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Sandpoint, Idaho
Montana Woman Riding Her Horse Across The Country Passes Through The Tri-Cities
KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities
Yakima, Washington
click on:
click on:
to hear Bernice's March 23rd, 2009
interview with Greg Grant
and Linda Vigil,
at Altered State Records
Sand Point Riders Welcome Bernice and Claire
The Ritzville Adams County Journal
May 7, 2009
Lady Long Rider: Ende embarks on 7,000-mile ride
By Jennifer Larsen
News editor
Journal photo by Jennifer Larsen
RIDER EXTRAORDINAIRE. Claire, the canine leader of this foursome, announces it’s time to leave as Bernice Ende, Long Riders’ Guild member known as the “Lady Long Rider,” leads her packhorse Essie Pearl (left) and her mount, Honor, from the Lind Lions Club Rodeo Arena for a speaking engagement at the Lind Senior Center on April 23. Ende is on her fourth long ride, a trek of 7,000 miles that began in Montana in mid-March.
She sits at her makeshift campsite as Claire rustles about in the tall grasses, sniffing out some varmint. Honor and Essie Pearl are out in the pasture, grazing on the fresh spring growth indicative to Eastern Adams County in early spring.
Barely visible under a wide-brimmed hat and a complete covering of clothing, Bernice Ende greets one and all with a quick smile after agilely leaping to her feet from the ground.
Bernice is instantly the hostess, offering something to drink or eat to her guest – water, coffee, whatever else she might rustle up from the tent that’s pitched on a small cement pad at the Lind Lions Club Rodeo Arena.
Stacked next to the tent are two large packs. In front of the tent is Bernice’s ‘kitchen’ – a small saucepan and small camp stove. She looks to the land for nourishment – water crest, lamb’s quarters, dandelions and nettles are currently in season.
She tries to carry potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, beef jerky, tea, oatmeal and mineral salt for the horses, which eat raw foods as much as possible.
Sounds a bit rougher than ‘roughin’ it,’ but Bernice is in her element and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Bernice is a Long Rider, a title reserved for riders who have completed a continuous ride of at least 1,000 miles, and has embarked on her fourth long ride.
She and her four-legged companions – Honor, a thoroughbred mare; Essie Pearl, a seven-year-old Norwegian Fjord purchased for last year’s ride; and Claire, the entourage’s canine leader – began the trek that would take them on a 7,000-mile cross-country journey on March 20 in Trego, Mont.
The first month of their journey was spent crossing Montana, Idaho and Washington states heading toward the mouth of the Columbia River at Naselle, Wash., for a friend’s 89th birthday party.
She moseyed into Adams County on the John Wayne Trail on April 20, stopping for directions in Marengo. Pat Hennings directed her to the Benge-Ralston Road, and Bernice spent the night on Cow Creek where she bathed and shoed one of the horses.
After a night’s rest, Bernice met Steve Taylor, who introduced her to Colleen Ruzicka, who in turn contacted Dorothy Allert.
Bernice, after setting up camp at Pizarro Station on the Lind-Ralston Road, met Louis Allert, who was working on irrigation pipes in the field.
Louis hauled water to the campsite and later grilled hamburgers for the evening meal. A filling breakfast at Dorothy’s started the day on April 22, when Bernice rode into Lind.
Numerous people spied Bernice trekking through the county. It wasn’t hard to spot the rider – a packhorse, a white mare and a dog who’s usually hitching a ride on one of the two mounts.
Pat Stark of Washtucna called on Bernice at Lind. The duo met during the rider’s 16-month journey in 2007.
While in Lind, Bernice shared her experiences and insight with Lind Elementary School students on April 22 and area residents the following day at the Lind Senior Center.
Public speaking and casual conversations are Bernice’s trade, something she does readily and with a smile. On every leg of the journey, she speaks at community centers, schools, reservations and social gatherings to encourage others to ‘live the dream,’ move beyond their fears and find freedom, as she has as a Long Rider.
She’s reminded daily “that our country is great, filled with great people.” Each long ride is possible through the generosity of those she meets on the trail.
She’s learned how to repair and make everything, including learning how to shoe horses. She has no cell phone, but does carry a digital camera to post images to her Web site.
“The horse and rider is an image of freedom,” she said. “The Long Rider is a part of our cultural heritage. It’s a legacy to our country. I think it’s worth having a horse and rider riding off in the sunset to remind us that we didn’t always travel at 70 miles per hour. It takes three days to ride 70 miles.”
Each long ride covers thousands of miles and landscapes varying from barren range to steep mountain trails, yet it’s the journey – and yes, occupation – Bernice has chosen to pursue.
She looks to her childhood, raised on a dairy farm in Minnesota with riding an integral part as the reason to choose the life of a Long Rider.
When she retired from a 25-year career in classical ballet and teaching dance in 2003, Bernice returned to riding.
Most riders do one, maybe two long rides, Bernice explained. For most, it’s the journey of a lifetime, to return to ‘normal’ life after completing a long ride.
“It’s not about getting back for me. It’s about this,” she said,” talking and meeting the people.” She carries a small notepad on every long ride, writing down peoples’ names and how she met them. At the end of each month, Bernice sends thank you notes to those people.
“I couldn’t do this without them,” she said. “It’s not about me riding for a cause. It has to be more than that. It encompasses more… I’ve had thousands of people climb in my saddle vicariously and ride with me.”
The first long ride of more than 2,000 miles in 2005 was to visit her sister in Albuquerque, N.M. Although Bernice was new to the long rider life, “By the time I finished that ride, I knew I found what I wanted to do.”
After that first long ride, the Long Riders Guild, an international organization dedicated to preserving the independent, adventurous spirit of the horse and rider, invited Bernice to join.
Bernice just completed a 3,000-mile ride last fall, taking her total miles ridden to 10,000. The 5,000-mile ride in 2006-2007 allowed Bernice the opportunity to broaden her experience as well as launch a public speaking endeavor to encourage people, especially women, “to go beyond their fears” and pursue their dreams.
After the 2006-2007 ride, Bernice wrote about the experience on her Web site at http://www.endeofthetrail.com. She departed on her second long ride of 5,000 miles stretched through 14 states in May 2006 and ending on Sept. 22, 2007.
“I have said many times before that I’ve returned with a greater appreciation for our country then when I left.
“Yes, perhaps I did see the best of America, the heart of America. Our small towns, rural communities, homes and families that reflected goodness and generosity…
“Why do I ride these long rides? Many reasons I suppose. Some private, some personal. I do believe the Long Rider is a legacy to our country. It represents a quality of time, space and freedom the human heart will forever seek.
“I simply carry on the tradition. The tradition of the Long Rider.”
 | ||||||
A chronicle of wanderings by
horseback throughout the
American West:
June 20, 2009 - Kimberly, Oregon
From the home of Jody Foss and her dear friend Mark Miller, Bernice writes,
"Jody has done her share of long rides over the years and is the first woman I have acturally met who has done long rides. She has written a number of books and they are available through Outfitter's Supply (see sponsorship page) or go to her website page: www.mulesacrossamerica.com.
Another kindred spirit and what a fun time we have had comparing notes. "
MEDIA COVERAGE
Albuquerque Journal article
December 10, 2009
LONE RIDER
Bernice Ende and her horse cover thousands of miles as they traverse the country, seeking the ‘unattainable horizon’
By Rosalie Rayburn Journal Staff Writer
Somewhere in southeastern New Mexico a 55-yearold woman, two horses and a dog are continuing a 7,000-mile journey that will take them across the heartland of the continent.
Bernice Ende and her animal companions began their odyssey eight months ago in the snows of northwestern Montana, spent Thanksgiving in New Mexico, now they’re headed for Texas. From there they will trace a route east and north via the Appalachian and Andirondack mountains to Canada, then west to Montana, by mid-2011. Once they return to base in Montana, there will be more open roads, more journeys, following the call of what Ende (pronounced N-dee) calls the “unattainable horizon.”
Since 2005, when she began her cross-country rides, Ende has covered about 11,000 miles on horseback; learning to live off the land, shoe her own horses and cope with the constant dangers of the road. Despite the perils and hardships, Ende has no plans to stop. "I don’t see myself ending this lifestyle any time soon,” Ende says. “I imagine it will be my body that will complain enough to make me stop. I feel there must be another five years left in me.”
Dressed in her signature jeans and broad-brimmed sun hat, Ende looks weathered but fit. Her skin is tanned, her blue eyes piercingly intense. The trips began, Ende says, four years ago when she felt drawn to ride down from Montana to visit her sister in Edgewood, and knew it was time to change her life. Trained as a classical ballet teacher, she spent 25 years living in the small community of Trego, Mont., growing her own food, cutting wood for heat and making a subsistence living teaching dance. “It was just time to go,” Ende says, “I had no idea that I would ride this long.”
Each of her four horse treks has taken her to New Mexico, where she spends time with her older sister, Mary Ann Ende. Mary Ann Ende says she was taken aback by Bernice’s initial suggestion to make the trip on horseback. “I think I was just amazed. I didn’t know if it was really doable.”
Bernice Ende admits the first 2,000-mile trip was the toughest. With only one horse and no tent, she had to sleep on the sheepskins she used beneath her saddle, covered with blankets and a tarp. About 1,000 miles out, after passing through a storm in Wyoming’s Red Desert, sore and exhausted, she hit what runners call “the wall.” “I was sobbing,” Ende says. “I couldn’t go any further. I was just tempting myself to give up.” The next day, a rancher’s daughter spotted the lone horsewoman and the dog and offered them shelter until they were fit enough to go on. “After that, I realized I had fallen in love with this,” Ende says. “There was something here I wanted to learn, something I found was buried inside myself. “I’d been pulled by this undeniable pull to the horizon.”
As she talks, her voice becomes soft, mesmerizing, like a monologue in a play. Living outdoors, away from the conveniences of houses and motorized transportation, you become acutely aware of your surroundings, Ende says. Preparing for her first journey, she pored over hundreds of maps. Gradually she learned how to navigate, using forest and county roads, railroad lines, power line easements, canal routes, anything to find the shortest route, to cross the rivers and minimize the danger from traffic. “A semi whizzing by at 70 mph just sucks you along.”
Water is a constant challenge. Even with the pack horse she now has, she is able to carry only about 2.5 gallons at a time. She searches out stock tanks, stops at ranches and asks for water whenever she can. Crossing a desert, she has learned to follow a storm. “After a storm you’ve got puddles, and puddles in the desert last days on the packed sand.”
The horses mostly graze along the way. Honor, Ende’s mount, is a 12-yearold Thoroughbred. Her Norwegian Fjord pack horse, Essie Pearl, 7, carries equipment including a gun for personal protection, horse shoeing tools, Claire, her mixed-breed dog, and food. Ende lives mostly on rice and beans. She typically carries molasses, salt, carrots, apples, cabbage — which she shares with the animals — and olive oil. The latter serves as a food additive and a lubricant for saddlery, hooves and skin.
Over the years, she has honed her travel skills. Alternately riding and walking beside her horse, she usually covers between 20 and 30 miles per day, stopping every five days or so for a rest day. Using this routine she can cover about 400 miles before pausing for a longer rest. During the day, she soaks her rice and beans in a water bottle. When she stops she either uses a single-burner propane camp stove or makes a small fire, boils the food for about 10 minutes then wraps the container in her wool blanket to save fuel and let it cook while she makes camp. Her nightly chores include setting up her tent, grooming the horses, cleaning herself and the saddlery. “Everything needs to be kept clean,” she says. “My appearance is very important. I’m in and out of churches and schools and I need to look presentable.”
Talks she gives to groups along the way help bring in enough to support her $30 to $40 per week budget. She is frequently invited into homes. She recalls spending several nights in a mobile home with a family west of Albuquerque, followed by invitation to stay at a highend hunting lodge near Magdalena. Everywhere, she says, people are eager to hear her stories. “The horse and rider is such a legendary romantic image. Thousands of people have said they would want to do this. I know how hard this is, but it’s a dream. It’s freedom.” A thick, palm-size notebook is packed with addresses of people she has met along the way. At the end of every trip, she sends them cards to let them know she has made it safely back to base.
Ende’s journeys have earned her widespread admiration, but those close to her still have concerns. Mary Ann Ende says, “I recognize what an incredible accomplishment this is. But I still worry about her safety because of the hardships and dangers.” Long, dusty trail
Long-distance horseback rider Bernice Ende is on her fourth cross-country trek and has no plans to stop. Though based in northeast Montana, Ende makes a point of visiting her sister in New Mexico on each trip. Here’s the short version of her horseback rides so far.
2005: 2,000 miles. Left Montana on May 6 to visit her sister in Edgewood, N.M., returned to base on Aug. 28.
2006-2007: 5,000 miles from Montana to Minneapolis, where she visited family members, to New Mexico, back home via Death Valley, Calif., through Oregon, past Mount St. Helens in Washington state to Montana.
2008: 3,000 miles. Left Montana early February for Needles, Calif., then to Yuma, Phoenix and Flagstaff, Ariz., and on to New Mexico, Kansas, South Dakota, arriving at Montana on Nov. 2.
2009-2011: 7,000 miles. Left Montana on March 20, to Portland, Ore., crossed Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico. From here will head to Texas, via Roswell, northeast to Arkansas, over to the Appalachian and Andirondack mountains to Ottawa, Canada, then west to Montana, planning to arrive midsummer 2011.
Ende keeps a Web site detailing her journeys: www.endeofthetrail. com
Information about longdistance horseback riding is available at www.thelongridersguild. com
Andrews, Texas
Andrews County News
January 7. 2010
Hobbs New Mexico
Hobbs News-Sun
January 2, 2010
Blanco, Texas -- Blanco County News
February 17, 2010
A former ballet dancer and instructor, Bernice Ende is a long way from home.
Traveling across the United States and into parts of Canada, Ende, who hails from Trego, Montana, is an adventurist at heart. After retiring from teaching ballet and giving riding lessons, Bernice wanted to ride. More specifically, she wanted to be a long rider. To be a long rider, a rider must ride for 1,000 or more consecutive miles by horseback, relying on their own fortitude to survive. This is her fourth ride, and having already ridden more than 10,000 miles on her previous three treks, this ride will take her over 5,000 miles and will last about two years.Ende travels with her eight-year-old mare, Honor, her seven-year-old Norwegian Fjord, Essie Pearl, Claire, her “Montana original, origin unknown” dog and a new dog that she picked up somewhere around Andrews, Texas.Currently she is heading to San Antonio with her crew. This past weekend found her in Lukenbach, and according to Andrea Brantly, who had the chance to speak with her, Ende had never heard the song made famous by Willie Nelson! Campers at Lukenbach invited her to stay for the weekend, and she agreed. She and her traveling companions settled in for good times and good food. On Sunday, as she headed out, she was traveling down 1888 towards Blanco when the cold front moved in. With wind blowing at high rates of speed, she decided to set up camp in a ditch just off the road and settle in for the cold, frigid night. By morning, the group was on its way again, and wouldn’t stop for the night until they reached Blanco. Coming into town on 1623, Ende told Kelly Silvernail that she was heading to Yett Park for the night before moving on to Wimberley on Tuesday.Brantley said that Ende told her that “Texans have a great zeal for life.” Seems to me that Ende is the one who would know best. Her zeal for life is evident in her quest to follow her dreams of being the Lady Long Rider. For more information on Bernice Ende and to track her progress, visit www.endeofthetrail.com.
Wimberley, Texas
Share the road: Long rider hoofs it into Wimberley
By Austin Prowse
Eleven months and 3,000 miles ago, Bernice Ende set out on horseback from her home in Trego, Montana. It is her fourth long ride since 2005 when she first hit the trails on horseback to see her sister in New Mexico.
Bernice, her two horses and two dogs began their most recent journey in 2009, traveling into the great northwest stopping in Naselle, Wash. They next traveled to south-central Texas, which brought Bernice and crew through Wimberley last week.
It was an unlikely family reunion. Bernice's sister, Carol Ende, and brother-in-law, Jim Hammond, live in the area. Bernice said she misplaced their phone number and as luck would have it she ran into her sister and brother-in-law while passing by their business, Eden Alternative located in the Wimberley Mountain Plaza, where she was so graciously welcomed.
"We knew she was in striking zone when she was in Blanco," said Hammond.
Bernice praises Texans as being friendly and helpful ever since setting hoof in the state.
"West and central Texas has blown me off my saddle with hospitality," said Bernice. "Every night it has been hot showers and hay."
Bernice, who thoroughly cherishes her time long riding, has set up a dog basket atop Essie Pearl, her Norwegian Fjord who packs the gear and helps to carry the dogs some of the way. Heading the crew, Bernice rides her 11-year-old thoroughbred, Honor, through mountain ranges in the U.S. and eventually Canada. She realizes the danger involved in the long ride, as they all four routinely traverse paths more commonly traveled by automobiles.
Having traveled over 13,000 miles in the past five years, Bernice makes frequent stops in towns across the nation where she gives talks about the legacy of the long rider. Riding horses long distances is not only a hobby or passion, but a way of life which revolves around faith and embraces freedom.
Bernice's next destination is Yoakum, where she will meet with her saddle maker, Tucker Trail Saddles, for a few days according to Hammond.
Vernal, Utah -------Vernal Express, September 23, 2009
Roswell, New Mexico
-Roswell Daily Record-
December 17, 2009
Menard, Texas---February 18, 2010
from the Jackson County Pilot
Jackson, Minnesota
Riding Off Into The Sunrise
By Ryan Brinks (July 19, 2010)
Nearly every sunrise since March 2009, Bernice Ende has set out with her horses Hart and Essie Pearl and dog Claire, plodding along 10 to 15 miles a day.
Ende calls herself a lady long rider, and her current ride is well into her two-year, 6,000-mile route from her hometown of Trego, Mont., to the West Coast, then through the mountains to Texas, straight north and soon westward back home.
Sunday afternoon she arrived with a generous welcome to Jackson and spent Monday at the fairgrounds or around town restocking supplies.
NOTE: This is not the entire article, as soon as I get a copy, it will be posted here!
More newpaper articles coming soon! Bernice has conducted many interviews over the last few months.
As soon as the articles are received, they will be posted on this page! Keep checking back for articles from:
Phillipsburg, KS
Scribner, NE Brainerd, NE Decatur, NE Oakland, NE
Cherokee, IA Everly, IA Onawa, IA
St. James, MN Mt. Lake/Butterfield, MN
