photo by Robert Stewart: Ezra Cooley takes a break on the square in Seward during his attempt to ride around the world on a horse.

by Robert Stewart

    Winston Churchill once said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." By that reasoning Ezra Cooley of Chico, Calif., should be good as gold.
     The rodeo cowboy and wild horse racer is currently in the process of completing the first leg of an around-the-world journey, a trip he plans to make entirely on horseback.
     He was passing through Seward on Sept. 15 and stopped to talk about his trip.
     He has been on the road for five months of what he says will most likely be an eight-year journey.
     "It might take less, but I'm going to give it all I've got for eight years," Cooley said.
     During that time he has travelled approximately 3,500 miles, averaging about 20 miles a day. He said that, in all he will have traveled 27,000 miles by the time the trip ends.
     The impetus for the trip came from a conversation Cooley had with his father.
     "One day my dad and I went riding and he and I were talking about if it was possible to ride across the country in this day and age," Cooley said.
     Cooley took that idea and ran with it, expanding the scope of his project to strive for something that has not yet been accomplished, a trip around the world with just him and two horses.
     "I wanted to accomplish something no one else had ever really done and that's really the main reason that I'm doing it," he said.
     That was the reason he started, but then when he was halfway through Nevada he decided to use his personal quest to help others. He is now riding to raise money for the National Children's Cancer Society, 50 percent of the money donated to his trip is given to the organization, the rest goes to travel expenses and care for his horses.
     He started the trip with two horses, five-year-old Red and 26-year-old Jahob. Cooley rode Red and used Jahob for a pack horse. The three made the journey across the western United States and up to Laramie, Wyoming where Cooley picked up a young wild horse name Stryker. He broke Stryker to carry the pack saddle during the trip and sent Jahob home to rest.
     Cooley spent eight months planning his trip before leaving California, picking out a basic route, gathering supplies and researching what it would take to travel internationally with horses. But he said, in the end, every journey starts with a single step and there is only so much you can prepare for.
     "Really what you've got to do is pick out a direction and deal with the obstacles as they come," he said.
     During his travels he has encountered obstacles, such as falling off the side of mountain in Colorado and breaking his shoulder, and received encouragement and assistance from scores of well-wishers across the country.
     He picked up a sponsor in Nebraska when he stopped by Cabela's in Kearney. The company is providing Cooley with gear and, he hopes, may be able to help with permits and visas when the time comes to head overseas.
     "I'm hoping my sponsor will take care of the politics of it," he said.
     Cooley has spent much of the trip camping outdoors, but occasionally is invited to stay with a host.
     "This part of the country, in Nebraska, I've probably stayed more at people's houses," he said. "There's a lot of good people in Nebraska."
     The goal for the United States leg of the journey is to make it to Wall Street in New York, N.Y. From there, following a 60-day quarantine period for Red, he will travel either by boat or plane to Spain. From Spain, he plans to ride down through Africa before catching a ride to Australia. After crossing the Australian continent he will travel to South America and ride north, heading to Mexico, the border and eventually back to Chico, Calif.
     Those wishing to follow Cooley's progress, read about his trip this far and/or donate to his cause can visit his website– ezrasexpedition.com