By Pamela Bennett
VTP Chair
36 / Sport and Trail Magazine
states I could never go that far by myself. Her answer is always the same. In fact, Misty is not afraid to travel by herself, she just makes sure she is prepared the best she can be for anything that may go wrong.
Since Misty travels a lot by herself she likes to make sure she has an emergency contact form in her truck and trailer. A great place to put this in your trailer is right inside your door or on your refrigerator. On this form should be an emergency contact person, medications if you are taking any and things you are allergic to. Have a copy of your itinerary in case someone is waiting for you to get somewhere, with their name and number so they can be notified.
When she is planning her travel route and needs to stay a night on the road, she makes sure to have two to three spots on the map about 60 miles apart. You never know if you are going to have truck, trailer or weather problems that may slow you down. She always tries to stay at rodeo grounds but recently has found that most towns have a KOA and some now have pens making them a great place to stay.
EMERGENCY RULES
Misty also follows a number other emergency rules. If you are riding in an organized ride make sure you give the trail boss your business card with emergency contact information. You never know what could happen and if you are by yourself they would not know who to contact in case of an accident. If it’s not an organized ride tape your emergency contact to your trailer door. If possible let someone know where your keys are, just in case they need to drive you somewhere.
Additionally, there are a couple of great roadside assistance services specifically available for trucks and horse trailers, US Rider and Trailguard. Both are well worth the small signup fee.
In addition, Misty has a great looking crew chief at home that makes sure her truck and trailer is always “Alert Ready” in case an emergency trail ride comes up at a moment’s notice.
There are several free online apps you can download to put in the health records and keep track.
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I recently sat down with the North American Saddle Mule Versatility Trail Program Committee Member, avid trail rider, long eared lover and Region Three Director of the Texas Equestrian Trail Riders Association Misty Valdez from Alvord Texas. Misty has logged thousands of miles from The Bighorn Mountains to New Mexico, Arizona and Texas across the Badlands, including Oklahoma and most recently Louisiana. The most interesting fun fact is she has done all this traveling and driving mostly by herself. Our recent visit brought up a great topic, traveling safely by yourself. It can be done and she has proven it!
Misty, a married mother of one works full time at Chico Elementary in Texas as the school secretary. She joined VTP and NASMA in 2015 and has devoted her time to VTP and promotion of trail riding in the great state of Texas. Come summer time, spring break, fall break, Christmas break and Thanksgiving break, you will see a white Dodge with a set of long ears peeking out between the slants on her horse trailer. You will know it’s Misty at the campground by the big ole Texas flag anchored to her trailer and flying proudly accompanied by her VTP banner.
The number one question Misty gets is isn’t she afraid to travel by yourself? The person asking the question usually states I could never go that far by myself. Her answer is always the same. In fact, Misty is not afraid to travel by herself, she just makes sure she is prepared the best she can be for anything that may go wrong.
Shannon Hoffman, Tara Laughter and Victoria Chadwick Jacobson
Camping and Travel
Safety Tips