AMBA Ride Across America

One of the major problems facing our American Mustangs is public appeal. So many other breeds have attained popularity, while the Mustangs have been left on the wayside.

There are so many negative opinions regarding the Mustangs, such as they are too wild, hard to break, they are too small, lack intelligence. They are not good for anything other then being hay burners. The list goes on. Yet as with most prejudices, most are based on lack of knowledge or understanding.

The American Mustang is greatly misunderstood by the general horse population, and I firmly believe that especially pleasure riders would be interested in owning a Mustang if they simply knew more about them and their versatility, and abilities.

Additionally, the BLM is facing their own financial crisis in managing the herds due to several factors including declining adoptions. People who might otherwise be interested in adopting a Mustang are put off by the task of breaking and training these horses when so many other horses are available at reasonable costs that are ready to ride.

So what do we do? How can we entice the public, raise awareness about the American Mustangs plight in the current BLM environment? How do we change public opinion about the Mustang?

My Dream

I decided that I would one day own a mustang and I would ride that mustang from the East coast of the United States to the West coast. I want to help raise public awareness of the plight of the Mustang, and to help raise money that will be donated to a Charity dedicated to the survival and education of the public about the Mustang horse.

Many years passed since that day I saw my first wild horse to the day I actually became an owner of a BLM Mustang. My dream like so many dreams drifted to the back of my mind while I spent my days with the task of day to day living. Then a few days ago while watching my Mustang graze, I remembered my dream and I decided that I would never see that dream become an reality if I did not at least try.

I began to formulate a plan to set into action, taking the first baby step of this enormous endeavor by deciding first what states I would intend to cross, how many miles a day I felt I could average and then how many days total such a ride would take.

I estimate that such a journey will take 6 to 7 months, to allow time to speak to the public regarding the Mustangs and BLM, to rest along the way and for those days of inclement weather. I also thought that doing such a ride would be even better if others joined in. Although I would not prevent or discourage any rider from joining I especially would like to have several Mustang owners ride along on their BLM Mustangs

My goal for the ride is multi-folded as follows:

1.) To raise public awareness about Mustang Horses.

a.) Educate the public about the history of the Mustang Horse, adoption programs via BLM, to provide information on what to expect after adopting a wild horse, and programs available to assist new owners of BLM Mustangs.

b.) Show by doing, that Mustangs are excellent horses for riding.

c.) Educate the public about BLM and their role in maintaining the herds.

2.) To publicize the AMBA as a National Registry for Mustangs and Burros and increase membership in the organization.

3.) To raise $500,000 Dollars to be donated to the AMBA.Inc to be placed in their general fund to continue the work of education and preserving our Living Legends in addition to sharing a portion of the funds raised with the Mustang Heritage Foundation as well so they can continue the good works that organization does with the Extreme Mustang Makeover and Challenges.