Have Horse Will Travel

1% inspiration

Meredith Cherry & Apollo Season 1 Episode 4

Thomas Edison once said “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

I don’t know if our ride would be categorized as genius, but these two factors are the same.  The idea to do this journey was quick and easy; the preparations to make it happen, however, took three years of hard work.  The 3 keys to making my idea happen were research, maps, and training Apollo.  

Listen weekly as Meredith and Apollo share about their multi-year 48-state journey (The Centauride), talk with interesting guests, and discuss the realities of domestic abuse. 

 

What to Listen For:

00:25 Introduction to the episode

00:57 A recap of the idea for the ride

01:20 Step One: Research. Is this ride possible, and how?

01:55 Who has done this sort of thing before?

04:22 The decision to ride on roads 

05:30 Step Two: Mapping the 10,000 mile route

10:48 Arriving in Seattle: Time to reassess

11:37 Some things I learned on the way to Seattle

13:36 Backpacker lessons

15:09 Step Three: Training Apollo

15:53 Preparing Apollo for the unknown: shopping carts, strollers, school buses, and more!

18:52 Specificity and desensitization training

20:21 Trust training 

21:18 The “touch it” game

23:21 The “look at it” game

25:04 Guest Melissa Ellis about Harmony Horsemanship

43:13 Apollo’s bonus verbal cues

46:18 Reflections: did the preparations pay off?

47:50 Closing statements

48:21 End of episode 

 

About our Guest:

Melissa Ellis

I am a Level 3 Harmony Horsemanship Instructor and enjoy helping people develop an enriching partnership with their horses based on trust and communication. I own a farm in Southern Vermont and am the USA base for Lindsey Partridge’s Harmony Horsemanship. I enjoy every aspect of my relationship with horses but my heart is in Liberty and Bridleless work. I also enjoy Trick Training and Extreme Trail. I was Equine Affaires 2019 Reserve Champion in Versatile Horse and Rider Massachusetts and am looking forward to competing in the Trail Competition at Pennsylvania’s World Horse Expo and Equine Affaire Ohio’s International Liberty Horse Association ‘s competition. I absolutely love what our horses teach us on a daily basis and look forward to each and every moment I spend with them. 

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Resources:

Unbranded film 

Frank Heath’s book “40 Million Hoofbeats” 

Mesannie Wilkins’ book “The Last of the Saddle Tramps”

 

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