ARKANSAS, USA — A Utah horse trainer is traveling coast to coast to spread awareness of the mustang breed and to inspire others.
Jake Harvath has spent most of his life riding horses, starting with his childhood dream to become a rodeo team roper.
As a training student in Utah, Harvath said his first horse was a grey mare mustang named Bella who he adopted from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He has also gained two more Mustangs that joined him on his cross-country journey, Denver and Eddy.
"It's been rewarding to get in the pen with a wild animal to start and watch that progression and watch that relationship build to where they trust you. And then they become just an incredible partner for whatever it is you want to do," Harvath said. "I grew up in that country. I grew up hunting and fishing in the mountains of Utah, and I've spent plenty of time on my own. So just being with my horses honestly makes it that much easier because they become your society in a way ... and we're kind of a weird family of four."
Harvath dreamed of traveling just in Utah, north to south, with his friends at age 16. With time, his drive kept growing and growing until he came up with a plan to travel coast to coast in his project, The Year of the Mustang.
"We are a quarter of the way through a 7,000-mile journey across 30 states that will be done in roughly a year's time to make the longest continuous horse journey done within [a] year's time in the United States. And I'm doing it all on three mustangs, my three horses," Harvath said. "In the beginning, I was like, 'What am I doing? For sure, like, This is crazy. And wrangling three horses by yourself in the backcountry, every day, 24/7, that's hard on you.' But, I adapted and my horses got better, and I got better, and we figured it out, we push through."
Harvath explained that although mustangs are reliable animals, they have little to no predators to naturally control them. The horse breed has grown with no competition leading to an overpopulation issue, he says.
"They continue to expand and populate and populate to the point that they eat themselves out of house and home, and the land they live on can't support them," Harvath said. "To combat that, the government rounds up so many every year and puts them in holding pens."
Harvath claims as many as 60,000 horses are in holding pens but adds that the animals can be adopted or sold through the BLM.
"I want to show people how useful these mustangs are, how they can be great in many different disciplines in horsemanship so that more of them can get into homes and out of holding facilities," Harvath said.
The Utah rider is documenting his journey through YouTube and other social media platforms to tell his story. Through his journey, his herd has faced adversity through snow, rain, and finding a place to stay. Harvath said he once camped next to a highway when he had nowhere else to go.
"Not ideal, poured rain on us. It was definitely not the funnest night but yeah, it's part of the trip," he said.
Harvath was concerned, at first, about how people around him would react to his trip, yet the response has been positive. He said knowing those close to him believe in him and his journey has helped tremendously. That support has continued as those along the route and social media have followed and supported him.
"I mean, how many people would pull over in their car and would want to talk to me for a second, hand me a bottle of water, how many people started getting online or finding me on the road and inviting me and my horses to stay at their place and feed us and all that," he said. "That's what shocked me the most about this was how many people would be impacted and then want to help and be a part of it."
Through this Year of the Mustang, the Utah Rider leads his steads to save the breed and push the boundaries of what is possible.
"Remember what we're capable of; maybe someone will see what I'm doing, and think maybe they can do what they've always dreamed of doing. For me, I just hope I don't come back the same person I was when I left and I already have accomplished that," Harvath said.
If you'd like to support Harvath, you can donate the Year of the Mustang's GoFundMe.
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