A mountain snowstorm, a stranger’s marriage proposal, a spooked horse on a battlefield, and a profound spiritual experience were all a part of Randy Davisson’s world-record breaking adventure.
Davisson and his Appaloosa horse, Eli Whitney, are the latest addition under Impossible Feats in Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not!? Book 3 (page 183).
Davisson, a former Ortonville resident who now splits his time between Oxford and Alabama, rode Eli in all 50 states and the 10 provinces of Canada in less than five years, using post offices as documentation and setting a world record.
‘I can say I rode a horse, but actually doing it is time-consuming,? says Davisson. ‘You need to map your strategy. We planned and were spontaneous. It wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t have spontaneous moments.?
Davisson, now 69, has been riding horses since he was 8 years-old. He bought Eli in Alabama in March 2000, specifically because he wanted to participate in a 100-mile trail ride in Montana and Appaloosa horses have a single-foot gait, making them very comfortable to ride.
The thought of riding the horse in all 50 states never crossed his mind. He trailered the horse, and traveled from Michigan, through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming, on his way to Montana for the trail ride. While out west, he also rode in Idaho and on Mt. St. Helen in Washington. Davisson was with his brother, but after his brother went home, he decided to continue on alone and do something he had always wanted to do? ride through the redwood trees in Crescent City, California.
‘It was magical, spiritual,? recalls Davisson. ‘One man rode in, and another man rode out. Those trees are so unbelievable. The trees are over 300 feet tall and you’re riding around among them.?
On his return to Michigan, he was struck with the thought that he could ride in all 50 states.
‘I didn’t set out to do it, it just evolved,? he said.
Because he had not documented the first 20 states he had rode Eli in, he repeated them? returning with his wife of 50 years, Mary Ellen so she could document it.
They began in July 2000, and traveled for a few months at a time, choosing locations depending on time of the year. In winter, he rode Eli in the southern states, doing five or six before returning home to rest and then coming back to do more. During summer, they did the northern states.
Davisson drove a 1-ton pick-up truck with a camper, and pulled a 4-horse trailer with Eli. The semi-retired real estate broker financed himself, and logged 115,000 miles on his adventure, purchasing diesel fuel for his truck which got 9 miles to the gallon. He mapped where they would stay prior to the trips and used a U.S. Stabling Guide. They camped much of the time. They also stayed at truck stops.
In summer 2002, he rode in Alaska, as well as Alberta and British Columbia, calling them beautiful. He finished the remainder of the Canadian provinces the next summer.
‘In Canada, in desolate spots where there was nowhere to keep Eli, we kept him in the trailer because of grizzlies,? says Davisson.
Eli never encountered a bear, but Davisson saw some on his trips and both he and the horse saw plenty of other wildlife in Canada and the U.S., including elk, moose, deer, and mountain goats.
Davisson met plenty of friendly people along the way, too. Some on the really friendly side.
In South Carolina, they stopped at a county park and Davisson told a lady what he was doing. She proposed to him on the spot.
‘She said, ‘Any man that would take a horse and ride through all the states and provinces, I want to be married to,?? Davisson remembers. ‘I said, ‘We better ask my wife and see what she thinks about it.??
In the Northwest Territories of Canada, 60 miles from the Arctic Circle, they drove into a hamlet of mostly Inuit Indians. Davisson says some of the town’s 10-12-year-old boys were very excited? they had never seen a horse.
I’ve learned the more you travel, you find out people are the same everywhere you go,? says Davisson. ‘We all love our children and want the best for them. You get back what you put out. If you meet people and are friendly and cordial, they are too. We’re all pretty much the same.?
Davisson had several memorable moments on the trip, but a few stand out more than others, such as when he was riding Eli in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
He rode the horse on a trail around the famed battleground and says everything was fine until they got to the north end, in the area of the famous Picket Charge. Davisson notes that besides the thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers that died there, about 50,000 horses were killed.
Davisson started to ride the horse across the area, but says Eli didn’t want to go.
‘Every so often, he would stop and freeze,? Davisson said. ‘He kept shaking his head. He acted like a horse that was scared. I didn’t get a weird feeling, but he definitely was smelling or sensing something. We got back to camp and he was fine.?
Traveling to where they needed to go was not always easy.
On Thanksgiving Day 2001, they were on a mountain in New Mexico and woke up to 8 inches of snow.
‘We had a heck of a time,? Davisson says. ‘We went back to bed and waited for it to melt. No sense in worrying, you might as well relax and take it easy.?
They had to take a ferry to get to New Foundland, a six-hour ride.
The last state for Eli and the Davissons was Hawaii. Davisson says while he was out west, he kept telling people he wanted to get a horse to Hawaii. He finally learned of a woman in California who ships horses in a 50-foot long, 8 feet high by 8 feet wide ocean-going container. Davisson could ship Eli on a 5-day trip each way.
‘That sucker got a 10-day cruise,? says Davisson, laughing. He and Mary Ellen flew, and while Davisson was concerned, he knew that horses had been shipped before. Eli had to go through quarantine and be checked for sicknesses, but was not required to be kept there. They stayed in Hawaii a month and Davisson rode Eli twice on Oahu.
‘What’s next?? asks Davisson. ‘I really don’t know… I might do the Alabama Wagon Train horse ride, 180 miles, 10 days, in the first part of March. I want to go out to Arizona, Utah, to Monument Valley and Bryce Canyon. Now that I’ve done all the states, I’ll go back and choose certain locations.?