Amarillo By Morning -- Woman rides horse 1,300 miles, for a job.

[Midnight Marauder]

Click here for the column, amazing story in the Amarillo Globe.

In early February - out of a job, out of her house, out of answers, some would say out of her mind - she left the south central Florida town of Arcadia. This 44-year-old cowgirl took with her all she had.

They were her two horses, Tonto and Jay. A tent, a bundle of winter and summer clothes, a few odds and ends, a $100 bill, a map, and later, a cell phone that she was talked into getting.

She left for Amarillo. Not in a truck pulling a trailer, but on horseback. She rode atop Jay, a 5-year-old mare. Tonto carried her worldly goods. She took it, as she said, one day - one lonely, rough, unpredictable day - at a time.

Nearly five months and 1,300 miles later, she arrived. Through cold and heat, through a tornado, through the kindness and harassment of strangers, through the death of her beloved Jay, through a refractured back from an ornery bull, a dislocated shoulder, dehydration and a kidney infection, through the loss of 22 pounds, Byrne made it.

And still doesn't have a job.

 

[AllieBaba]

Because she'd rather ride her horses.

I wonder how she feeds them?

 

[dilloduck]

Because she'd rather ride her horses.

I wonder how she feeds them?

I'm feeling sorry for tonto.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

Because she'd rather ride her horses.

I wonder how she feeds them?

Grazing along the way, also help from strangers who would put her up for a night, feed her and the horses, etc.

It's an amazing story. The horse she was riding, Jay, ate some loco weed or some other plant toxic to horses, and died near Childress. She also got a kidney infection, a leg infection, and re-injured her back riding a bull at a rodeo in LA.

 

[AllieBaba]

No, I mean I wonder how she feeds them now.

But also, there isn't that much to graze out there....which is why her horse died.

 

[RodISHI]

Click here for the column, amazing story in the Amarillo Globe.

In early February - out of a job, out of her house, out of answers, some would say out of her mind - she left the south central Florida town of Arcadia. This 44-year-old cowgirl took with her all she had.

They were her two horses, Tonto and Jay. A tent, a bundle of winter and summer clothes, a few odds and ends, a $100 bill, a map, and later, a cell phone that she was talked into getting.

She left for Amarillo. Not in a truck pulling a trailer, but on horseback. She rode atop Jay, a 5-year-old mare. Tonto carried her worldly goods. She took it, as she said, one day - one lonely, rough, unpredictable day - at a time.

Nearly five months and 1,300 miles later, she arrived. Through cold and heat, through a tornado, through the kindness and harassment of strangers, through the death of her beloved Jay, through a refractured back from an ornery bull, a dislocated shoulder, dehydration and a kidney infection, through the loss of 22 pounds, Byrne made it.

And still doesn't have a job.

Great story Marauder, I understand when she says she knows how the pioneers felt. Through 2005 we lived here at our place with no running water, the house had been vandalized so we stayed in a camp trailer (beats a tent by far but still not a house), cook, carried water and heated water on an open fire from whatever we could find to burn (we had no chain saws as ours had been taken in the house raid so it was just whatever broken limbs that were available). We ate fish from the pond and whatever would grow. Let me tell you I was grateful for the pond being overstock that year. I'm not sure how we would have been able to feed Hos if it had not been for the fish in the pond. The fish and a neighbor that had a calf that died when it was pulled that helped keep the 200 lb dog fed that year. We bucketed water from the well since we had no electric to run the pump. That was a long year struggling to stay up with high paid attorneys, trying to survive both mentally and physically while living through the court and bank fraud deal here that was going on over my mining business. I have a lot of respect for those who can endure that type of challenge. You learn a lot about the true blue people around you during times that like.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

No, I mean I wonder how she feeds them now.

But also, there isn't that much to graze out there....which is why her horse died.

There's plenty to graze on. You just have to watch what you let them graze.

And, as the story says, she is at a Horse rescue operation south of Amarillo, helping out as a volunteer and has acquired a new horse already. I imagine the owners of the operation are supplying room and board and feed for the horses in exchange for the volunteer labor for awhile.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

Great story Marauder, I understand when she says she knows how the pioneers felt. Through 2005 we lived here at our place with no running water, the house had been vandalized so we stayed in a camp trailer (beats a tent by far but still not a house), cook, carried water and heated water on an open fire from whatever we could find to burn (we had no chain saws as ours had been taken in the house raid so it was just whatever broken limbs that were available). We ate fish from the pond and whatever would grow. Let me tell you I was grateful for the pond being overstock that year. I'm not sure how we would have been able to feed Hos if it had not been for the fish in the pond. The fish and a neighbor that had a calf that died when it was pulled that helped keep the 200 lb dog fed that year. We bucketed water from the well since we had no electric to run the pump. That was a long year struggling to stay up with high paid attorneys, trying to survive both mentally and physically while living through the court and bank fraud deal here that was going on over my mining business. I have a lot of respect for those who can endure that type of challenge. You learn a lot about the true blue people around you during times that like.

I camped out on a river bank for six months, just a tent and my firebird for shelter, I later built a hut.... only food was fish I would catch or rabbits I would trap... Only heat was the fire. I DID have a pistol though, for protection. Anyway this was because I wanted to do so, not because I had to. But I recommend this type of hardship for everyone, it definitely builds character and self-reliance both of which are almost completely absent today.

 

[AllieBaba]

It also spreads parasites.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

It also spreads parasites.

What does?

 

[RodISHI]

I camped out on a river bank for six months, just a tent and my firebird for shelter, I later built a hut.... only food was fish I would catch or rabbits I would trap... Only heat was the fire. I DID have a pistol though, for protection. Anyway this was because I wanted to do so, not because I had to. But I recommend this type of hardship for everyone, it definitely builds character and self-reliance both of which are almost completely absent today.

A lot of different things build character. For us it was not a first. We started out without a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of initially plus two small children to care for.

I do think that camping builds character among other things. When the children were young we could not afford a lot of things but camping we could do. The mountains were not very far away and a tent did not cost anything. They would tread through the creeks, fish with beer tabs for lures that they found on the ground, find crawdads and all those goodies one does not see every day. Not sure if there are many places one can go these days to camp where it does not cost something every night.

My children still love to go camping from time to time. It reminds them of the fun they had when they were young. Even though we did not have much we could always find ways to entertain one another.

 

[aDrag]

I don't think all that was necessary.

 

[AllieBaba]

It also spreads parasites.

What does?

Camping for long periods of time on river banks. Or anywhere, for that matter. But particularly riverbanks.

In treatment we had a family come in who had been camping for some time. They all had worms, it was from the earth around their campsite. And gardia was initially caused by dogs around fresh water sources.

People camp, they move on, and whatever they've got remains. It's the way of the world. And you know you have to poop somewhere, and I'm thinking you didn't walk a mile away to do it.

 

[AllieBaba]

But camping is a blast. I'm a good camper, and prefer primitive. I took my kids, then 19 months and 5 months, and my mother, primitive horse camping many moons ago.

Now I'm older, I prefer to visit other people in their camps. All the fun, none of the work. Up until the last few years I had friends who set up elk camp for weeks on end, with a four-wall tent, heat stove, horses, the whole 9 yards. In the snow, at least part of the time.

 

[Midnight Marauder]

It also spreads parasites.

What does?

Camping for long periods of time on river banks. Or anywhere, for that matter. But particularly riverbanks.

In treatment we had a family come in who had been camping for some time. They all had worms, it was from the earth around their campsite. And gardia was initially caused by dogs around fresh water sources.

People camp, they move on, and whatever they've got remains. It's the way of the world. And you know you have to poop somewhere, and I'm thinking you didn't walk a mile away to do it.

Parasites.... Gotta love it!

And like a cat, I always buried my "poop" if you must know.... But I did pee in the river!

Somehow I managed to be worm free after my six months in nature. Must have been one of the lucky ones!