CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - A young couple from Wyoming crossed the Emerson Memorial Bridge yesterday at noon on horseback as they attempt to ride across the entire United States from California to Delaware.
Richard and Jeanette McGrath have been riding for 13 months. They are accompanied by five horses and a dog that began following them in Kansas.
The McGraths are taking their cross-country trip to raise money for their non-profit organization, called Hearts Up Ranch. Hearts Up helps people who have suffered from emotional trauma - such as war veterans or rape victims - by taking them by horseback into the wilderness.
Jeanette McGrath says that getting people out of their comfort zone and encouraging an attachment with the animals often gets people to open up and share things that they may have never even told their counselors.
“And that has nothing to do with our ability. That’s simply getting them out, getting them with the animals, out of their comfort zone, and getting them out in God’s creation, and then just letting it flow,” Jeanette said.
The McGraths are trying to raise two million dollars for their organization. They plan to ride towards Anna, Illinois today. They intend to ride across Southern Illinois for the next few days and then cross in to Kentucky at Cave-in-Rock.
The McGraths typically travel 15 to 20 miles per day.
Jacob McCleland, KRCU
