Truro

May 19th we hauled Steve and Dash back to Milford to continue the next leg of the Ride. A Nor'easter was howling with fog and an incredible amount of rain. Pure misery. It poured all day while they rode along Highway 2 with Claudia driving the van behind with flashing lights and our large purple and white flag flying from the trailer. 44 km later Steve rode into the center of Truro and we loaded Dash into the trailer at the Truro Curling Club Tuliip Festival.

Arlene and Tony Miller are our hosts in Truro at their horse farm on the mountain at Bible Hill. Wonderful people. A chance to get properly cleaned up and showered and laundry done.

The Beginning - Launching the Great Ride

May 17th was rainy, cold and blustery. The launch was to start at 11 AM and although we got lost once, we arrived at 10:30 to set up. We strung a large tarp to an ice cream stand, plugged in our PA system and began. Noel Knockwood, a Micmac Spiritual Leader and Elder, began with a prayer in Migma and English while performing a Sweetgrass ceremony. The Rev. Glenn McLean of St. James United Church followed with a prayer. The Minister of Health Promotion for the Nova Scotia government, Hon. Chris Barnett, spoke about his government's concern for FASD. Deputy Chief of Police, Chris McNeil, spoke of his department's concern for FASD and their support of our Ride objectives. Dawn Sloane, Halifax City Counsellor, read the Proclamation.



Donna Scaglione sang O Canada as Steve rode Dash across the beach into the Atlantic. The Ride was officially started.











The Halifax City Mounted Unit escorted Steve and rider Scott Barker on a tour of downtown Halifax, ending at the Halifax Shopping Mall. Scott works at Hatfield Farm and is an actor, often performing the bad sheriff and acting with Tom Sellick.


In spite of the weather, many people turned out to watch from their cars and provide support. APTN filmed the proceedings. The launch was widely reported in the news papers and on radio.


May 18th we bid farewell to Brian Hatfield and his staff at Hatfield Farms.

At Enfield we stopped for lunch and the Irving Truck Stop Restaurant Manager announced our presence. People were most generous and encouraging. Steve rode Dash along the side of the Trans Canada. At a bridge, the road shoulder was too narrow to safely cross so he went down the embankment to cross a small river by some train tracks. While he was checking out the stream depth, a high speed passenger train suddenly appeared and went screaming by overhead. Dash was startled but they quickly recovered. Guessing there would not be another train immediately behind the first, Steve rode Dash quickly across the tressle. Back onto the Trans Canada, we picked up Steve at Milford, NS.

We drove to Truro and stayed overnight at the Truro Raceway in their new paddock barn. We visited the Horseman`s Club. One of the members, age 74, had been a hockey player in his younger days in Sudbury and played with Tow Blake. He mentioned another name and Steve immediately recognized is as an old friend he had worked with in Golden. The background was the same and they made contact. It is a very small world.

May 19th we hauled Steve and Dash back to Milford to continue the next leg of the Ride. A Nor'easter was howling with fog and an incredible amount of rain. Pure misery. It poured all day while they rode along Highway 2 with Claudia driving the van behind with flashing lights and our large purple and white flag flying from the trailer. 44 km later Steve rode into the center of Truro and we loaded Dash into the trailer at the Truro Curling Club Tuliip Festival.

Arlene and Tony Miller are our hosts in Truro at their horse farm on the mountain at Bible Hill. Wonderful people. A chance to get properly cleaned up and showered and laundry done.

May 20th Today we will go back the the Tulip Festival but riding will be limited. Large country breakfast. Steve is working the horses. Heavy rain this morning but some lightening of the skies in the afternoon.

Before the Beginning

The Great FASD Horseback Ride Across Canada began with a phone call to Bruce Ritchie in Bright's Grove, ON at FASlink from Steve Thomas, a cowboy from Golden, BC. Steve had a dream to cross Canada on horseback to raise awareness of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

After several sometimes heated discussions on the FASlink Fetal Alcohol Disorders Society listserv, the decision was made to support the adventure. Preparations began. The Ride would leave Halifax, NS on May 17, 2007 and arrive in Victoria, BC on September 10, 2007. International FAS Day would be observed in Nanaimo, BC.

Steve left Golden BC on May 5th, with his Black Labrador Retriever, Dutch, in the cab of his Cummins deisel powered 1988 Dodge pickup truck hauling a 5th-wheel 4 horse trailer with his quarter horse, Dash, on board. He stopped along the way to pick up supplies and three more horses. Errin Weigel of Prairie Majik Arabians sent two of her young prized Arabians for Steve to train and use on the Ride. Brandy and Flint will make excellent endurance mounts. Errin also sent another Arabian with Steve to be delivered to our contact rider in Blind River. Errin has also donated an Arabian foal to be drawn by a rider who rides with us.

Along the way, Steve gave a ride to a young man from Calgary to Regina and a girl travelling to St. John, NB. On May 10th, Steve left Blind River, ON, heading to Ottawa. Bruce Ritchie left Sarnia, ON to meet Steve in Ottawa. The rendezvous was successful and we were accommodated by the Rideau Carleton Raceway overnight.

May 11th we headed for New Brunswick. On the autoroute in Quebec we were pulled over by an officer so he could check out the truck and trailer. He was satisfied with its condition and we proceeded to Edmunston, NB where again we were generously accommodated by dairy farmer Luc Lavoie and his wife and family. The horses were delighted to be in an open paddock rather than confined to a trailer or stall.

Luc and his brother jointly own and manage 110 head of dairy cattle, a 7 day/week job. They get 1 day off every 14 days. That takes dedication. Luc and his wife treated us to a huge farm breakfast and we were on our way.

May 12th, we headed for Fredericton, NB and met Poul Jorgenson and his wife for lunch. Poul is with the NB Trails Association.

Horsewoman and trainer, Mel Cormier, met us at the Irving Big Stop to return unsold Ride T-shirts and meet us in preparation for our return and her participation. The horses were taken out of the trailer for some exercise and Steve put on a training demo. Christine said her goodbye's and headed out for St. John, NB.

After lunch, we headed for Moncton to meet up with the third member of our team, Ride Coordinator Claudia Julien, and her Golden Lab, Tobby. After dinner with Claudia's son Robert, a fine young man, we headed out to Halifax.

We arrived at Hatfield's Farm outside Halifax after dark and set up overnight camp. In the morning we were greeted by a staff member and taken to "the Fort", a rustic pioneer village in the forest. WOW!!!! It may be rustic on the surface, but this is a serious business enterprise. From its small beginnings in 1961, it has grown to more than 1200 acres of forest, lakes, trails and fun. The Fort buildings are heated by a central wood furnace. 8 fire pits can accommodate a large number of guests for trail rides, sleigh rides, corporate functions and cruise ship passengers. It is very much the model of what was envisioned in FASlink's TRIUMF Project at http://www.faslink.org .

The next few days were spent training the horses, contacting media and agencies, police, etc. and checking out the Ride launch location at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax. Aliant Telephone provided $500 in Long Distance Phone Cards to help defray our communications costs. Scotia Signs in Sackville lettered the side windows of the van at a generous discount.