Eli and I

Randy Davisson stands with his Appaloosa horse, Eli. The two have ridden together in all 50 U.S. states and beyond. OXFORD — Randy Davisson and his good pal, Eli, have stories to tell. The pair spent almost five years together on a quest to visit every state in the union. They rode together in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, as well as the all of the provinces and territories of Canada. They made the record books doing it.

Eli is Davisson’s 19-year-old Appaloosa. Eli is a rare sort of Appaloosa because he does the Indian Shuffle, an unusual gait with an unusual history.

Horses were introduced into the United States in 1598 by the Spanish. The Spanish horses were expected to cover a lot of territory, and their gait accomplished that -— the 4-beat gait moves smoothly at 7-8 miles per hour. The gait is not usually seen today.

Davisson says that the Appaloosa Horse Club that inspired his journeys was formed in 1938. His first trip started out innocently enough. Davisson had a desire to ride the historic trail of the Nez Perce Indians’ flight toward Canada. The Nez Perce sought to flee to Canada in 1877 to avoid being driven into a reservation.

Randy Davisson is thinking about writing a children’s book about Eli’s adventures. There were 800 Nez Perce Indians who started out with 2,000 horses to make the 1,300-mile journey; 250 of the group were warriors, the rest were women and children.

With the U.S. Cavalry in hot pursuit, starvation, cold and exhaustion drove the band to surrender a mere 40 miles from the Canadian border.

Still, about 183 of the Nez Perce made it to Canada.

Each year, the Appaloosa Horse Club rides 100 miles of the Nez Perce trail, progressing through the entire journey over the years. In the year 2000, Davisson went to ride the trail with Eli.

Davisson and his team of horses ride on the Michigan Double Cross. “On my way out to the week-long trail ride, I just decided to ride in each state along the way,” says Davisson. He stopped in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota on his way to Oregon. He met up with his brother in Washington State, and visited Idaho.

While he was out that way, Davisson rode on the Pacific coast. He went to California and rode in the redwoods. “It’s just amazing. Trees 350 feet high,” Davisson says.

On his way back from the trail

ride, Davisson and Eli stopped and rode in the next tier of states. “That’s what started this thing,” says Davisson. “Over a period of time, I decided to ride in all 50 states.” Davisson and Eli arrived in Hawaii separately. Eli made the journey in a container that was made into 10 box stalls. He sailed five days each way. “I paid for a 10-day cruise for that bugger,” chuckles Davisson. The trip agreed with Eli. “He was in perfect condition.” Davisson and Eli found rodeo grounds to camp in when they toured west of the Mississippi. A full 58 months after they started their adventures, the pair laid claim to

having done something no one else had done. Ripley’s Believe It or Not published their feat in the 2006 edition, on page 183 “I felt good about my accomplishment, Eli and I,” says Davisson. “No one else has ever done this.” In 2008, Davisson bit off another challenge. He rode the Michigan Doublecross trail from Oscoda to Empire and back to Oscoda, with horses and wagon. The 547-mile trip was completed in 21 days. Hitched up to an Amish-built wagon with single, double or the rare three-horse hitch, Eli made the trip along with Chester and Chief.

Prior to the trip, Davisson said he took the horses out on roads around Oxford to condition them both physically and mentally, because they had to adjust to 18-wheelers whizzing by 6 feet away. Davisson says that Eli is “loving running out in the field with his buddies” right now. He doesn’t have any record-breaking feats in mind at the moment. He is thinking about a book or two he’d like to write, though.