CLAYPOOL – Jake Harvath and his two mustang horses stopped for the night at a family farm in Kosciusko County on Thursday during their cross-country trip for the Year of the Mustang.
Harvath began his journey on September 25, 2023 in Heber City, Utah, and is now returning to Heber City.
“So we drove all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey and are now on a different route back home,” he said.
Harvath has traveled to 18 states, including Colorado, Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. He hopes to be back in Utah in mid-November.
During the Year of the Mustang trip, Harvath rides two mustangs, Eddy and Denver, and switches between the two each day. He said they average about 20 miles a day. On Thursday, Harvath said, he rode just under 20 miles, and on Friday he was scheduled to ride about 25 1/2 miles and drive through Mentone. He uses mostly back roads.
Harvath said the idea for the ride grew over time. He was an apprentice horse trainer. At 16, he talked about traveling across Utah with friends. Although the trip never materialized, Harvath stuck with the idea and it continued to grow. By 19, he had a rough outline of the trip in his head.
He documented his journey on his YouTube channel Jake Harvath.
“It was a great opportunity to spread our message,” he said.
It has always been his dream to see the country this way, and it has its challenges, but Harvath said it was one of the best experiences of his life. He was able to ride through the largest ranch in New Mexico, which took him four days to traverse. For three of those four days, he didn’t see another person.
One of the most difficult aspects of the ride is competing with cars. The farther east he goes and the more populated the area becomes, the harder it is to compete with traffic. Harvath said so far he and his horses have not been involved in any accidents and he prays it stays that way. He is very cautious about the roads he drives on and how he and his horses handle them. There have been a few near misses with cars, however.
When they rest for the night, Harvath said, he and his horses would set up camp somewhere in the woods, which he often did in the west. When he moved to more private areas in the east, he was able to stay with people, anyone who would provide a fenced area for him and the horses. He was able to find people to stay with by finding people who were following his journey and also by talking to people along the way.
On Thursday, Harvath was able to stay with the Colberts, who own a family farm with 15 horses.
Candy Colbert said she met Kosciusko County resident Ami Pitt 22 years ago and they have a wonderful friendship. Pitt has been following Harvath’s path and contacted Colbert about a month ago about letting Harvath live with the Colberts. Candy said she did her research and followed his path to understand what Harvath was doing. Candy said she believes she is a good judge of horse people and thinks Harvath’s cause is a good one.
Pitt said she doesn’t follow much social media, but she saw Harvath’s story and said it was a great thing. Pitt said she started following Harvath on social media and then saw he was coming through Kosciusko County on his way back to Utah. When Pitt saw that, she said she started praying for his safety and his journey. She decided to help since he was in her backyard. Pitt texted Harvath saying he was welcome to stay in Pitt’s backyard. However, his route changed, so Pitt made some calls to help.
Harvath said the Year of the Mustang project is designed to get more people to adopt wild mustangs from the government. The Bureau of Land Management keeps over 50,000 wild horses in holding facilities that are available for adoption by the public. He said Edy and Denver are mustangs that were born in the wild and rounded up. Now they have been trained and have “been on an extreme journey. And all to show how tough and useful they can be in these situations.”
He said it’s a very complex issue with many different aspects, “but the main one is that the population of wild horses in most of 10 western states is doubling every year and they live in a very harsh and very dry environment. Many of them are eating the hair off their heads and that can be an uphill battle for the horses that live there. Also, it’s a huge stress on other species in those environments that are native there compared to the horses that we’ve brought to this continent over the last 500 years. So the government is tasked with rounding up these horses to preserve the rangelands and help bring a little more balance to some of these suffering ecosystems,” he said. “That’s why the government rounds up the horses. The problem is, what do you do with the horses that you round up?”
Harvath said the Bureau of Land Management has the Wild Horse and Burro Program, which offers people several ways to get the horses. Private sales can be arranged in the west. Public auctions are held in this area. After completing an application and qualifying, people can bid on the horses at these auctions. Anyone who has the means to provide for a horse’s basic needs can qualify.
Man and horses from Utah stop in Kosciusko County on their cross-country journey
