Do you yearn to get a living quarters trailer, grab a friend, and spend months or years traveling all over creation with your horses riding the most beautiful trails you can find? I certainly do!
Jess Isbrecht, 37, is living this dream with her partner, Byron. I caught up with her via Skype in their current winter location in Brawley, California for an interview. She grew up on her parents’ small Thoroughbred breeding operation in New Jersey. As a girl, she rode many breeds of horses, participated a variety of disciplines, and was in 4-H. In college she competed, first in English disciplines before joining the Western team. Over time she did less arena riding and more trail riding (my kind of rider!), including endurance.
Like many of us, Jess watched movies about cowboys riding the great prairies and canyon lands of western North America and (like many of us) held a romantic vision of that lifestyle. She and her mother shared a dream of someday living a nomadic lifestyle with their horses out West.
When her mother tragically died in 2013, Jess realized that her time on the planet was limited and that she needed to get on with pursuing her dreams. She knew that she did not want a nine-to-five lifestyle so she quit her job and started an organic farming business. In 2016 she and her partner, Byron, bought a travel trailer to live in on the farm. They were both attracted to the West and yearned for a non-traditional lifestyle, and they began exploring the idea of living on the road.
They spent a year envisioning and planning a great adventure. Living in the 28-foot travel trailer on the farm gave them the confidence that they could live in a small space. Jess knew that her Thoroughbred mare, Mackenzie, who had been her mother’s horse, would have to accompany them. Byron could ride along with Jess and Mackenzie on his mountain bike. Both Jess and Byron rock climbed, so they planned to focus on places where they could rock climb and horseback ride. After getting everything in place – from supplies to equipment to route planning and setting up a way for them to work via the internet from almost anywhere – they hit the road in June 2018.
In New Hampshire and Maine they stayed at horse campgrounds, getting accustomed to setting up camp, using their temporary fencing, obtaining feed and supplies, and riding in beautiful forests and the White Mountains. In the fall they moved to Arizona to spend the winter. Since then, they have traveled all around the West, riding and climbing in amazing country. They write a blog and you can see maps of their epic journey on their website.
Eventually Byron got tired of walking or biking while Jess rode her horse, so they found a sweet-tempered Tennessee Walking Horse mare, River, for him and and he learned to ride. River is also a great companion to Mackenzie.
I asked Jess to describe some of the high points of their travels. They have ridden in so many beautiful places that she could probably talk for days. We only had time for her to tell me about her two favorite places.
In southern Utah they rode in Buckskin Gulch, the longest slot canyon in the U.S. The trail started in a sagebrush red-sand desert, following a river. They could see sandstone cliffs in the distance. As they approached, the canyon narrowed until they could reach out and touch both walls at the same time. Ancient petroglyphs adorned the canyon walls. They rode this slot canyon for miles until it opened up into an amphitheater-like space.
Her next favorite place was Agnew Meadows in the Sierra Mountains, near Mammoth, California. The trail climbs from a grassy valley into the mountains along a narrow rugged trail. In some places it is only 3 feet wide and the footing is granite slab. On the right is a rock face and on the left it drops precipitously to a whitewater river. The horses have to navigate stair-like sections.
Finally you come to Ediza Lake, spectacularly located in a meadow, framed by mountain peaks.
I was very curious about practical matters and asked Jess about their rig, how they get feed and water, find trails, etc. They have an unusual setup: they have the 28-foot bumper pull travel trailer, a 2-horse straight-load bumper pull horse trailer with tack room, and a 2014 Ram 2500 pickup truck. Moving from place to place with 2 trailers and only one truck is quite an undertaking. First, they take the horses to the new campsite and Jess stays there to settle the horses while Byron returns to pick up the camper. They usually stay for weeks or months in one place, using it as a basecamp. Although it seems crazy to have 2 trailers, I imagine that this arrangement does have an advantage over having just a living quarters horse trailer, in that every time you want to trailer your horses to a trailhead you don’t have to break camp.
Jess is quick to say that they are not on permanent vacation – this is their lifestyle, and it is not that different from most folks’. On a typical day they get up, have breakfast, tend to the horses, Byron works on his laptop and Jess works as a consultant or researches places to ride and climb, and in the evening they make dinner and perhaps watch a movie. They ride and climb as much as they can, afternoons and weekends. Given that they are well set up for this – living in the wilderness, they get out on the trail a lot.
Planning each move is a lot of work. Jess has to locate a horse-friendly campground (fortunately these are common out West), potable water sources, sewage dumping stations (not all campgrounds have these), determine if cell signals are good enough for high-speed internet (which Byron needs for meeting with clients), investigate riding trails and climbing routes, and check weather conditions. National Forests often provide horse camping and have good trail maps. She also gets information by networking with other riders online or in person. They usually get feed and hay from Tractor Supply or local feed stores. Once they were unable to find any hay (other than round bales) and resorted to alfalfa cubes and beet pulp. Jess learned how to do barefoot trims, so she does these herself and has never had a problem finding a vet when needed. Out West there are a lot of equine vets, which she finds on Google.
All states require a health certificate for transporting horses across state lines. Jess said that if they don’t know exactly where they are going, she puts on the certificate the farthest state where they might be within the 30-day certificate period. This allows them to travel through other states along the way. However, she warns that some states have different regulations. For example, you cannot overnight in New Mexico without a permit from the Department of Agriculture. Most vets are aware of the regulations but it’s best to research them yourself before traveling across state lines.
Both horses have become very road-savvy and trail-savvy. At first, when camping in thick forests in New England, Mackenzie would spook when encountering moose or bear on the trail or in camp. Between having River as a companion and all of her experience, she no longer gets upset at wildlife – or much else, including occasional gunfire.
It all sounds very dreamy to me. I have lived long enough to know that even truly wonderful experiences come with hard work and trials and tribulations, so I asked Jess to give me a reality check as well as some words of wisdom for anyone contemplating such an adventure.
First of all, Jess believes that you need a certain personality for an undertaking like this. In particular, you need to be pretty laid back because life on the road is not always predictable. The best laid plans can go awry and you need to be able to deal with unexpected circumstances and be resourceful enough to work through whatever comes up with an optimistic attitude.
Her second bit of advice is to not just jump into a life on the road lock, stock, and barrel. Find out if the lifestyle is something you and your horse will enjoy. If you’ve never camped with your horse, do so. Take some short trips and then some longer ones. Hit the road for a whole month so you can get an idea of what it’s really like and the challenges you might face. Make sure you don’t mind living in a tent or trailer day after day, not showering as often as you are used to, and managing your horse without the security of fenced pastures and cozy stalls.
Jess and Byron did not shift to this lifestyle overnight. They spent years talking and easing into it by downsizing their belongings and housing, gaining skills and collecting information. Even now, one and a half years in, they spend a lot of time planning and organizing their lives – finding campsites and trails where they can safely go with their horses, ensuring a constant supply of hay and fresh water, etc.
Like anything in life, it’s not a bed of roses every minute of every day. But the freedom and adventure and beauty are well worth it for Jess and Byron. I am so happy for them that they are living so many riders’ dreams. Perhaps someday my horse and I will be able to follow in their footsteps and hoofprints. If you have lived this life or just spent time on the road with your horse, tell us about it in the comments below.
You can follow their adventures on their blog.
Happy Trails.
Monica
Such a life of balance with the tech, nature, and the physical. Thanks for beautifully written article Monica.