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Ride of Passage
Limited series from Michigan Radio
Hosted by Laura Weber Davis

Ride of Passage is a true American adventure story about one young man's solo ride across the country on horseback. In 2003, Matt Parker set out on a journey that would take years to complete. He became the first to ride horseback across the country on the American Discovery Trail.

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Latest Episodes
  • Epilogue
    An update on Matt, the horses, and the folks you met throughout the podcast.
  • Chapter 12: The Ocean
    In every adventure story, the hero must answer the call to complete the journey and return home.
  • Chapter 11: Silver
    Nearing the final stretch of the trail, Matt stays with an Amish family in Ohio. While there, he faces a day of such great consequence he wonders if his entire journey has failed.
  • Matt Parker walks alongside his horse, Silver, near Vassar, Kan. Parker is trying to become the first man to cross America on horseback through the American Discovery Trail, which runs from California to Delaware. Starting the journey near Sacramento in 2003, he traveled to Utah before horse problems and winter forced him to stop. In 2004, he resumed the trip with a new horse and traveled to Kansas. He went back to Michigan and began training with a new horse before starting the trail again where he left off in Osage City, Kan.
    Chapter 10: American Whirlwind
    Matt Parker prepared for his third and final riding season across the American Discovery Trail by strengthening his body and training with a new horse.
  • Chapter 9: Sisyphus
    The second year of Matt's ride across America is marked by pain - emotional and physical. He considers quitting the journey altogether.
  • Chapter 8: Nostos Algos
    Matt returns for a second riding season on the American Discovery Trail. He knew it would be another challenging year, but he couldn't anticipate that the ride would begin with a major setback.
  • Chapter 7: Horseman
    Matt and Smokey come to the end of the first riding season, with some tough decisions to make before tackling the rest of the trail. And they find new, crucial partners in their journey in central Utah.
  • Chapter 6: Escape
    For every peak there is a valley. Matt and Smokey lose the trail, and are held against their will at an outpost.
  • Chapter 5: Promised Land
    The land is everything in adventure stories. And everything in the American story. Matt learns in Central Nevada that how people feel about their land impacts how they feel about other people... especially strangers.
  • a man stands next to a horse in a desert setting
    Chapter 4: The Desert
    The desert of Nevada reveals to Matt what's essential for survival — for him and for his horse, Smokey. The blazing sun and isolation peel away at Matt and threaten his morale for the long journey ahead.
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