Misty's Long Ride

"MISTY'S LONG RIDE" brings another dimension to great adventure. It's written from the horse's perspective. Few authors walk on four legs, but Misty finds a way to bring humor, 'horse sense' and a feeling of adventure to the reader. A Texas cowboy named Howard assures her they are traveling on a 'Long Ride'. It will take her from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. With that said he saddles her up and points Misty westward into a gathering storm. At first, she didn't like it one bit. Her cowboy packed her too heavy. She suffered. Her cowboy learned valuable lessons. Things got better. "Well into the ride, it was a kind of loneliness out there in the middle of nowhere that took Howard's breath away. The sunsets dazzled with every color one could imagine. They sprayed shadows across the mountains and prairies. They reflected from colossal snow-capped peaks. Each day, we broke camp before dawn and rode west away from stunning sunrises. Oftentimes, Howard turned in the saddle and shared in words what he saw in those light banners streaking across the morning sky. At day's end, mighty thunderheads boiled into the heavens painted with gold, pink, purple and orange." "As good as Howard was, sometimes there was nothing he could do about our situation in the burning inferno of Utah. In that agonizing desert, a man's mouth became so dry, he couldn't spit. I felt the heat cook my hooves at ground level where it felt like walking along at the end of a woman''s hair dryer. Above us, vultures soared in the skies searching for road kill. Yet, Howard pulled down the brim of his hat and pushed forward. I followed this cowboy because he was a Long Rider and I was his horse."

Howard Wooldridge spent his early years as a college student who drove 18-wheelers for United Van Lines in the summers to pay for his university degree. Later, he rode a motorcycle around Europe. Wooldridge became fascinated at the many languages that people spoke. He endeavored to learn as many languages himself and returned to Europe a dozen times. He attended classes to become fluent in German, Spanish and French. He spent time learning Arabic in Egypt where he rode camels and horses around the great pyramids. Whileearning a teaching certificate, he majored in math and German. He rode withpolice officers on campus, which interested him in becoming a police officer. For the next 18 years, he wore police officer blues before becoming a detective. In the meantime, he learned to ride horses. After moving from Michigan to Texas, his dream of riding across America on a horse launched him into the astounding world of long distance horseback riding. His journey on horseback from Georgiato Oregon propelled him into a second ride from Los Angeles, California to NewYork City, New York in the summer of 2005. Wooldridge is much in demand as a speaker for his outspoken campaign to bring drug reform to America. He travels the country speaking to Rotary, Kiwanis, civic and Lions Clubs in every state in America. Wooldridge will launch into a Third long distance horseback adventure when he rides from Madrid, Spain toStockholm, Sweden.