We have made it.
We still have one province and three weeks to go before we complete this phase of our mission but we have ridden across Canada.
On April 14, I rode my bay mare Zoe into the waves of the Pacific Ocean.
We splashed and played for a few minutes and we watched the ships at anchor waiting for their turn to enter the port of Vancouver.
We are on a mission to change the face of Canadian veterans and, as much as this ride across Canada is a horseback journey, my primary task has always been to reintroduce the Canadian people to their contemporary veterans.
The magnitude of what Zoe has done for me really hit home yesterday.
The snow and mountains turned to cold spring winds in the foothills and then to summer heat and humidity.
Together, we have crossed the mountains and prairies.
We travelled the oak and maple forests and saw them give way to rolling farmland and city centres of the east.
Summer has given way to chilly mornings and daily we are seeing the autumn splendour of the Maritimes unfold.
We caught our first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean in New Brunswick before we enjoyed the warm hospitality of PEI.
Zoe has carried me more than 5,000 of the almost 8,000km I have put in the saddle since April and yesterday, she took me through the city of Halifax to Point Pleasant Park.
With ships at anchor and the harbour in front of us, finally, we walked into the Atlantic.
She’s a good horse.
– Submitted by
Paul Nichols