COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS

FORTY MILLION HOOFBEATS
Factual Story of the 11,356 Mile Trip of
Gypsy Queen Under Saddle
by Frank M. Heath
New York:
David Turet, Publisher, 1941.

The National Sporting Library celebrates recreational trail riding with a book that chronicles one man's and one horse's round trip ride across the United States - Forty Million Hoofbeats by Frank M. Heath. Heath, at the age of age 55, began his ride in 1925 on a mare that cost $125. The pair finished their round trip odyssey on November 4, 1927.

Heath writes for the book jacket:
"Gypsy Queen hit some part of every State in the U.S. under saddle travelling the entire distance on her own feet, except across ferries, and thirty miles where it was impossible on account of quarantine against Texas tick fever.

"Gypsy Queen carried on an average of about seventy pounds of dead weight, the rider riding and walking alternately.

"She lived off the country eating whatever feed was available, drinking all kinds of water, and putting up with any kind of shelter.

"We claim for her the World's Record for Endurance, Durability, and Adaptability. We can show indisputable proof. Gypsy Queen is going to have an easy time the rest of her life.
Signed, Frank M. Heath, Silver Spring Md."

Riding across the United States on horseback is the dream of many recreational trail riders. U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist David O'Connor rode across the country as a teenager with his mother Sally O'Connor.

Summer is a great time for the growing number of opportunities to join organized trail rides whether the annual seven-day Outlaw Trail Ride in Wyoming following the trail of Butch Cassidy, summer fund-raising rides for charities or fox hunts, rides with local trail riding groups, or riding independently on park land.

Over a dozen books on recreational trail riding are shelved at the NSL, from historical books to recently published books such as Don West's Have Saddle, Will Travel - Low-Impact Trail Riding and Horse Camping and Steven D. Price's Horseback Vacation Guide. Periodicals such as Western Horseman and The Virginia Horse Journal also publish annual trail riding issues chock full of ride dates, organizations, websites and informative articles.