After the Ride... Now What?

Bella immediately fell asleep as we drove home after riding into Reno!

We've been home now for one week, and it's been an interesting transition back to "real life". The first few days I just wanted to sleep and shower and eat. There was also a lot of gear to unpack, as well as the truck - which is incredibly filthy by the way! We came home to a big stack of mail, excited cats and dogs, and family in town. I also had to get back to work fairly quick and so did Ryan. No rest for the weary! One week later and Sage and Bella are adjusting just fine. Sage is happy to be back with all his barn buddies and Bella is happy to be back on the couch. Unfortunately we have had a spell of 100+ degree days so no one is feeling very active. I'm so grateful we missed this heat spell during the ride. But I'm hoping the temps will cool off here soon so we can get back to riding!

You might be wondering what comes next. The ride may be over, but our mission is not. I am busy booking presentations and lectures so that I can share the ride and wild horses with more people. We have several events planned already, which are listed on the homepage. I will continue to update that as we schedule more. I'm excited to continue with the momentum of this amazing adventure. We have thousands of fans on Facebook and just as many following us through this website. I have been inundated with wonderful emails and messages from supporters all over the country who are inspired by the ride and interested in wild horses. My goal was to show people what a great trail horse a wild horse can be and I believe I succeeded. People are very impressed with Sage, who truly was the star of the ride. Not only did he take me across the state through some incredibly challenging terrain and conditions, but he did so calmly and bravely. He also came out of the ride in better shape then when we started! So, look for us out and about sharing our story. I may also parlay our ride adventures and drama into a book... only time will tell!

Donations and raffle ticket orders are still coming in which is fantastic! We're drawing for the Mark Terrell print on July 22 so there is still time to get your order in. Don't forget to make your check out to the "Wild Horse Preservation League." Our goal was to raise $5,000 for the group. Right now we are at around $1,500.

Also, I've uploaded many, many new photos to a Flickr account for the ride. These are photos that Ryan took throughout the month. You can access it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevadadiscoveryride/. They are in backwards sequential order, so scroll down to the bottom to start from the beginning of the ride.

Thanks again to all of you for your support during this project. The Nevada Discovery Ride was a three-year labor of love for me and it's a little bittersweet that it is over. But as long as there are still tens of thousands of wild horses still in holding facilities then I'm not finished. Trust me, you haven't seen the last of Sage, Bella, and I! Stay tuned for more :)

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