”
Will she get to keep her horses?
“I ain’t gettin’ rid of ’em,” she said.
So far, both animals are making the long trek just fine. Not that they have any reason to complain — at least not Tonto, a blaze-faced gelding who [Note] that [/NOTE] owes his very life to Byrne. “Tonto was starvin’ to death when I got him,” she said. “The vet did want to put him down. I said let’s give him a chance.”
Now he’s sleek and frisky.
“When he gets an urge, he’ll spin around and start buckin’,” Byrne said.
That’s why he’s the packhorse and Jay, her $100 paint mare, is her ride.
The two horses are cheap transportation across the U.S. But both are getting by nicely on free roadside grass and the kindness of strangers who give them free grazing and hay and sweet feed.
The whole odyssey has put Byrne in the limelight, thanks to news stories and a blog maintained by a friend. Byrne doesn’t mind the attention — not surprising for an ex-rodeo bull rider. In fact, despite doctor’s orders, she entered the bullriding competition at the rodeo in Winnfield, La., a memorable point on her cross-country itinerary.
Byrne didn’t make it till the buzzer, but she did last for 6.7 seconds — not bad, she figures, for someone with not much grip in her holding-on hand.
“I cut this tendon, I cut that tendon, so I’m only holding on with one finger,” she said. Byrne landed flat in the dirt on her once-broken back, but she managed to get up and doff her hat to the stands.
“The whole crowd just stood up,” she said. “It just felt good to get on. I got rid of my frustration.”
Cattle truck driver is also on her resume. She’s seeing places she’s been before, but she’s enjoying the slow pace of her trek. If anybody wants to give her and Jay and Tonto a ride to Yellowstone, it will be harder for her to accept than a bag of feed.
“I’d rather ride it,” she said.
To learn more about Byrne or to help her on her journey, see www.donnabyrnecowgirl.blogspot.com.
Saddled up for travel
Woman is crossing U.S. on horseback
By Hanaba Welch
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A cowboy’s not really down and out until he sells his saddle.
If the same standard applies to cowgirls, Donna Byrne is doing OK. The Florida cowgirl is homeless and jobless, but she still has her two horses — one to ride and the other to carry her possessions.
Byrne is a phenomenon of the downturn in the American economy — the last domino in the line but knocked down just the same.
“The lady I was working for, she lost her ranch and all her cows,” Byrne said. “I done paid her the rent, but she said I had to get out because the bank was foreclosing.”
With the economy going south, Byrne decided to say goodbye to Arcadia, Fla., and head west.
At first, her destination was just somewhere far beyond the Mississippi where she could find ranch work and a home for herself and her horses. Now it’s Yellowstone or bust.
“I found out I’ve got a job up there,” she said Tuesday as she sat and rested under the canopy at Ole Towne Cotton Gin RV Park at Goodlett while her horses grazed nearby. “They want me to be a cook up there.”
Will she get to keep her horses?
“I ain’t gettin’ rid of ’em,” she said.
So far, both animals are making the long trek just fine. Not that they have any reason to complain — at least not Tonto, a blaze-faced gelding who [Note] that [/NOTE] owes his very life to Byrne. “Tonto was starvin’ to death when I got him,” she said. “The vet did want to put him down. I said let’s give him a chance.”
Now he’s sleek and frisky.
“When he gets an urge, he’ll spin around and start buckin’,” Byrne said.
That’s why he’s the packhorse and Jay, her $100 paint mare, is her ride.
The two horses are cheap transportation across the U.S. But both are getting by nicely on free roadside grass and the kindness of strangers who give them free grazing and hay and sweet feed.
The whole odyssey has put Byrne in the limelight, thanks to news stories and a blog maintained by a friend. Byrne doesn’t mind the attention — not surprising for an ex-rodeo bull rider. In fact, despite doctor’s orders, she entered the bullriding competition at the rodeo in Winnfield, La., a memorable point on her cross-country itinerary.
Byrne didn’t make it till the buzzer, but she did last for 6.7 seconds — not bad, she figures, for someone with not much grip in her holding-on hand.
“I cut this tendon, I cut that tendon, so I’m only holding on with one finger,” she said. Byrne landed flat in the dirt on her once-broken back, but she managed to get up and doff her hat to the stands.
“The whole crowd just stood up,” she said. “It just felt good to get on. I got rid of my frustration.”
Cattle truck driver is also on her resume. She’s seeing places she’s been before, but she’s enjoying the slow pace of her trek. If anybody wants to give her and Jay and Tonto a ride to Yellowstone, it will be harder for her to accept than a bag of feed.
“I’d rather ride it,” she said.
To learn more about Byrne or to help her on her journey, see www.donnabyrnecowgirl.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Credits for the painting of Donna in Williston, FL
Here's the picture again with credits for the artist.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Anxiously Awaiting an Update
Hello everyone! I should be getting news this week on Donna's progress. Anyone that may know anything recent from the past week or so, please post in the comments. I'm still hoping to fly out to meet up with Donna again. Anyone who has a Donna story from her trip, please email it and I'll post it or post it here in comments. I will definitely update Donna's progress as soon as I hear something!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Donna's Song - A Cowgirl's Journey
Johnny Buczynskithe and the Sunspots wrote a song about Donna. He is going to donate a portion of the proceeds to Donna directly. Click this posting title to take you to the song recorded on March 2, 2009. You can purchase a copy of this song directly from this link for only 99 cents!! Consider purchasing this touching song, A Cowgirl's Journey
Here's a short excerpt from the original lyrics .....
A Cowgirls Journey by "Johnny B" Buczynski copyright February 22, 2009
This here's a story it's sad but it's true
It happened to Donna, it could happen to you.
As she's on her journey I'm not going along
But I gave her a gift and that gift is this song
And her story goes like this.
I'm an unemployed cowgirl, my names Donna Byrne
I was going through life, when life took a turn
In the second great depression I lost my Home
Except for two horses, I?m left all alone ......
Let's all support Johnny B and purchase a copy of the Cowgirl's Journey!! The lyrics can also be read from this link.
Here's a short excerpt from the original lyrics .....
A Cowgirls Journey by "Johnny B" Buczynski copyright February 22, 2009
This here's a story it's sad but it's true
It happened to Donna, it could happen to you.
As she's on her journey I'm not going along
But I gave her a gift and that gift is this song
And her story goes like this.
I'm an unemployed cowgirl, my names Donna Byrne
I was going through life, when life took a turn
In the second great depression I lost my Home
Except for two horses, I?m left all alone ......
Let's all support Johnny B and purchase a copy of the Cowgirl's Journey!! The lyrics can also be read from this link.
1500 Miles and counting!!
As of today, I estimate that Donna has ridden just slightly over 1,500 miles since leaving Arcadia, FL. As far as I can figure, she has not had any health problems, except fatigue, since Louisianna. As far as I know, Miss Jay & Tonto are doing well and are in good health. Donna is not far now from Amarillo so if anyone knows anyone up in the Texas panhandle, specially Amarillo, get on the phone or email them please and let's see if we can't get Donna a ranch job in that area. Today, please take a moment to say a prayer for Miss Jay, Tonto and Donna.
Don't Forget Donna!
I just wanted to add a post today that Donna is still on the road in Texas and still needs our prayers and if you've an extra dime to send along, the post office box is still good. I believe most of the money is probably used to buy minutes for her cell phone. It's a pay as you go phone and her only link to the world she's riding through. Wishing you mild weather and happiness, Donna! 
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
A Painting of Donna
Here's a picture of a painting that someone has somewhere in Williston. The blogger who posted it has never responded as to where or who painted the picture.
Some news articles from Donna's Trip
This is an article with a great picture of Donna crossing the Mississippi with a police escort.
http://natchezdemocrat.com/news/2009/apr/21/cowgirl-stops-natchez-job-hunt-westward/
http://natchezdemocrat.com/news/2009/apr/21/cowgirl-stops-natchez-job-hunt-westward/
Friday, June 5, 2009
Donna's Latest Location & Addressing Some Issues From This Blog
Donna is now around Carthage, Texas. I'm sorry for not posting an update but the past 3 months have been rough for me. For those that continue to follow Donna's progress and are supportive of her, please post comments. For those that have negative things to say, well, look in your own closet for skeletons. I, for one, have made plenty of lousy decisions in my life and what Donna is doing is uplifting and inspiring. I am going to try to keep up with her so I can fly out and meet her in Texas. Thanx to all who support Donna and for those that don't support her, well don't post here. I've deleted the two negative comments on one post and will, as I can, filter through the other posts and delete anything negative. I did not know Donna prior to Feb. when she stayed with me. Miss Jay and Tonto were in very good condition and I know that Donna has their well being as her top priority on her trip. Donna u rock! I hope to see u again soon. Also, for those that harassed me over this blog and Donna's trip.... ya'll are a bunch of weirdos and for a time you did creep me out. Just don't underestimate me. I might wobble when you smack me, but I can come back with a vengance and I carry more than a grudge. Again, I'll try to keep posting and I'll add some of the articles that I have stuck in various fav lists with the pictures as I can.
Sincerely, Jan Mock
Sincerely, Jan Mock
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Just a quick update. Not much new. Donna is still resting the horses and herself at a host farm in North Florida. It's been cold the past week so it's best. I'll let everyone know when she decides to continue. Please post this blog on any forums that you are a member. Miss Jay and Tonto are doing well and having a nice relaxing time.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Update from Donna's current hostess.....
UPDATE: It's Sunday morning and we're about to head out for breakfast. I just wanted to say that having Donna here has been an absolute delight - she's pleasant, easy to get along with, and has a great sense of humor. (She also washes dishes!) She has been able to meet several of our friends and she fits in well with all types of people. Saturday was a fun day - we hit all the big tourist sights in Monticello - Monticello Milling, Dr. Davis' vet office, Winn Dixie, Jefferson Builder's Mart - you now those places that only the natives know about. Donna supervised my western pleasure lesson yesterday, assisted a gentleman with saddling and bridling one of my mares he is considering leasing, and even rode (with much success) one of my WP mares in training - the prettiest little jog you've ever seen. The lady who shows this mare said, "Now, why can't I get her to do that?!" Anyway, she's welcome here as long as she'd like to stay and I hope she'll stay for several days. It's been a pleasure having her around!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Please show this to Donna....
Hay, wherever Donna lands next, please show her HER blog! We love you Donna! You go girl! You're almost famous!
Additional Bloggers
I have invited a few that have also been in contact and will be in contact with Donna to blog here also. I hope they can also share some stories of their time with Donna. If you see new posts from new people, it is because I selected them to update also or just share about their moments with her, post a picture or whatever, when they get a moment.
Update..Thursday
Hello everyone! As I was a bit under the weather yesterday, I did not post, I apologize. Donna is doing fine and items to help her along her trip are enroute. Thank you goes out to all who are sending prayers, donations and offering safe haven rest stops for Donna. She is very appreciative and I'm sure someone along those stops will show her this blog. So if you have a word of encouragement to send Donna please post a comment. Anyone wishing to post negative comments, please do it elsewhere, lest I unleash my wrath of diplomatic sarcasm and a plaque of fleas for a hundred years, upon you. Donna has more heart and courage than any one of us who can only dream of riding a horse as far as she has already gone. I am so glad to see so many stepping up along her route to wish her well. Donna may have at one time, thought no one cared about her, but now she knows there are many of us who genuinely care about her, Miss Jay and Tonto. She crossed my path for a only a moment in time but I will never forget her. Godspeed Donna and I pray He lights the way for every step you take. Stay tuned for the latest coming soon....
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Donna's Progress
Donna made Bronson yesterday. She stayed with a contact and seems to be ill again. This morning that contact trailered the horses and Donna to Chiefland and apparently Donna wanted to ride from there. She wants to make Old Town or Cross City today. I'll have to check the distance but anyone out there that is in that area, please keep an eye out. If she isn't feeling well, the temps have been cool and it could be a real set back if she had to camp outside.
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