An Ageless Adventurer Travels Through Town

By Larissa Lytwyn

Equestrian traveler Gene Glasscock, a Texas native who turns 69 years old October 11, recently trotted through Newtown en route to Trenton, N.J., his next stop on his tour of state capitals. He is nearly one year into a journey set to raise funds for Pensacola Christian College’s Philip Scholarship Fund, designed to educate underprivileged college-aged students from Paraguay.

“I taught English and Bible studies in Paraguay in 1999,” Mr Glasscock said. “And just fell in love with the kids there.”

This is not the Texan’s first expedition on horseback. The member of the Long Riders’ Guild first made history in 1986 after spending two years riding 12,000 miles from Canada’s Arctic Circle to the sweltering Ecuadorian line of the equator.

Now, nearly two decades older, Mr Glasscock has an estimated three more years in the saddle to complete his goal to visit all 48 contiguous state capitals — a 20,000 mile undertaking. He relies on two 6-year-old Tennessee Walkers, Frank and George, named after legendary equestrian travelers George Beck and Frank Heath, to take him there.

In 1925, Frank Heath rode through all 48 states — but not to their capitals.

“One of the greatest joys I’ve had so far on this trip was in Providence, Rhode Island,” Mr Glasscock remembered. “A 6-year-old girl approached me. She wanted to ride George but was a little shy.” After some gentle prodding from her grandmother, however, she got in the saddle.

“The grandmother had tears in her eyes,” said Mr Glasscock. “She told me that her granddaughter’s dream was to ride a horse.”

Now, Mr Glasscock had made her dream come true.

He has attracted many admirers along the way, including Major Janet Arena of Monroe. Currently serving as commandant of the Second Governor’s Horse Guard in Newtown, Ms Arena said she had been following Mr Glasscock’s progress on the Internet since he began his endeavor last September.

When he crossed into the region a few weeks ago, she hosted him in her home for two evenings.

“I just wanted to learn from him,” she said. “He just has such calm, such faithfulness.”

Mr Glasscock, she continued, is also a man of great faith.

“We always are on the lookout for a barn or a stable for the horses to stay in,” she said. “We were in Danbury and I was worried that we weren’t going to find anything. But Gene just said, ‘The Lord will provide,’ and, soon enough, we found something.”

Mr Glasscock rides about 15 miles a day, Ms Arena said.

As he nears Washington, D.C., Mr Glasscock said he would love to meet President Bush. “I’m hoping,” he said. “I don’t know, we’ll see.”

He smiled, his cowboy hat dipped low across his weathered brow. Gesturing to his horse George, he laughed. “It would be great for my George to meet him!” he said.

For more information about the Long Riders’ Guild, visit www.thelongridersguild.com.