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20,000 miles, 48 state capitals on horseback

http://www.jewishworldreview.com | (KRT) PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Gene Glasscock's home is the road, his closet contained in two waterproof bins cinched to a trusty steed. But when your goal is to ride on horseback to all the state capitols in the lower 48, it pays to pack light.

Glasscock, 68, rode onto the lawn of Rhode Island's State House last week to lasso his 16th government seat - one stop in what is expected to be a 20,000-mile journey over at least three years.

He started in Denver last September, and has made his way through New England this summer. Rhode Island marked state number 16, roughly one-third of the way through the list. From here, he planned to head to Hartford, Conn., then Trenton, N.J., by early next month.

Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty and his staff were Glasscock's official greeters in Rhode Island, presenting him with a certificate commemorating his visit and snapping a number of photos, including some of Fogarty atop Glasscock's current lead horse, Frank. A second horse, George, carried Glasscock's packs.

This type of trip isn't a first for Glasscock; in the mid-1980s, he rode from the Arctic Circle in Canada to the equator in Ecuador. He is a member of The Long Riders' Guild, a group formed in the 1990s to bring together people who are fond of 1,000-mile-plus horseback journeys.

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But this ride has a special purpose.

Glasscock spent three years teaching in Paraguay, and undertook his trip in part to raise money to send teens from that country to Pensacola Christian College in Florida. He hands out envelopes seeking donations along his route.

"I just learned to love the young people of Paraguay, and it's just natural it would show in some form that's practical," the Texas native said.

He has no idea how much he's raised, and doesn't want to know. Too little, he said, and he might get depressed; too much and he might get too proud.

Glasscock looks the part of a cowboy: clad entirely in denim, with a well-worn hat on his head and leather boots on his feet. His pack horse carries three changes of clothes, his medicine and a sleeping bag; a Gore-Tex waterproof windbreaker is cinched behind his saddle.

He finds places to stay along his route, either through word of mouth in the loose community of horse lovers, or through people he meets on the road.

"I haven't slept out yet," he reported.

He paused for several days in Rehoboth, Mass., before heading to Providence, in part to get one of his horses veterinary attention. Virginia Filuminia, who works at Greenlock Therapeutic Riding in Rehoboth, said her employers got a call "asking if we could help out."

"We did a quick scramble and got everything together," she said, adding, "Horse people stick together."

The stable put the horses up for several days, and helped find Glasscock lodging at a local bed-and-breakfast.

Glasscock then rode from Rehoboth to Providence; his horses spent the night at the Providence Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit, in the city's Roger Williams Park, and he spent the night with Filuminia and her husband in North Providence.

Mounted Patrol Officer Nelson M. Valdivia rode accompanied Glasscock on his travels through Providence. He pronounced Frank and George, who shared a paddock at the park, very well behaved.

Valdivia had a special treat planned before he said goodbye: He and Glasscock, and their mounts, were hoofing it to Providence's Chalkstone Avenue. Valdivia wanted to give his new friend, riding for South American charity, a meal at a local Bolivian restaurant.

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© 2003, The Providence Journal Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services