An American Hero on America's Horses

Gene Glasscock, of the Long Riders Guild, is visiting each state capitol in the lower 48 by horseback to gain support for The Philips Fund, a scholarship fund that provides under-privileged young adults from Paraguay the opportunity to attend college in Florida. Gene is accompanied on his 20,000-mile journey riding Tosi and Buddy, two gentled wild horses.

In 1997, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) gathered Tosi, a beautiful black stallion, from the over-populated rangelands new Lander, WY. Jim Hardee, of Darling, South Carolina, adopted Tosi as a two-year-old gelding from a BLM adoption in Columbia, South Carolina. Gene purchased Tosi from Jim as a titled wild horse in April 2004, and has used him as part of his string ever since. Tosi rotates between being ridden by Gene and used as a pack horse.

Prior to Gene's purchase of Tosi, the black wild horse gelding helped troubled teens in the Hurricane Trails program located in Darling, South Carolina. Tosi was named by the young teen that helped with his gentling process. Following Tosi’s graduation from a10-week training program, he went to work for the Equine Assistance Therapy Program for teenage boys. Both programs are located at the Billy Hardy Home for Boys in South Carolina.

Gene's second horse is an eight-year-old sorrel gelding named Buddy. Buddy was gathered from the public rangelands near Adobe Town, WY, in February 2003. In May 2004, Gene adopted Buddy from BLM's Pauls Valley, OK Adoption Center. Inmates at the Canon City Correctional Facility trained Buddy, where the BLM has an agreement with the Colorado Department of Corrections. After his training at the Canon City facility, he went to work at the BLM’s Pauls Valley Adoption Center performing daily operations. Many people feel that an eight-year-old wild horse is too old to train, but Buddy is a perfect example of how they can be successfully trained when proper gentling techniques are used. In addition to being used as a pack horse, Buddy has been ridden by Gene and other individuals along the trail. Buddy has stolen Gene's heart and proven to be the perfect "Trail Buddy ".

Glasscock has a history of long-distance rides. In the 1980s, he became the only person known to have traveled from the Arctic Circle to the Equator on horseback. In September 2002, the Texas-born equestrian traveler set out again – this time to recreate the Overland Westerners' amazing equestrian journey. The last time this was attempted was from 1912 to 1915. Today, at age 69, Glasscock is the oldest person known to make a journey of this magnitude.

If you would like to see a photo journey of Gene’s trip, please visit:

http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/spotlight/longriders/pj_index.htm

If you are interested in learning more about Gene’s trek across the United States, please visit his web site at:

http://www.geneglasscock.org

To learn more about the BLM’s training programs and adoption centers nationwide, please visit:

http://www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/facilities.htm

Additional Information on Gene's Journey