United States Eventing Association

Have you ever been in a situation where the stuff of your dreams is right there in sight and you feel like you could just reach out and grab it if it weren’t for an annoying road block in your way? That’s exactly how I felt this summer as I was packing up to leave for college. I had gotten into the absolute school of my dreams, Stanford University, and in a massive coup had convinced my parents to allow me to take my 13-year-old Percheron-cross Dually along with me. I was so shocked and happy that for the first few weeks after this decision had been made, I didn’t even realize the huge problem that was still yet to be faced. Finally my father brought me crashing back down to earth: "So, Kate, how do you plan to get Dually to Stanford?"

I had, of course, neglected to even consider the some 3,138 miles that separated my driveway in Carlisle, Massachusetts to the Red Barn Equestrian Center in Stanford, California that would be Dually’s new home. I quickly did a Google Maps plot of the trip: whoa. The ridiculous girth of this country suddenly became clear to me in a way that it never had before. We were a long, long way from where we needed to go.

So I started planning. Could we fly? Not realistically. Besides cost, the logistics of getting Dually to and picked up from the airport and then still getting all of his and my stuff out (especially with those ‘awesome’ new fees for checked bags that every airline now seems to employ) were extremely daunting. Also, I rubbed my own fear of flying off onto Dually and reasoned that he would probably get scared. It didn’t help that I kept replaying in my mind that traumatic scene in International Velvet where they are flying the horses to America and one goes plane crazy and they have to put it down (why this scene is included in a children’s horse movie, I couldn’t tell you; I am clearly still scarred to this day from watching it). So, flying was out.

What about commercial shipping? We had had Dually commercially shipped to South Carolina before and it had gone very well. Plus, with a commercial van there would be considerable space to pack all of Dually’s stuff and probably some of my stuff too. The problem remained though that, if we used a shipping company, we would be left pretty much stranded at the barn once we arrived. Though I knew that college would mean a big decrease in competing, I still wanted to have the ability to get him off property and hack out, take lessons, etc.

So the decision in the end became pretty obvious: we would drive. My dad is a high school teacher and so could fortunately come out with me any time before school started (in Massachusetts, just after Labor Day), which meshed up well with when I had to be out for orientation. With the truck and trailer, we could haul all of my college and riding stuff as well without problem, and I could keep a closer eye on Dually than with either commercial method.

So, after weeks of planning, getting reservations at hotels (human and equine!) and controlling nerves, Papa, Dually, and I pulled out of the barnyard and started the great cross- country voyage. The trip was split into two main sections divided by a two-day layover period. Our first stop was Richland, MI, for the Richland Park Horse Trials. I had always heard really wonderful things about the event, and decided to jump at this opportunity to compete there. Dually and I competed in the JYOP; Dually was fabulous the whole weekend and we had one of our best feeling cross country rounds to date over Richland’s beautiful course. After a few days of rest afterwards, we set off again, fresh and ready to tackle the rest of the country.

Over the next four days my father and I travelled from Michigan to California, passing through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Nevada along the way (check out our route at right). This was my first time seeing many of these states, and over and over again throughout the trip I found myself in wonder at the great beauty our nation holds. There were the wide rolling fields of Iowa, the gentle curve of the Platte River along the the highway in Nebraska, the wildflowers and big skies of Colorado, and the impossibly grand rock formations of Utah just to name a few of the splendors that we witnessed. I’d like to think that Dually enjoyed the trip too; though he didn’t get to see as much of the sights from his spot in the trailer, he was perennially curious at every stop and horse hotel that we put him up at and seemed just as interested in this great and amazing country as I was. I got to ride among cutting horses in Colorado and alone down the longest, straightest gravel road I have ever seen in the high plains of southern Utah. Everywhere we stopped, I was met with the utmost courtesy and warmth, and couldn’t help but be reminded of thelove of these incredible animals that binds horse people together.

Finally, after nearly 70 hours of total time on the road, we pulled into the Stanford Red Barn. As fabulous as the trip had been, it was certainly nice to wake up the next morning and not have to jump right into the car for a full day of driving! Dually, in celebration of his new home, spent the next few minutes rolling… and rolling… and rolling. He was also glad to be settled!

If you are at all considering making a cross country trek with your horse, you couldn’t find a bigger supporter of it than me. If you are willing to put up with the long hours and you think that your horse would be up for such an adventure, then it truly can be a delightful way to get your horse from point A to point B.