My friend (where I board) is hosting a Long Rider for a few days.
http://www.endeofthetrail.com/
For her current 6,000 mile trip she departed March 2009 and will return to her home in Montana in November 2010. The route is Montana to Portland to Austin to Minneapolis and back home.
I met her briefly yesterday, she’s pretty awesome. I’ll have a better chance to talk with her tomorrow.
Article from her website:
Weathering the long, hot days on endless miles of American roads, she rides atop her big paint gelding horse “Hart” and packs her trusty, sturdy horse “Essie Pearl” with all of her gear - she keeps company with a faithful companion - a “long riding” dog extraordinaire named “Claire.”
“Long rider” Bernice Ende, a native of Rogers, now a resident of northwestern Montana, is making a 6,000-mile ride to visit her sister Katherine Ende Wilson who lives in Waconia.
She was greeted in Searles by John Fritsche and several members of the New Ulm Battery.
Ende received a special escort by the New Ulm Battery pulling their canon. They traveled from Searles along Highway15 through New Ulm and out to Duane Kitzberger’s farm in rural New Ulm.
“I’m just touched that they are doing this for me,” said Ende.
“We’re proud to help her and bring her though town,” said Fritsche. “I hope she enjoys the City of New Ulm.”
Ende’s journey began back on March 20, 2009, in Trego, Mont. She traveled from the northwest corner of Montana west to the mouth of the Columbia River, Naselle, Wash.
“I’ve been riding in the rain and snow since November of last year,” said Ende.
Taking the shortest route possible, she made her way to south central Texas. She went northbound through the panhandle of Texas into Oklahoma, central Kansas, southeastern Nebraska into Iowa and then Minnesota.
Her home stretch will be westward across North Dakota into eastern Montana. She hopes to be home before the snow flies into the northwest corner of Montana.
Her purpose for doing this long ride is simple - it is for the smiles she sees and to remind people of the goodness of our country.
“Her rides are primarily about people: meeting people, inspiring people, sharing stories with people,” according to information from her web site.
Ende gives talks on the “long ride.”
According to Wikipedia, “long rider” may refer to an equestrian who rides long distances, usually on long-distance trails.
“We are horse people… we settled this country with horses. We’ve living history… we carry on these significant historical events,” said Ende. “People rode 70 miles in three days. The need for food, water and shelter is a constant.”
Ende said the image of the horse and rider is a romantic and legendary image of the freedom people in this country have.
Her web site said, “She believes that the image of a horse and rider is a powerful symbol for all of us, an image of freedom and independence which everyone can relate to on a fundamental level.”
“I’ve had thousands of people say to me, ‘I’d love to do that (go on a long ride),’” said Ende. “It’s hard… it’s dirty… it’s not easy and it’s dangerous. There’s rattlesnakes down south and grizzly bears up north.”
At times, she will find herself knocking on a stranger’s door to find shelter.
Once she was caught in a monsoon in New Mexico with only a tarp to cover her horses and dog.
She began her first long ride to see her sister back in 2005.
“I knew nothing about it,” said Ende.
She learned as she went along, she said. Now she does her own horse shoeing and veterinary work. Her horses are vaccinated and vet-checked every so often, too.
Her rides are funded by a variety of sponsors, by pass-the-hat talks she gives on her travels, and by donations from many individuals.
Ende claims to have been a horse rider her entire life.
“They (horses) are a noble animal - they give us nobility,” said Ende. “My growing up on our dairy farm gave me the wherewithal to do these things.”
Ende said it was good how people have helped her out while she was passing through this area. She said Larry Kramer stopped her on the road west of Lake Hanska County Park (where she had been planning to stay). Kramer then found her food and a place to stay overnight for a couple of nights - in a machine shed at Gene Brand’s place.
Kramer called Bob Gieseke who ended up calling Duane Kitzberger; Kitzberger called John Fritsche who lined up an escort from the New Ulm Battery for Ende.
“Our rich and diverse country is embellished by generous, neighborly people,” Ende wrote on a postcard she was giving away to people she met on her ride.
“To each and every one of you whose path I cross, a hearty thank-you for the the help, the interest and the encouragement. I could not have done it without you. Happy trails!”
For more information about Ende and her travels, please log on to www.endofthetrail.com.
