Man completes cross-country trek in Hampton atop his horse
HAMPTON — Alex Jesse McNeil trotted along the boardwalk at Hampton Beach Saturday afternoon, looking like he'd just spent the afternoon out for a ride on his Tennessee Walker mare, Pepper.But, McNeil, 37, had just completed a 3,800-mile trek across the country, and about 40 friends, family and assorted curious people let out a cheer. After hugging his mother, Sara McNeil of Warner, he rode Pepper onto the sand in the late afternoon sunlight.
McNeil had to dismount and coax Pepper into the Atlantic Ocean and the mare kind of just stood at the edge while a tiny wave lapped over her front hooves.
The pair have been clopping their way across the country for about eight months, from Brookings, Ore., where they touched off in the Pacific Ocean. During the journey, McNeil relied on the kindness of strangers and learned how to find spots to camp out for the night.
“I spent last night in someone's back yard in Methuen (Mass.),” he said. They set off Saturday morning to complete the last 27.5 miles ending near the Seashell Stage.
McNeil was living in Bozeman, Mont., which he says is “definitely horse country,” when he met Pepper, the 5½-old mare. “I never really knew anything about horses, or riding them,” he said. “I sort of read a few books.”
He then got the idea to take another adventure, said his childhood friend Tony Mento of Warner who was part of the welcoming committee along with his wife Julie Mento.
“He's crossed Canada in an airplane,” Julie Mento said. “He's also made cross-country trips by bicycle, motorcycle and a moped.”
Mento brought along a bottle of champagne for McNeil. She also had carrots and a five-gallon bucket of water for Pepper. She wasn't the only one who brought nourishment for the gray mare.
Bethany Price of Gardner, Mass., and her daughters, Sofi Plotkin, 9, and Lily Plotkin, 10, brought huge bundles of hay. McNeil had stayed at their home Wednesday night and they wanted to be there to greet him on the beach. They met up with a friend, Jenna Thaye Anzelmo of Kittery, Maine, and her daughter Ava, 6, who also brought hay.
His old college friend from New England College, Mike Lemieux, came up from Boston with Jenn MacDonald to welcome McNeil home.
Standing along the windy boardwalk, Sara McNeil waited eagerly for word that her son was in New Hampshire.
“He does these kind of 'goofball' things, but he is usually careful and on time,” she said as the sun began to set. McNeil expected to arrive in Hampton around 3 p.m. and at about 3:40, word came that he was crossing the bridge at Seabrook. He actually touched water at 4 p.m.
“He will tell me about things after they happened,” Sara McNeil said. “He'll say, 'Mom, remember that time I told you we were climbing,' and then he'll tell me a kind of hair-raising story.”
McNeil said she finally joined Facebook two weeks ago so she could comment on her son's page, “On The Hoof, Sea to Sea,” thanking people who helped him along his journey.
In all the commotion on the beach with Pepper getting a lot of attention from horse lovers who came by and people who read his blog on Facebook, McNeil said what he liked most about this journey was “the people.” He was also raising awareness for conservation and open space, traveling in parks and off major roads whenever he could.
McNeil said he may turn the Facebook blog into a book. In the meantime, he has to look for a home for Pepper. He'll be in Warner with his mom for about a week and has plans to repair her roof. Then he's back to Montana.
“I wanted to ride to Warner from the beach, but, even though I could do it, she's had enough,” McNeil said. A horse trailer was brought to Hampton to bring Pepper to Warner.”
He's hoping to find a good home for his road companion of eight months. “I will miss her,” he said.
http://m.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131123/NEWS/131129858/-1/WAP&template=wapart
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