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Carl Morris of Maryland stops at Jo-Jo's in Dumfries for ice cream yesterday. Dalton Canas, 10, of Triangle, pets one of the horses making the trip through the area. 'They're really cool,' Dalton said. |
By CATHY DYSON
Two cowboys covering the East Coast on horseback rode into the Fredericksburg area yesterday--and got some company from local riders.
Nine members of the United Horseman's Association, including group president Mansfield Montague of Stafford County, joined the two in Prince William County and rode with them for several hours.
Ray Charles Lockamy, a Maryland man who organized the ride from Maine to Florida, was glad for the company.
"This is the first group that's come out and supported us, and I tell you, it makes me feel good that we don't have to ride alone," he said.
Lockamy, 45, and fellow Maryland resident Carl Morris, 47, left Portland, Maine, on July 1 and hope to reach Jacksonville, Fla., by mid-August. They're taking U.S. 1 the whole way, more than 1,600 miles.
The two hope to raise $100,000 for various charities. Lockamy wants to help the at-risk children he works with; Morris is supporting battered women's shelters who give others the same assistance his mother got when she needed it.
Both support a scholarship for African-American students interested in careers in rodeo or animal science.
"They're determined to go all the way, and we want to be able to support them," Montague said.
The two cowboys, who compete in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, the nation's touring black rodeo, hoped to cover about 30 miles a day. But the trip is taking longer than expected because they're something of a novelty.
People tend to stop and stare--even during rush hour--when they see horses walking along the highway. Whenever the group stops for a break, as they did yesterday at Jo-Jo's Ice Cream in Dumfries, they draw a crowd.
Owner Joe Ruhren thought he was seeing things when he spied 10 horses grazing behind his stand.
"I had to do a double-take," he said. "I haven't seen a horse in a while. You don't see many around here."
He gave the riders a donation while others brought buckets of water for the horses. Nearby residents came to pet the animals and take pictures.
The two have gotten the same reception from Maine to Virginia.
"It's been a wonderful journey, people have been so nice and so kind to us," Lockamy said. "When people find out why we're riding, they welcome us with open arms."
"Up until we got to our own backyard," Morris said. "We got to Baltimore, and we got kicked off a church lawn."
When officials learned the nature of the men's ride, they asked them back, but Morris had moseyed on.
The two have been given free rides on ferry boats, complimentary meals and unbridled hospitality.
"Every two blocks, somebody runs out and says, 'Do your horses need water?'" Lockamy said.
Friends bring them fresh horses every few days. The two guess they'll use 10 animals for the whole trip.
They'll ride through Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County today.
The two carry all their food and gear with them. They've camped in the woods and "in the hood," Lockamy said, of their stop in Trenton, N.J. People drove through that inner-city neighborhood when they heard there were horses in the backyard.
They got the same kind of reception in Northern Virginia.
saddleupforgood.com dmvcowboy.com unitedhorsemen.orgCathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
Email: cdyson@freelancestar.com
